Another brand-new ecosan school toilet in Ukraine
The second ecosan school toilet has been constructed and opened for use in Ukraine (village of Bobryk, Chernigiv oblast) in the framework of the project “Cooperation for Sustainable Rural Development”
05.10.2006 |Solomiya Babyak
Traditionally every September, 1 all schools in Ukraine celebrate the beginning of the school year. The secondary school in the village of Bobryk, Nizhyn rayon, Chernigiv oblast, Ukraine, however, had a double celebration as the traditional ceremony of the beginning of the school year has been followed by the Opening Ceremony of a brand-new ecosan school toilet.
The construction of the school dry-urine diverting (ecosan) toilet and a hand washing basin has been conducted in the framework of the project “Cooperation for Sustainable Rural Development in Ukraine” which is held by partner organizations Mama-86, a Ukrainian national environmental NGO, and WECF. The project is funded by the Ministry of the International Affairs of the Netherlands, MATRA program.
On September, 1, 2006 the faces of the school teachers and the pupils were illuminated with joy and happiness. “We cannot believe that our small school with only 35 children and 15 teachers got such a nice, new and warm toilet” said Valentyna Fedorivna, the primary school teacher. “For many years our inhabitants felt that Bobryk became a forgotten by God, the government and people village. The construction of the new ecosan toilet at school gave all of us a hope for future”.
The worker of the medical centre also expressed her gratitude to the project partners: “I am very grateful for this present for the school. My son studies here and from now on I will not worry that despite rain, wind or snow he has to run far outside the school in order to visit a toilet. However, this toilet is far more important for all schoolgirls, as girls and women are more vulnerable to cold and bad sanitation conditions”.
“We are very happy with our new school toilet. It is so beautiful and we also can wash our hands!” said Alina and Olena, the students of the 8th form.
The representatives of Nizhyn rayon administration and of the Sanitation and Epidemiological Station admitted that ecosan toilets are a real and a good solution for schools in rural areas. It was believed that there are no alternatives to pit-latrines in the areas without central water supply systems. “If there would be an ecosan toilet in each rural school, the sanitation and hygiene conditions will be significantly improved’, stated the vice-head of Nizhyn rayon administration Mykola Poleshko.
In our turn, we believe that ecosan toilets are the solutions for future. They do not only help to improve the sanitation and hygiene conditions but also reduce human impact on the environment. With the help of ecosan toilets it is possible to protect groundwater, the major source of drinking water in rural areas. At the same time the products of ecosan toilets can be reused in agriculture and thus can substitute the use of chemical fertilizers.
WECF express our gratitude to our partner, Mama-86-Nizhyn, who did everything possible to break the bureaucratic barriers for introduction of ecosan toilets in Nizhyn rayon and was a supervisor of the ecosan toilet construction; to the construction company who besides the construction gave a charitable input with the building materials; and to all inhabitants of the village of Bobryk, including schoolchildren, who were eager to help during the construction.
Contact Mama-86-Nizhyn:
Valentyna Shchokina: mama-86-nizhin@epsilon.com.ua
Contact WECF:
Margriet Samwel: margriet.samwel@wecf.org
Annemarie Mohr: annemarie.mohr@wecf.org
Solomiya Babyak: solomiya.babyak@wecf.org
