Rebuilding the Primary Schools Los Fogones and Picado de Luis
I. PROPOSAL SUMMARY
The purpose of this project is to provide hurricane relief and educational support to rural communities of Nagua, Dominican Republic, through the repair and improvement of two primary schools severely damaged when Hurricane Jeanne directly hit the east coast of the island on September 16, 2004. One school currently operates out of a crowded smaller building at a local church while the other has classes only when the sun is shining in area with much rainfall. The schools’ parents and staff are requesting $3,735 to replace 2 lost roofs, replace wooden walls with block in one school, and to make needed educational improvements in both schools through the purchase of desks, building bookshelves and storage cabinets, and repairing latrines. The community’s in-kind and cash contribution will be in the amount of $2,317. The communities have requested help from the national Secretary of Education to no avail.
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Six impoverished rural communities of coconut and cocoa farmers are served by two primary schools that were neither well equipped, nor in good shape, prior to Hurricane Jeanne. Escuela Basica de Los Fogones serves 22 students in Grades 1-3 from the communities of Los Fogones, La Jagua y Alto while Escuela Basica El Picado de Luis serves 43 students in Grades 1-6 in separate morning and afternoon sessions from El Picado de Luis, Los Fogones, and Los Colmenes.
The Los Fogones school lost a significant part of its roof, yet continues to be used for classes because no other nearby space is available. Students are sent home when it rains and it rains a lot here in the Northeast. The El Picado School is operating in a very small lightly clad wooden outbuilding of the Catholic church. While the repair of these two schools is the responsibility of the national Secretary of Education, due to a lack of resources, they have not committed any resources. The government does very little to provide basic services like schools, water, electricity. Neither school has electricity and many major dirt roads in these poor communities. can only be used by horses and mules because the bridges have been wiped out by the storm. Both communities appealed to their municipality of Nagua and the Secretary of Education for financial help to no avail. The schools have not been repaired by the coimmunity for lack of resources. If they had made make-shift repairs with old tarps or palm leaves, they would have been even less likely to get help from the town of Nagua or the state.
III. PARTNERSHIP GUIDELINES
1. Community Initiated and Directed
The damages to the two schools have affected nearly every resident in the communities—every household has a son, a daughter, a cousin or a friend in the school system. Each school has a very strong Parents and Friends of the School Committee and community support among other parents and adults is high. The schools’ directors are eager to get the schools fully-functioning again and are strongly committed to the following actions:
The community will:
· Volunteer the man-power required to reconstruct roofs, install windows, connect the electricity, and paint the damaged classrooms.
· Provide food for the work crews.
· Make some of the boards necessary for construction.
· Provide transport of all materials from Nagua.
The repairs will be co-managed by coodinators of the Parents and Friends of the School - Leo Cadia of the Los Fogones School and Julio Alfonso Colcano of the El Picado de Luis School and Peace Corps Volunteer, Joe Blotnick.
2. Community Need
Families in the communities are suffering from Hurricane Jeanne which wiped out their staple food supply of platano and yuca for months. They also lost 80% of their cocoa crop this fall and 40% of the coconut crop, both major sources of income. All of this on top of severe inflation over the past two years have left several families unable to repair even their own roofs. The Parents and Friends of the School committees consider the repair of the schools an urgent situation because students are losing valuable class time and the quality of education has suffered due to the poor learning environment. Students and staff morale has been affected by the situation.
Short-Term Goals
1) Re-construct 2 schools (replace roofs, replace a wooden frame with a block one in one school, replace windows, rebuild latrines and paint) so that the elementary schools are functioning at their full capacity.
2) Supply 40 new desk sets, bookshelves and cabinets so that every student has a chair to sit on, a desk to write on, there is a safe storage space for books.
Long-Term Goals
1) Quality of education will increase.
2) The Los Fogones school will expand its usefulness as a community learning center with the ability to have evening adult classes and community meetings for the first time - by providing an electical hook-up with nearly 2 kilometers of wire.
3) Set the stage to acquiring a computer and information technology with the new electrical supply.
3. Project Implementation
Political Situation: The project will involve cooperation among all political groups.
In-Country Means of Support: The national Secretary of Education has offered no support claiming lack of resources.
Resources and Time: Repairs should not take more than 4 weeks, given that all supplies are available in Nagua, and given that all manual labor will be provided by community members.
Sustainability: If built securely and maintained adequately, the schools should serve as educational centers for many years. With the repairs, the community will once again take pride in its schools and contribute to their maintenance.
One primary school lost its entire roof. The other is a very old wood structure which they wish to rebuild with cement block.
