New Toilets for School Children in Ukraine Village Stefanovska
MAMA-86 Odessa working with schools children and local authorities on hygiene and sanitation
22.05.2006 |Anne Barre
MAMA-86 has obtained support from French Fondation Ensemble, WECF and MAMA-86 Kiev to carry out sanitation improvement and water testing activities in Stefanovska village (see project description)
Theater performance and round table
The World Water Day on March 23 was celebrated with great importance in the village of Stepanovka, where MAMA-86 and WECF are conducting an eco-sanitation pilot project sponsored by Fondation Ensemble.
42 school children and their teachers presented in front of 300 people (local authorities, parents, teachers and school directors) a theater show, treating the topics of water and wastewater with humor and creativity. The scenario was written by Natalya Baranenko, our local project leader, who has just been elected mayor of the village council.
The round table, organized by MAMA-86 Odessa and the villagers of Stepanovka, was devoted to environmental education and water management.
Representatives of the Rozdelnaya district school department as well as 16 school directors from this district participated in the event.
Results of water tests conducted during February and March in Stepanovka were presented and the participants were shocked by the high levels of nitrate pollution in their drinking water.
Well-water monitoring program
A water monitoring program was developed by MAMA-86 in Stepanovka, after the results of a large public survey (486 interviews conducted in the fall of 2005) had shown that there was an urgent need to assess precisely the quality of the wells’ drinking water.
To start with: 9 samples of water were sent to WECF in Munich on Jan. 18 for analysis on nitrates, heavy metals and other pollution. 7 samples were found to be polluted by nitrate.
WECF and MAMA-86 decided to monitor all public and private wells in the 5 villages, involving the school pupils. A program was put together especially for the children, using express-tests for nitrate made by Merck: these are prepared paper sticks to use in water samples. Intensity of coloration reveals level of contamination.
Tests were conducted in the second half of March: among the 19 wells tested, only 4 showed nitrate levels acceptable for human consumption.
The water monitoring will be carried on, with 2 objectives:
- informing the population on the nitrate level for each well
- assessing seasonal variations of nitrate levels for each well (this can vary greatly depending on the level of water in the source, affected by rains).
More great news have to be reported from MAMA-86’ pilot project in Stepanovka, Odessa Oblast: Mrs Natalya Baranenko-Scherbina, who has been managing the waste water management and eco-sanitation project in Stepanovka was elected Mayor of the Village Council in April 2006. Two project volunteers from Stepanovka (Olga Chebanyuk and Svietlana Muntyan) were also elected as members of the Village’s Council.
These women were running for candidates because they wanted direct access to decision-making processes and democratic changes in Ukraine, promoting fair principles in the local governing.
Their successful election testifies that the villagers are very supportive of the actions lead by MAMA-86 and WECF in the village of Stepanovka.
Public school ecosan toilets:
MAMA-86 Odessa wiht support of Fondation Ensemble is building dry-urine diverting toilets for the school of Stefanovska. The school has 350 pupils coming from 5 nearby villages, and the current pit latrines are in a deplorable situation.
The official authorization for building the dry toilets has been obtained from the local authorities (sanitary epidemiological department, fire authority and electricity department), as well as the support from the village council.
The toilet design was realized by the waster water expert Stefan Deegener, from the Institute of Municipal and Industrial Wasterwater Management of the TUHH (Hamburg University of Technology)
Private household ecosan toilets
In order to promote eco-sanitation among the population through practical implementation, MAMA-86 decided to also install dry-urine diverting toilets in private households that willing to try ecosanitation.
The toilets are made of cement, with a special mould. They can be built inside or outside the house (in the courtyard, like most of the actual pit-latrines). The villagers contribute with materials and free labor, during a demonstration workshop, lead by Dipl. Ing. Stefan Deegener.
One such workshop is being prepared now, to be conducted mid-May in Stepanovka, for 2 private households.
Contact MAMA-86 Odessa
Svetlana Slesarenok: mama86od@farlep.net
Contact WECF
Anne Barre: anne.barre@wecf.org
