GMEF has been working with the Ministry of Health’s Department of Environmental Health in Tupiza to provide clean running water and proper toilets to small, very rural areas in the region. These areas of Bolivia have very high rates of infant and child mortality (4/1000 in the US as compared to 60/1000 in these areas) due to a lack of clean water and sanitation. Babies and children who consume water contaminated with human feces develop chronic diarrhea which in turn leads to malnutrition, anemia and susceptibility to secondary infections leading to a higher risk of death.
In May 2015, the GMEF team travelled many hours via dirt mountain roads to the towns of Tapaxa and Rio Blanco to celebrate the completion of (57 and 37 respectively) family bathroom projects. GMEF and the Ministry provided the materials and technical support to the families of each community, but the families themselves spent many weeks and months laboring on their bathrooms. This buy-in ensures sustainability beyond the GMEF project as the community members are empowered by their physical contribution and the knowledge of how their bathrooms operate.
Each cement block bathroom structure GMEF helps to construct has water-fed porcelain toilets that feed into individually dug septic pits with small sinks for hand sanitation. Often, a small shower was part of the structure. Obviously, this system requires that the local water system be completed, so the promise of sanitation was often the incentive the communities needed to finish their water system.
The bathroom project ribbon cutting events in May of 2015 marked the completion of bathrooms in the communities of Tapaxa and Rio Blanco. This was a big event for these communities! In Tapaxa, the men, women and children all participated in the event. Children from the local school band played music; multiple speeches were given by the local leaders and municipal Ministry project coordinators; and the woman of the community prepared a multi-course feast for all to enjoy. The time and energy put into these celebrations is indicative of how appreciative the people of these communities are for the resources GMEF has given them. GMEF provided the resources, support and materials to build basic bathrooms and to have access to basic health and sanitation for their community.
While in Tapaxa for the bathroom project ribbon cutting event in May 2015, GMEF identified a potential new bathroom project at the local school. 80 children aged 5-18 attend classes here, and currently students use 4 adobe pit toilets. The government built these bathrooms for the school, but they are no longer functional and have needed repairs for a number of years. GMEF plans to work with the Ministry to determine what is needed to repair these bathrooms.
