Guatemala Sanitation Project

Fundraising Progress

About the Community

The Paraje los Méndez community is in the Huitancito Village of the Huitán Municipality. Comprising 125 families, the community’s primary economic output consists of cultivating corn, beans, potatoes, and other vegetables. As the village’s population grew over the past few decades, its schools expanded in size. Consequently, the bathrooms from when the school was built lack the capacity to support the growing student body.

Project Overview

The project objective is to replace the current bathroom system. The project will involve building 8 flushable modules: 7 toilets (3 for girls, 1 for female teachers, 1 for male teachers, and 2 for boys) and 1 urinal. A 10-faucet handwashing station will also be built outside the bathroom housing and 1 private handwashing station for the female teacher restroom. As the current bathroom facility does not have running water, a solution to run water to the bathroom will also be implemented, with 3 water storage tanks on the roof of the building. The project will implement a biodigester septic tank and infiltration well to route the black and grey water coming from the toilets, urinal, private handwashing station, and the external 10-faucet handwashing station.

The goal of this new bathroom system is to assist the students’ physiological development and well-being and overall improve hygiene in the school.

Semester Goals

In the Fall 2023 semester, our goals are:

• Determine Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) scope and testing plan
• Logistics and documentation for upcoming M&E trip
• Preparation for travel team (university required courses and forms, EWB-USA required preparation)

Photo Gallery