PROJECT NAME: La Quebradita School Construction
PROJECT SUMMARY: La Quebradita is an extremely poor small community made by around 45 families and 250 inhabitants. It is located 18 miles away from Tipitapa, Managua. People there have no access to public services, like water, electricity and sanitation. All the houses are poorly built out of plastic, zinc, tarps and wood. However, they have a school with two teachers and 30 students. Although the initial enrollment was 44 students, a lot of students left the school during the year for different reasons, including lack of motivation due to the poor conditions of the school infrastructure. Classes are given inside a 40 feet cargo container, which is hot and extremely narrow to allow different type of activities required for quality education. This project consists of constructing a 10×6 meter building made with a concrete foundation and floor; metal structure covered with dry wall and cement dry wall panels, and a roof made of zinc supported by steel purlins. A dry wall partition will divide the space in two areas for two groups of students. The construction of a latrine is also included in the project. With new, decent and improved infrastructure, we expect an increase in enrollment (up to 50 children), better school retention; improved attendance and a lot better student performance in general.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
The Global Uplift Project (TGUP)
The Community School Construction Committee
PROJECT DATES: January – April 2021
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY AND PROJECT:
La Quebradita is a small rural community made of 46 houses with roughly 250 inhabitants. It is located 18 miles away from Tipitapa, Managua. Despite the fact that the community was established 54 years ago, people live in extremely poor conditions, in huts made of wood, tarp, plastic and zinc. The community is located along a rice irrigation drainage channel full of pesticide-polluted water; however, people use it for washing and even showering. The community lacks electricity and potable water services and people need to walk one mile to fetch water for drinking. A few latrines are shared by families and some release themselves in the open. Most people work as laborers in rice fields around the community, but this source of employment is seasonal. When they do not have work in the rice fields, they look for informal jobs in the neighboring towns like Tipitapa or Malacatoya.
There is a small school with 44 pre-school and elementary school students, and two teachers paid by the government. However, the school building is just a single 40 feet metal cargo container, which was donated by an NGO some years ago. The space is very small for the number of students and very inconvenient as it is very narrow, limiting movement and making it difficult for students to access materials (including the whiteboard) located in the extremes. It is hot, and may be unsafe as the paint is peeling off. There is a single open space for the two teachers, which makes the classrooms too noisy and distracting for students. Food for a school meal program is also stored in the same space, which attracts rats and other pests, which could eventually affect student’s health and safety. During the development of this proposal, SOL staff found out that there are around 15 school age students that are not attending school due to lack of motivation caused by the poor condition of the school infrastructure.
The project will build a 6 x 10 meter building made with a concrete foundation, floor and structure, cinder block walls, and metal/zinc roof. Windows will be protected by metal square pipes and doors will be made of metal and wood. This space will be divided into two rooms by a drywall made wall so the two teachers will be in separate classrooms. This will allow a lot more comfortable space for having more dynamic classes. Two latrines will also be built. For the construction of the school, some land preparation will be required, including a retaining wall and leveling the land with quarries materials. The quarries will be provided by rice farmers near the community. We expect as a result, an increase in school enrollment and attendance, as well as better performance by students. Consistent with SOL’s model, the school would be mostly built with community participation, just led by a professional builder, which will improve the community organization and their self-esteem to look for other projects that improve their living conditions, like safe water provision, sanitation and electricity. The school space may also be used for other purposes, like community meetings, adult education, vocational training and even the provision of health care by government health staff. An additional project for the school would be a water well, which will not only benefit the children, but also the whole community. The school will be built in community land for the community and therefore no coordination with the Ministry of Education is necessary. The community will hand the building over to the government for the school operation.
ANTICIPATED BENEFITS:
PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES:
50 preschool and elementary school children
2 teachers
250 community members
IMPACT METRICS:
SUMMARY AND EVALUATION
This is a high priority project based on the following facts: