Project Launch:

Los Callejones is an impoverished neighborhood near the DR/Haiti border. The climate is hot year round, the terrain is flat, and the primary economic activity is rice farming, which produces a large amount of standing water and, consequently, large mosquito populations and high rates of waterborne illnesses. The region of Dajabon has seen cholera outbreaks in recent years, including 36 cases in 2012. A community diagnostic that included 90% of the population concluded that the number one problem in Los Callejones is the inadequate sanitation at the household-level and the contaminated gray water that pools between houses and provides a breeding ground for mosquitos and disease. This project will build sanitary latrines in 24 homes, provide community education on hygiene and sanitation, and improve gray water drainage infrastructure to reduce contamination, disease, and excessive breeding of mosquitoes.