Because the bush isn't good enough

The below excerpt was taken from the Peace Corps website and is the description for a latrine project Marc and I are working on together (actually, he has done a large majority of the leg work but has extra money so is kindly giving it to my village for the same project). Actually, the greater Kaolack region PCVs are also working on a latrine project, which I am part of as well, in order to get latrines in every compound in my village.

Latrine Construction

This proposal requests the sum of $1,758.96 for the construction of 47 latrines in two Senegalese villages. Lacking access to basic sanitation, residents have no choice but to relieve themselves directly on the ground just outside the village proper. This increases the rates of diarrhea and other diseases in the villages. Furthermore, dangerous items are discarded carelessly due to the lack of a proper place to dispose of them, ending up in the hands of young children and babies.

In coordination with Peace Corps, the villages have developed Community Action Plans that have identified the construction of latrines as a necessary means to achieving their goal of improving village health and overall sanitation. However, they lack the means to accomplish this on their own. The communities have pledged to contribute a considerable amount of labor and materials comprising 15% of the total project cost as well as a 10% cash contribution. They need your help—please assist them in making their communities a better place to live.

On the PC website, you can actually find links to a bunch of projects in Senegal and around the world. [It's part of Peace Corps Partnership funding, that allows friends and family in the States to donate to projects we are working on as PCVs.] We already had funding, or I would have posted the link. In the future (next fall?), I may try and raise money for a well covering project to my village, but I have a lot of other projects in the mean time.