Proyecto Laguna Completes Construction in Seven Schools

Last week Proyecto Laguna completed construction of water tanks and latrine repairs in 7 schools. Thanks to the grant we received from Pangea, the technical direction from Living Earth Institute, and our hands on work every school in the Diria school district now has a water storage tank. This means that thousands of children now have access to water daily at school. Our initial plan to install tanks in 5 schools was expanded to 6 when costs were lower than expected. We were then able to expand to a 7th school. Last year we installed a water tank in the Monsignor school.
Along with installing tanks we installed hand-washing and mop-washing stations so that the children have a place to wash their hands and a separate place to wash the mop. It is our hope that the things the children learned during the water day celebrations will stay with them and they will wash their hands regularly and take care of the water system.
Along with the water tanks we also repaired latrines in several schools. In the El Arroyo #1 school we have bought the materials for a new latrine (the old one was almost full and the base was broken) and the parents are currently constructing it.
The parents, students, and teachers are very happy with this project and have committed to care for it and maintain it. We, at Proyecto Laguna, feel proud to have been able to help these communities and improve sanitation and health for these students.

Schools Celebrate World Water Day

Diria schools participated in World Water Day Celebrations this week and learned about care of water, the environment, and personal hygiene. As part of our work constructing water storage tanks and improving latrines with Living Earth Institute and Pangea it is important that we educate the children and community on the proper care of the tank, hygiene, and other related themes. As a result we took advantage of World Water Day, March 22nd, and had celebrations in the school.
The 4th, 5th, and 6th grade children participated in a presentation competition and gave presentations on care of the environment, personal hygiene, and care of school property. The younger children performed folkloric dances and participated in a variety of games and competitions. The schools were very organized and excited about this event.
It was a very fun and educational day, a day in which the results of the work we have done in these small rural communities was evident.

Construction of Water Storage Tanks Starts in Six Schools

Proyecto Laguna, working in conjunction with the Living Earth Institute, has started construction in six schools. Our initial plan was to install water storage tanks and repair latrines in 5 schools. Luckily, we were able to stretch the money to include six. This means that every school that is in the countryside of Diria will soon have a back-up source of water. Water is important for health and hygiene and having a storage tank will greatly benefit the students at these schools. We are also repairing latrines in these schools so that the children have a safe, private, place to use the bathroom.
Proyecto Laguna is also working with the parents at each school to help them raise money and put together a maintenance plan so that they can maintain this project independently. We are working in conjunction with the Ministry of Health to start classes in each school focusing on health and hygiene and proper use and care of water and latrines.

The Sta. Elena School has a Garage Sale

Last month the local delegate from the Ministry of Education approached us for help with a problem; at the Sta. Elena school the kindergarten and first grade were sharing a classroom and the children were distracting each other too much for the teachers to teach them. He asked if Proyecto Laguna would help them build a division in the classroom so that it could act as two separate classrooms.
Proyecto Laguna met with the parents and teachers and helped them set up a garage sale fundraiser. The parents and teachers were motivated and well organized. We provided them with donated clothing, toys and household goods and last weekend they sold these items to people in the community. They made over $100 and now have enough to build the much needed division.
We are very happy that we were able to help them and glad that they were able to take the initiative to hold the sale and raise the funds.
Proyecto Laguna would like to thank everyone who donated items to the garage sale. You have made a difference for the kindergartners and first graders in Sta. Elena.

850 Needy Children in Diria Receive Backpacks and School Supplies

The new school year in Nicaragua started on Tuesday and Proyecto Laguna has been hard at work getting together all of the school supplies and backpacks for the children.
Proyecto Laguna has distributed 850 backpacks, handmade by our seamstress group. All of our registered children received school supplies including pencils, notebooks, pens, erasers, pencils sharpeners, colored pencils, and more.
It has been great to watch the children walking down the street to school proudly carrying their backpacks.
Thank you to all of you who helped us help these children attend school and have a brighter future.

Proyecto Laguna to Install Water Tanks and Repair Latrines in 5 Schools

Proyecto Laguna has received a grant from Pangea (www.pangeagiving.org) to install water tanks and repair latrines at 5 schools in the Diria area. We are happy to be working with Pangea again this year.
Living Earth Institute (www.living-earth.org) will be providing the technical knowledge and we look forward their engineer, Alice Lancaster, coming down to visit in February.
Proyecto Laguna will be managing the construction and working with the parents and teachers to help them set up a fund for maintaining the project. Proyecto Laguna will also be providing health education classes in the school to educate the children on the importance of using the latrine facilities, hand washing, and other hygiene issues.
When this project is complete over 800 children will have improved access to water and sanitation.
We would like to thank both Pangea and the Living Earth Institute for their continued support of our work and for their efforts to help the children of Diria.

Happy new year and thank you to all of our donors

We hope you had a wonderful holiday season are having a happy new year.

With your help we were able to raise over $3000 through our calendar sales. This is enough money for us to ensure that over 800 children in Diriá, Nicaragua will receive the necessary school supplies to attend school in the 2009 school year.

We are very happy that we will be able to continue helping the children of this town and very thankful to you, our donors, for making our work possible.

Due to your generous donation each of the children enrolled in our program will receive a backpack filled with school supplies; notebooks, pens, pencils, rulers, crayons, pencil sharpeners, and more. Many children in Nicaragua are unable to attend school because their families cannot afford to buy them these basic items.

Your donation will also be used to keep our school nurse working in the schools providing basic medical care to the students.

Thank you for your generosity and caring.

We still have some calendars available if you weren't able to buy one before. Please contact us at contact@proyectolaguna.com if you'd like to order one...or more.