By Kaitlyn Nuebel

For the past two years, students attending the Monja Blanca School in Chisec, Guatemala, have learned a curriculum that extends beyond the classroom. They learned to live through a pandemic and two devastating, back-to-back hurricanes. These difficulties are in addition to the daily challenges they face as residents of one of Guatemala’s poorest regions.

Going forward, however, students’ lives will look vastly different. Last month, the product of Brother’s Brother Foundation’s grant to All Hands and Hearts came to fruition – wooden outhouses with cement toilets have now been replaced with safe and modern bathroom facilities equipped with running water.

In addition to making school a better learning environment, the WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) program implemented by BBF and AHAH will also increase school attendance. The project included a handwashing station as well as water collection and storage tanks which will keep children healthy by preventing water-borne illness and promoting cleanliness. The newly-installed bathrooms will also give girls the privacy they need to comfortably attend school during their menstrual cycles.

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Photo courtesy of All Hands and Hearts

A side-by-side comparison showing the difference between bathroom facilities at the Monja Blanca School | Photo courtesy of All Hands and Hearts

One of the private bathroom facilities at the Monja Blanca School provided by Brother Brother’s Foundation’s grant. | Photo courtesy of All Hands and Hearts

A plaque outside the Monja Blanca School in Chisec, Guatemala, recognizes Brother’s Brother Foundation for providing the school with working bathrooms and safe drinking water. | Photo courtesy of All Hands and Hearts