Students share the few desks in a flimsy outbuilding of the local Catholic Church.
The purpose of this project is to provide hurricane relief and educational support to rural communities of Nagua, Dominican Republic, through the repair and improvement of two primary schools severely damaged when Hurricane Jeanne directly hit the east coast of the island on September 16, 2004. One school currently operates out of a crowded smaller building at a local church while the other has classes only when the sun is shining in area with much rainfall. The schools’ parents and staff are requesting $3,735 to replace 2 lost roofs, replace wooden walls with block in one school, and to make needed educational improvements in both schools through the purchase of desks, building bookshelves and storage cabinets, and repairing latrines. The community’s in-kind and cash contribution will be in the amount of $2,317. The communities have requested help from the national Secretary of Education to no avail.
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Six impoverished rural communities of coconut and cocoa farmers are served by two primary schools that were neither well equipped, nor in good shape, prior to Hurricane Jeanne. Escuela Basica de Los Fogones serves 22 students in Grades 1-3 from the communities of Los Fogones, La Jagua y Alto while Escuela Basica El Picado de Luis serves 43 students in Grades 1-6 in separate morning and afternoon sessions from El Picado de Luis, Los Fogones, and Los Colmenes.
The Los Fogones school lost a significant part of its roof, yet continues to be used for classes because no other nearby space is available. Students are sent home when it rains and it rains a lot here in the Northeast. The El Picado School is operating in a very small lightly clad wooden outbuilding of the Catholic church. While the repair of these two schools is the responsibility of the national Secretary of Education, due to a lack of resources, they have not committed any resources. The government does very little to provide basic services like schools, water, electricity. Neither school has electricity and many major dirt roads in these poor communities. can only be used by horses and mules because the bridges have been wiped out by the storm. Both communities appealed to their municipality of Nagua and the Secretary of Education for financial help to no avail. The schools have not been repaired by the coimmunity for lack of resources. If they had made make-shift repairs with old tarps or palm leaves, they would have been even less likely to get help from the town of Nagua or the state.
III. PARTNERSHIP GUIDELINES
1. Community Initiated and Directed
The damages to the two schools have affected nearly every resident in the communities—every household has a son, a daughter, a cousin or a friend in the school system. Each school has a very strong Parents and Friends of the School Committee and community support among other parents and adults is high. The schools’ directors are eager to get the schools fully-functioning again and are strongly committed to the following actions:
The community will:
· Volunteer the man-power required to reconstruct roofs, install windows, connect the electricity, and paint the damaged classrooms.
· Provide food for the work crews.
· Make some of the boards necessary for construction.
· Provide transport of all materials from Nagua.
The repairs will be co-managed by coodinators of the Parents and Friends of the School - Leo Cadia of the Los Fogones School and Julio Alfonso Colcano of the El Picado de Luis School and Peace Corps Volunteer, Joe Blotnick.
2. Community Need
Families in the communities are suffering from Hurricane Jeanne which wiped out their staple food supply of platano and yuca for months. They also lost 80% of their cocoa crop this fall and 40% of the coconut crop, both major sources of income. All of this on top of severe inflation over the past two years have left several families unable to repair even their own roofs. The Parents and Friends of the School committees consider the repair of the schools an urgent situation because students are losing valuable class time and the quality of education has suffered due to the poor learning environment. Students and staff morale has been affected by the situation.
Short-Term Goals
1) Re-construct 2 schools (replace roofs, replace a wooden frame with a block one in one school, replace windows, rebuild latrines and paint) so that the elementary schools are functioning at their full capacity.
2) Supply 40 new desk sets, bookshelves and cabinets so that every student has a chair to sit on, a desk to write on, there is a safe storage space for books.
Long-Term Goals
1) Quality of education will increase.
2) The Los Fogones school will expand its usefulness as a community learning center with the ability to have evening adult classes and community meetings for the first time - by providing an electical hook-up with nearly 2 kilometers of wire.
3) Set the stage to acquiring a computer and information technology with the new electrical supply.
3. Project Implementation
Political Situation: The project will involve cooperation among all political groups.
In-Country Means of Support: The national Secretary of Education has offered no support claiming lack of resources.
Resources and Time: Repairs should not take more than 4 weeks, given that all supplies are available in Nagua, and given that all manual labor will be provided by community members.
Sustainability: If built securely and maintained adequately, the schools should serve as educational centers for many years. With the repairs, the community will once again take pride in its schools and contribute to their maintenance.
One primary school lost its entire roof. The other is a very old wood structure which they wish to rebuild with cement block.
Students share the few desks in a flimsy outbuilding of the local Catholic Church.
