School Health and Hygiene for Mayan Children

The end of the year is a rewarding time at Pueblo a Pueblo because it is when we take stock of each of our nine projects, analyzing the fruits of our team’s hard work in preparation for another year of collaboration and innovation. Our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools project is no exception. One of the most important ways we measure our projects’ success is by interviewing community partners to hear, in their own words, the changes a project brought to their lives.

This year, one of the community partners we spoke with was Diana Juarez Azañon, principal at San Juan Mirador Primary School. Here’s what Diana had to say:

Four years ago, before this project, our school had problems related to water because even though we are located at the edge of a river, we did not have access to running water. We also had another even more serious problem: the bathrooms. We only had three bathroom stalls for the whole school and they were in terrible condition. They usually did not flush, the students had to wait in line for a long time in order to use the bathroom, and we only had one sink for students to wash their hands in. It was a difficult situation.

The WASH team at Pueblo a Pueblo became aware of the situation at Diana’s school and conducted a visit. Our team found the conditions Diana described, and they also found a school full of teachers and administrators like Diana: passionate about providing a cleaner, healthier learning environment for their students. Pueblo a Pueblo then worked with Diana and her team of educators to install new toilets, new handwashing stations, and hand soap dispensers—San Juan Mirador's first step toward a healthier school! They also converted an unused bathroom into a classroom, creating a brand new space for student learning. Diana reflected on the results of these efforts:

Before the WASH project, my students’ lives were difficult. They lived in unhygienic conditions because we did not have the resources to provide them a sanitary environment here at school and their families could not provide that at home either since most of our students come from families of few economic resources. The changes in habits that my students have acquired because of this project are many: they now know to use the bathrooms and how to wash their hands; they are now aware of their own health and they take care to avoid getting sick due to poor hygiene. Pueblo a Pueblo’s support means so much to me and to my school because it has equipped us to prevent illnesses among our students by promoting personal hygiene.

Thank you for supporting efforts that keep Diana’s students healthy and happy! Your support fuels our WASH project’s success.

Links:

• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) at Pueblo a Pueblo

Many communities in the mountainous area around Santiago Atitlán have poor or inconsistent access to running water. Patzilin Ab’aj and Panimaquip are two of these communities, where residents often don’t have running water at home or at school. When their school’s water supply runs out, kids have to carry heavy containers of water to school with them, depleting a supply that in some cases they have already had to carry from Lake Atitlán uphill to their homes.

Our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) team has been hard at work with these two communities to provide schools with alternative water supplies and relieve schoolchildren of this heavy burden. The solution? Rainwater, says Pablo Eulogio, Pueblo a Pueblo’s WASH project manager. Rainwater collection systems are known to many communities in this area as a way to take advantage of periods of heavy rain; stored water can be put to use during drier, hotter parts of the year when the need for water is even more dire. Given local average rainfall statistics, these systems can collect up to 240 liters of water per day! This water can be used in the school kitchen, for cleaning purposes, and in school bathrooms for washing hands and flushing toilets.

In May, Pablo and his team worked with Patzilin Ab’aj Primary School to install a brand new rainwater collection system. They affixed piping to the gutter on the roof of a large building, placing wire mesh over the gutter to keep out leaves and other organic debris. They then built a platform for a large water tank, attaching the piping to the tank to catch water flowing off of the roof.

“At this time, the community of Patzilin Ab’aj has no running water,” explains Pablo. “The rainwater collected with this system is now the primary school’s only source of running water.” He also notes that students at Patzilin Ab’aj recently started an organic garden on the grounds of their school—another reason they need a reliable water supply!

The situation in Panimaquip was a little different. Panimaquip Primary School already had a rainwater collection system, but it was in poor condition. The water tank had been installed on top of cinder blocks which collapsed under the weight of the full tank, leaving the tank unstable. The tank was also obstructing the proper drainage of water from school grounds, threatening flooding of classrooms and outdoor school areas.

In June, the WASH team moved quickly to correct the situation. They constructed a strong, bridgelike platform for the water tank so that water could flow under the tank and away from spaces where students learn and play. “These repairs not only improve the state of the physical water collection system,” says Pablo. “They also ensure that students' learning spaces stay safe and dry.”

These new rainwater collection systems mean cleaner, healthier schools in these two communities. Rainwater collection means that primary schoolers in Patzilin Ab’aj and Panimaquip can focus on learning, playing, and having fun!

Links:

• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) at Pueblo a Pueblo