BASIC SANITATION FROM THE COUNTRY TO YOUR STREET: SCHOOL PROJECT IN THE CONTEXT OF URBAN PERIPHERY IN A MUNICIPALITY IN THE SERTÃO PARAIBANO

Abstract

Basic sanitation (BS) comprises a set of essential services that aim to ensure adequate public health conditions through the following pillars: drinking water supply, sanitary sewage, urban cleaning and solid waste management, and drainage and management of rainwater. In the spatial context of the urban periphery of Sousa, in the Paraíba Sertão, the importance of a school project arose that would engage with students' daily problems, with the aim of deepening their knowledge, raising environmental awareness, and fostering their proactiveness in demanding and suggesting proposals for structural improvements to BS services. Thus, the present article sought to present the results and discussions of the school project "Basic Sanitation: from the country to your street," carried out in a public school that serves the largest territorially settled gypsy community in Brazil. To this end, the methodologies adopted were bibliographic research, observations of field practices, and the collection of primary data through the application of a closed questionnaire. In this context, problems were found related to water distribution in the communities, waste collection, drainage of river water, and the risks of flooding in the Piranhas River. Additionally, as a result of the project, there was a change in students' interest regarding BS and environmental awareness.