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