Girls’ bathrooms
With SiVola, we completed our first major project: a building connected to the dormitory, with running water, toilets, showers and washbasins. A simple project with a profound impact.
01 / Location
Nechishala Secondary School, Hwange District, Zimbabwe.02 / Purpose
Affordable, effective facilities that give girls in the dormitory safe access to hygiene.03 / Approach
A practical structure built by the community, for the community, and designed to be replicated.The project story
01
The problem
The school latrines are 200 metres from the girls’ dormitory. At night, the walk in complete darkness is dangerous—not because of savannah animals, but because of men from the village. One in three girls was leaving school early due to unwanted pregnancies.
02
Community support
Projects do not begin with our wishes; they emerge from conversations with the community. Together with community leaders and local partners, we define the project and share its costs. The community’s contribution is usually smaller and includes volunteer labour, locally made bricks and sand gathered near the site.
03
Where we started
When we took on the project, girls still had to walk from the dormitory to the latrines. For safety, a respected older woman from the community accompanied them at night; on average, she was woken 20 times during a shift. To wash, the girls used a simple bathing structure and buckets of water.
04
What changed
No one needs to wake up for that walk anymore: a door now connects the bathrooms to the dormitory corridor. The girls can take a shower, every toilet has a flush, and the washbasins were designed to be used for laundry too.
The resources
Budget
Target
€10,000Currently funded100%