Children at Wayuu Primary School have big dreams. Some want to be doctors, nurses, and pilots. Others just want to do what they can to help their families out of poverty. Parents are eager to help their children succeed. Many have already contributed to help build more permanent classroom structures, and they agree that education will provide opportunities for their children that they never had.
For the 348 students who attend Wayuu, education is a daily challenge. Because there’s no safe water on school grounds, students have to fetch drinking water from a nearby river. The school does not have any bathrooms, so students and teachers must wait all day or use the fields surrounding the school. This makes it difficult for students to focus on their schoolwork and creates an unsanitary environment. There is no place to wash their hands and lessons on sanitation and hygiene are not currently taught. For teachers and students, this information simply isn’t widely available in the area. Students suffering from painful bouts of waterborne illnesses constantly pass them from one peer to another.
The implementing partner, Lifewater International, will send health experts to train teachers on life-saving hygiene and sanitation practices which the teachers will integrate into their curriculum. Lifewater’s construction team will get to work building long-lasting, drainable bathrooms and permanent handwashing stations attached to rainwater harvesting tanks.
