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Project

WASH for Batey Communities (phase 2)

Dominican Republic 560 beneficiaries Monte Plata
$5,500 needed (100%)
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The Dominican Republic is home to approximately 230 rural communities known as “bateyes” set up around state-run sugar mills, which once formed the economic backbone of this small Caribbean nation. The bateyes are socioeconomically isolated communities previously built by the government on sugar cane plantations to house cane cutters, mostly from neighboring Haiti. Today, both Haitians and their offspring and Dominicans live in the bateyes in extreme poverty with limited access to essential services, including clean drinking water—a fundamental human right. 
  • In the community of Las Yayas, including Primary School Las Yayas, where an underground water system was recently repaired with funding from H2O for Life (project phase #1), a concrete base now needs to be built to support a water tank to store water during electric blackouts in the community. 
  • On the outskirts of Los Guineos, including Primary School Los Guineos, there is an underground well that needs a submersible pump to supply the peripheral part of the community with water where the central water system does not reach.

The lack of access to clean drinking water sources in these communities has often forced families, especially children, to collect water from far away, contaminated rivers or streams for their daily consumption. According to parents and schoolteachers, the reasons for students' tardiness or absence in school are often caused by the time they must dedicate to collecting water for their families and/or due to intestinal diseases caused by consuming contaminated water. Additionally, the schools almost always use contaminated water from water trucks to clean the bathrooms and other areas. 
Project Proposal (Phase 2):
Batey Relief Alliance (BRA), our implementing partner, will dedicate 2 experienced community health promoters and 1 project coordinator to carry out culturally oriented activities geared towards providing clean drinking water access and preventive health education in the safe handling of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to schoolchildren and the community at large. The rehabilitation of the water systems will be carried out by local construction contractors using the local labor force. Beneficiary families will be encouraged to contribute a portion of their time to the projects by assisting with simple and non-expert construction tasks. 
BRA will also work with the existing “community organizing task force” made up of community health promoters and the community Water Committee to carry out training and workshops on the safe handling of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and the maintenance of the water systems. Members of the Water Committee will be charged with periodically monitoring the correct use, maintenance and management of the water systems. All activities will involve community health promoters, schoolteachers, parents and other interested members of the community. 
As added value to the clean water access of the project, BRA will provide families with complementary support in donations of nutritious food products, vitamin A, multivitamins and anti-worm medicines to fight water-borne infections and improve their health and well-being.

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