Toilets for Schools in Moldova

Watch House of Games and ego-man Richard Osman ? Question - Where is Kazakhstan?  A quiz, fun and who basically cares?

So, more vital to Rotary, to the needs of other countries less privileged than us, the next question:  Where is Moldova?

It is located between Rumania to the west, and Ukraine to the east.   While many in the United Kingdom may not know this, our club members are familiar with this country since March 2021 when we helped fund a project by the Rotary Club of Billericay Mayflower, led by (then) President Barry Howe to fund a toilet block in a school in Gradinata.

As we reported then, the charity TEECH was established in 1998 when a group of friends near Ipswich, Suffolk, took up the challenge to help repair two hospitals in Bucharest, Rumania.

Then in 2019, TEECH participated in a project to replace the exterior “hole-in-the-ground” toilet facilities with new toilets and bathrooms at a school in Baccealia.  Work was completed in August 2020.  In this project TEECH worked with the Mayor of Baccealia and local teams to ensure this work was done effectively and as quickly as possible.

Toilet Block … Not Blocked Toilets

Rotary Club of Billericay Mayflower president at the time, Barry Howe, went to Moldova at the turn of 2020, and following his report on his visit, his Rotary Club is replicating TEECH’s success as a Rotary project in Gradinita in the region of Căuşeni. Gradinita is about 42 miles (68 km) south-east of Chişinău, the country’s capital.

Around 100 pupils aged 6-16 attend the school in Gradinita where, as in Baccealia, there are no sanitary and hygienic facilities inside the school.

The existing bathrooms were old, rubbish-filled and completely out of service. The pupils use the outside toilets,simply holes in the ground, enclosed by brick walls with an asbestos roof. They are in the school yards and pupils have to go there through cold and mud.

It has been agreed that the local authorities (Mayor and School Director) will provide mains water and sewerage pipes inside the bathrooms and pay for the change of all windows and doors the rest of the building and decorating work.  All the plumbing, electrics and sanitary ware etc. is funded by Barry’s project.

Great Progress

What has happened so far? Sewage pipes have been connected, walls and floor prepared, walls plastered and floor surfaced, and the tiling of both has already started.

Apart from the improvements in general hygiene and sanitary conditions, pupils should develop healthy living habits and understand the health risks, if hygiene is not respected.  The pupils will have facilities to wash their hands, as a result, many diseases caused by unwashed hands will disappear and up to 80% of infectious diseases could be prevented.

Many generations of pupils will benefit from good sanitary conditions.

It is expected that work will be completed in late August before the children return from the summer vacation.  This will be in time for the winter term and a plaque recognising the contribution of all donors, including the Rotary Club of Billericay, will be installed.  

Congratulations to Mayflower on such a worthwhile project.