Sanitation facilities

The Need

Good hygiene habits and access to proper sanitation are essential to children’s well-being, offering them dignity and privacy and providing important protection from illness. But in Ecuador, many of the communities where Compassion serves are desperately under-resourced, and children are growing up without the basic services they need to thrive. In fact, 40 per cent of rural communities in Ecuador live below the poverty line. Children lack access to proper health care, running water and adequate sanitation, putting them at constant risk of disease and infection.

In Macas and Huambi, communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle, two Compassion church partners have been faithfully serving children and families for a respective 34 and 15 years. Their greatest challenge has been to create safe sanitary zones for children, as community members face constant exposure to hygiene-related diseases as well as mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria and dengue. At both churches, run-down washroom facilities—used regularly by hundreds of children and their family members—lacked proper floors or finished walls and could not be cleaned or disinfected properly. The dire conditions were contributing to recurrent illnesses among children, causing them to miss out on the transformative education and care they are offered at their Compassion centres. After the pandemic struck and Ecuador’s health care system completely imploded, church staff became even more concerned. Health centres would not be able to treat children ill from poor hygiene and sanitation and without proper sanitary facilities, and they simply could not maintain adequate health and safety protocols to protect children and their families from COVID-19.

Poor sanitation and hygiene have a long-term impact on children’s well-being and hampers their ability to break free from poverty in the future. Recognizing that the pandemic would continue to amplify existing threats to children’s health and safety, our partners quickly mobilized whatever local resources they could to construct new washroom facilities. But despite being bolstered by enthusiastic support from community members and local leaders, both churches quickly ran out of funds. In order to complete this important, life-saving project, they needed help.

Our Response

Our church partners in Macas and Huambi, Ecuador, are so grateful for your generous support, which has made it possible for them to complete the construction of new washroom facilities. The church in Huambi hired a technical advisor to draw up construction plans and both churches worked with local authorities throughout the construction process. Supervisors were appointed to oversee construction and ensure that all safety protocols were observed.

In Macas, construction crews had to work around very wet, rainy weather. They began work in October 2021 and—by making the best use of dry days—completed all construction including finishings, painting and signage by January 2022. The new facility in Macas includes six toilets, five sinks, three urinals and two showers and is serving 410 children and their families.

In Huambi, the land needed to be weeded and leveled before construction could begin. Due to the pandemic, the price of construction materials rose beyond what was initially budgeted for this project. Thankfully, sand and stones were both donated, and the church was able to secure some volunteer workers to offset the rise in costs. Another setback was that the builder fell ill, which halted the project for two weeks. Thankfully, workers were able to make up for the lost time when he recovered. After final plans were approved in October 2021, land preparation and initial construction began in November. The facility was completed by March 2022. It includes four bathrooms, four sinks, one shower room and a laundry area and is serving 340 children and their family members.

The new facilities are sturdily constructed with reinforced concrete, bricks and a metal roof. The toilet blocks have plastered walls and ceramic tile floors. They have been connected to electrical services and hydro-sanitary services (sewage and rainwater). Wooden windows and doors ensure proper ventilation and privacy, and the facilities include dispensers for paper hand towels and hand sanitizer. In Huambi, external lighting and surveillance cameras were also installed.

Both churches facilitated workshops for caregivers to instruct them on good hygiene habits as well as the proper use, care and maintenance of the facilities. The workshops were well-attended, with 80 per cent of caregivers attending in Huambi and 100 per cent attending in Macas.

Activities

Land preparation: The land was weeded, leveled and excavated to prepare for construction.

Laying the foundation: Volunteer labourers helped mix, transport and spread concrete. Limited access for machinery meant that the concrete mixture needed to be brought in by wheelbarrow.

Construction: Buildings were constructed using reinforced concrete and bricks. A metal roof was installed, as well as doors and windows. Youth from the church and parents and community members contributed their labour. Toilets, sinks, urinals and showers were installed.

Finishing: The facilities were tiled, plastered and painted. Electrical wiring was installed, as well as mirrors, signage and dispensers for paper hand towels and hand sanitizer.

Your Gift Provides...

Your gift financed the construction of sanitation facilities for two church partners in the Amazon jungle in Ecuador:

• EC0227 (Macas) built 6 toilets, 5 sinks, 3 urinals and 2 showers to serve 410 children and EC0228 (Huambi) built 4 toilets, 4 sinks, 1 shower and 1 laundry area to serve 340 children:
o Preliminary design
o Concrete structure, foundation, columns and flooring
o Masonry and plastering of walls and finishes
o Metal roof and doors
o Hydro-sanitary installations (sewage, rainwater)
o Toilets and sinks
o Paper towels and hand sanitizer dispensers
o Electrical installations and lighting
o Signage and hygiene training