Building Baños

Building a bathroom for (and with) a family in the community is a satisfying, 6-day project for work-groups interested in supporting health and hygiene.

As our HCA volunteers work with the children of El Porvenir, we have noticed that many families lack the basic resources to raise their children in a sanitary, healthy environment. Although our primary focus is on working with children in an educational setting, we feel inspired to address some of the underlying factors that contribute to health issues, in hopes of improving the lives of our students and their families.
Throughout the world, there are 2.6 billion people who do not have access to any form of proper sanitation. That means no bathroom, no shower, and no way to effectively dispose of their waste or maintain appropriate hygiene.
For those of us who are fortunate enough to have access to these basic necessities, we shower in clean bathrooms, flush our toilets, and never think twice about it. This is not the case in El Porvenir, where many families have no form of a bathroom or shower and the ones that do, often have crumbling, unsanitary structures that become hot-spots for diseases and sickness.

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The children who live in these situations are the most affected by the environmental contamination that comes with the lack of proper sanitation and facilities. They are constantly at risk for stomach and intestinal diseases, parasites, malnutrition, and many skin diseases that are a result of bathing themselves in contaminated water sources.

It is vitally important for the families who benefit to be involved in the complete planning and building process so that the end result fully meets their specific needs.

With the goal of helping families to better their lives, we aim to provide resources and the means to do so. Many residents of El Porvenir (including members of families who previously received bathrooms) are willing volunteers to help with the baños because these projects help to build a stronger, healthier community. The people of El Porvenir have been able to see the positive impacts that previous projects have had on their community, and we will continually collaborate with them to build more projects and provide families with the means to live healthier lives.

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These construction projects are a great way to reach out even further into the community.

For 'Building Baños', we generally build out-house style structures that include a septic tank, toilets, showers, sinks, and walls. They are designed to require minimal maintenance so that they will benefit the families for a longer period of time. Children learn about health and hygiene in our PEP+ programs and these construction projects are a great way to reach out even further into the community to provide families with the simple necessities that many of us take for granted. 

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Please contact us if you're interested in sponsoring, fundraising for, or constructing a baño! The complete cost for materials is about $1500 USD.