Bathroom Restoration

Bathroom Restoration

Date: 18 Jan, 2017  No Comments

We returned to Duncans over Christmas break with a goal to restore the restrooms to working order for the children. Our first day at the school was planned as an evaluation visit to sort out what work actually needed to be completed. We were joined by several managers from Malia Braco Village Resort. Fortunately for One Love, they have partnered with us and this has made our goals much more achievable.

The restrooms were virtually unusable! Among the many problems were poor lighting, rat feces everywhere, broken or missing toilets, concrete urinal trough, dirty standing water from leaky plumbing and missing faucets.

We spent the next four days working non-stop to make all repairs. In a remarkable team effort by any standard much less by Jamaican standard, our crew began to transform the facility. Some of the guys focused on the paint while others laid tile for the urinal and the new showers. Toilets were replaced and faucets were added. We also added new electrical and proper lighting. We realized that the water source for flushing was a gravity feed system that was inadequate for the proper flushing of a toilet. We purchased and installed a water pump to ensure a proper volume of water was being utilized.

Surrounding the building we found the source of the rodent problem. Garbage was everywhere. Old freezers, washing machines, broken desks and chairs, a sink, etc were strewn about, all partially hidden under an overgrowth of grass. We brought in a dump truck and began clearing everything out. By the end of the day we had completely filled the truck and cut the grass down. No place for the rodents to hide now!

The first day of school was finally upon us and the children gathered for their morning devotional. When it was my turn to speak I began to build the story of what we were up to all week. When I finally told them they had brand new bathrooms to use there was a disbelieving pause followed by waiving arms and cheers beyond anything I would have imagined. What was a facility they refused to enter or use was now a place we had trouble getting them to leave! One of the teachers whispered into my ear that this facility was probably nicer than any they have ever been in, including the bathrooms in their own homes…

Job very well done One Love!

Click to See Our Before Photos:

Click to See Our After Photos: