NEW SANITATION FACILITY FOR PIGNON MIDDLE SCHOOL

Pignon Middle School students at their fundraiser

As students in the at MME held their fundraiser, across the ocean in Pignon, students at Pignon Middle School held their own event to raise money for their new sanitation facilities as well! Taking inspiration from their American friends, students sold food and other goods. They raised over $50!

Rough draft of new sanitation facility

This new facility is incredibly important to students at PMS. In 2023, students championed Haiti's first school WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) program, a community-led program dedicated to creating and managing a sustainable sanitation system in school. This includes hiring a janitor, setting up a handwashing station and drinking water station, and providing soap, toilet paper, and tampons. Before the program, students reported that bathrooms were dirty, lacking running water, toilet paper, and soap. Trash was strewn all over the floor as there were no trash cans, and there was a strong unpleasant smell. Many of the girls would miss school during their period due to these conditions. Wonderfully, conditions have improved since then, bathrooms now have toilet paper and trash cans, and the smell is gone. Despite this though, the bathrooms still lack many of the necessary features modern bathrooms should have.

Final draft of the facility

The new bathroom building will be equipped with running water, flush toilets, and a drinking fountain! The modern facility will significantly improve the general hygiene of PMS, allowing children to remain present and focused at school.