PROYECTO SANITARIO

Hi All

Im back with details of the project I mentioned in one of my previous posts. As stated previously, I visited a school in the rural community outside Tactic, North Guatemala. The school building itself is very Basic and is quite small for the attending 600 students. This being said its adequate apart from the existing Bathrooms, which are located right beside one of the larger classrooms.

Please have a look at the video below and see for your self as no words of mine can describe their condition. Its appalling! 600 boys and girls have to share what are no more than concrete pots. The waste falls directly into a small tank below and the smell is terrible. The students then have to share 3 taps situated on a wall outside the toilets. These conditions are just horrendous. The school has been given a grant in the past but the money was used for new classrooms. I find this hard to understand as proper sanitary facilities should have been first on the agenda.

Anyway, the way I see it is that we have the opportunity to greatly improve the conditions for the students of this school. Its was obvious from what I gave been told and from what Iv seen that school is the one ray of light and hope in the lives of these kids. For most of them its their only source of food as they receive one meal a day there. Afterwards, its not uncommon to see most of them (6 years up) picking up their machetes to go to work.

My proposal is simple. I have already made contacts with small contractors in Guatemala who I know are hard working, skilled and honest people. I have received two quotes for the cost of the new Bathrooms which I have designed myself (see plan on the video provided below). The lowest quote came in at approx 5000 euro. The new bathrooms are still not up to European standards for the amount of students at the school but due to space restraints and costs, they are a vast, vast improvement to what exists today.

I am hoping that with your help, we can raise the funds needed to construct the new bathrooms. I am in Guatemala for 5 months and I will personally supervise the works. You have my guarantee that unlike larger Charitable organisations, all funds raised will go directly to material coasts and construction.

I understand that times are tough for most of you at the moment but I know that if these were your children, nothing would stop you from making sure that they had the very best to ensure a bright future. Unfortunately for these kids all we can do is ensure a basic level of comfort and security in order for them to receive a beneficial education.

I have posted a donation button at the top of the page under the map of Guatemala. All donations are greatly appreciated and will be put to the best of use. I will also be contacting some of you directly with the hope of carrying out fundraising events. I have also placed a status thermometer under the donation button with the amount of funding raised to date and the amount needed. This will be updated each time I get access to the net.

Thanks a million for reading and I hope all is well back home. Ironic to think that I moved to a country with over 20 Volcano’s only for one in Iceland to erupt and ground planes in Europe :)

If you have any questions regarding castings or anything at all, you can contact me via email at mcleanjoseph @gmail.com

Hasta Luego

Joe