As you may know, I have been serving in the Peace Corps in Panama since August 2007. I have been concentrating my efforts within two rural communities called Limón and Pedregoza - I live in Limón and Pedregoza is a short 30-minute hike to the east. I have been working with a committee of locals within each of the communities to identify and plan a Community Water System Project in Pedregoza and a Community Latrine Project in Limón - I consider these projects to be, in many ways, the culmination of my Peace Corps service. Large cost components of these projects are being carried by the locals themselves (mainly through free labor), while government officials within the province have agreed to provide part of the materials. The remainder of the project cost is being coordinated through Peace Corps´ Office of Private Sector Initiatives (https://www.peacecorps.gov/
There are very few things in life to which I am more averse than soliciting funds - so let´s not view this email in that light. If you have ever felt interested in participating in a project geared to reducing poverty in the developing world, this is an excellent opportunity. All contributions - 100% - go to the materials needed for the project; no part goes to pay any person, no part goes to any bureaucracy, no food, no parties - none of that. All funding goes to water/sanitation improvements for the rural poor of Pedregoza and Limón. I have spent over a year getting to know these communities and ensuring all aspects of sustainability are covered, i.e., when I leave Peace Corps these projects will continue to benefit the communities. In the case that we finish a project under-budget, the funds go to projects of other Peace Corps Volunteers. I am personally in charge of all accounting (which I have to report back to Peace Corps), which hopefully comforts you. So if you have been hesitant to donate to large, bureaucratic organizations serving the developing world, here is a prime opportunity to ensure that your donations goes to our world´s poor and not bureaucrats. Unfortunately, this opportunity will be open to individual donors like you only through the end of this month (that´s just two weeks), at which point the support of NGOs in the USA will be sought.
That said, feel no pressure or guilt as a reason to donate. Think of this as an opportunity to collaborate directly with the rural poor of Panama through my Peace Corps service. Take advantage of that opportunity if it moves you - my neighbors and I certainly hope it does! Please spread the word to anyone you think might be interested.
PROJECT DETAILS:
COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM - La Pedregoza, Republic of Panama
Donate online: https://www.peacecorps.gov/
Project details and budget attached as Pedregoza Water PCPP.doc
Technical/design information is available
Located in the foothills of Panama's Cordillera mountain range is a community that is home to 234 Spanish-speaking Panamanians. Each of the 54 families presently spends an estimated 80 minutes retrieving water from unprotected water holes in the area—a task typically delegated to women and children—with five-gallon buckets that were originally the containers of chemical compounds. A survey of homes completed by the locals showed one third of the community's children under the age of five suffering from diarrhea. Meetings to discuss a possible water system within the community produced nearly full community attendance and a strong Water Committee was created and charged with leading this Community Water System Project.
This projects aims to construct a gravity-based water system for the community. The system will be fed from a nearby hill, using a seepage collection structure that catches the flows from two natural springs. From the source, water will flow through over four kilometers of PVC pipe to two community tap stands—one at the primary school and another at the center of town. The project is designed to enable the construction of a reserve tank and connections to each house in the future. In addition to the construction activities, a critical component of the project is capacity development within the community to ensure sustainability of the project.
COMMUNITY LATRINES - El Limón, Republic of Panama
Donate online: https://www.peacecorps.gov/
Project details and budget attached as Limón Latrines PCPP.doc
A village in the province of Cocle is home to 245 Spanish-speaking Panamanians living in approximately 55 homes. The community is accessed via a sixty-minute walk from the nearest paved road and has no electricity. Community members spend their days on sustenance farming or sewing traditional hats to sell.
A survey of this community was conducted by the Health Assistant and PCV in January 2008, and included the issue of sanitation. The survey data shows that roughly 25% of homes have no latrine. Of the latrines in the community, 25% are used by more than seven people, with the highest number of users being 16. Additionally, 26% of the latrines being used are in dangerous condition or have a full pit. No latrines in the community use the appropriate technology of a moveable floor slab.
This project will introduce the sustainable, appropriate technology of moveable floor slabs to this community. Moveable floor slabs will remove the primary factor that motivates the over-use of latrine pits: the cost of building a new floor slab for a new latrine pit. The moveable slab can simply be moved from the full pit to the new pit.
The homes with greatest need—those without a latrine—will be included in this project, which provides the materials for a total of fifteen latrines.
Andrew T. Hable
Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Volunteer
Peace Corps-Panama
