Location
Sraw Maw Village, Bos Mun Commune, Rom Doul District, Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia
Community Description
Sraw Maw is a very small village located approximately 12 km north-north-east of the district town, 24 km from the provincial town, and approximately 5 km from the Vietnam border.
The majority of families in the area are rice farmers. The rice is planted and harvested only once per year, unlike other areas of Cambodia which have enough water for two or three harvests per year.
Most families grow their rice for their families to eat throughout the year and find other sources to supplement their income, such as growing fruit trees and small vegetable gardens or raising chickens. The village has no access to electricity, but villagers who can afford it use small car batteries, which the district market can charge for them. This can power light bulbs for a few hours per night for about a week.
The village does not have a market but does have some shops in houses and huts along the road. Currently, it is planting and transplanting season, so many of the shops are closed. Other than the few shops, the vast majority of the commune and district is comprised of rice fields.
Hun Sen Sraw Maw Primary School serves the commune of Bos Mun. The most distant students have approximately 6 km to travel each day, usually by bicycle. The school currently educates 201 students from the ages of 6 to 12.
The school has 4 working classrooms and has a faculty of 4. The school director also serves as a teacher. Each teacher teaches 2 classes, one 4-hour class in the morning and one 4-hour class in the afternoon. The alternating students study either from 7 am to 11 am or 2 pm to 6 pm. During lunch, most students eat at home. Students study an average of 4 hours per day at the school, 6 days per week.
The school is located in one of the poorest communes in the district, so it is lacking in public funding that helps some of the other schools in the district. It currently has no well or bathroom.
Problem Addressed
The students currently have no access to water to drink or to wash their hands at school.
UNICEF has donated several water filters. However, as there is no well from which to obtain water, they are not being used.
Dehydration and unhygienic practices put the students at risk for many illnesses. Along with the many common illnesses, the students are at an increased risk of potentially dangerous gastrointestinal illnesses, such as giardia, due to the fact that they have no water with which to wash their hands after defecating.
Project Description
This project is to build a well at Hun Sen Sraw Maw Primary School. This will be used to increase the level of hygiene and hydration at the school, allowing the students to wash their hands and have ready access to drinking water during school hours.
The well will be built in the middle of the school grounds, in front of the working classrooms of the school. It will be no less than 40-meters deep to ensure access to quality water during the height of the dry season.
The well will have a concrete base and run-off basin and a 1-meter-deep cement protective liner.
A gas-powered pump will be used, as there is no access to electricity at the school. The well will also have a hand pump. The school has a gate and fence, but the gas pump will be locked and kept in the faculty office for added security when it is not in use.
The faculty and community members will purchase and lay much of the cement for the project. They will also participate in the drilling of the new well by carrying excess dirt and mud from the site and needed water to the site. All faculty and some students will be present throughout the construction of the well in case further assistance is required.
A private driller will do the drilling, as it requires skilled labor and the use of potentially dangerous equipment. The total value of the cement purchased by the community is approximately $50. The school director will take responsibility for the funds for the gas that will be used to power the well pump and the funds for future repairs.
Water Charity funds will be used to pay for the services provided by the driller and the gas used to power his equipment. Project funds will also be used to purchase the PVC pipe, some of the cement, and the gas-powered pump, as well as to purchase a hand pump and wellhead.
Upon completion of the well and prior to use, a sample of the well water will be sent to Phnom Penh to be tested in RDI laboratory to check for contaminants.
Project Impact
This project will benefit 201 students and 4 faculty members.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Christopher Donnelly
Comments
The well will provide adequate water for drinking, hygiene, and sanitation. It will then be necessary to educate the students on proper hygiene, followed by work toward the construction of a bathroom.
Christopher previously concluded the Doul Sala Primary School Well Project – Cambodia, the Wat Tmai Primary School Well Project – Cambodia and the Go Samut Kampong Chak Primary School Handwashing Station Project – Cambodia.
Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00
Donations Collected to Date
$555.00
Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project received $500.00 through the generosity of the Elmo Foundation and $55.00 from Girl Scout Troop 574 – Tallahassee, FL, Girl Scout Council of Florida Panhandle.
We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify the Peace Corps Volunteer of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by the PCV and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.