Physical Health Cambodia Project #32418

Clean Water for 500 Families in Cambodia

by Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation

Project Report | May 29, 2019
How a BioSand Water Filter Increased Agriculture

By Mandy Qua | CWEF Volunteer

Um Ron and his wife on their farm

Ron lives in Veal Pring village with his wife Rorn. They have 6 kids—some work in Phnom Penh and others work in a different province. Their youngest child, who is currently 12 years old, was born blind and has been attending the Krousar Thmey Foundation for Blind children in Phnom Penh. Ron has been working as a volunteer with CWEF since 2008 during the Water Well project in their community. His wife, Rorn, is a very faithful woman who serves in the church and loves spending time sharing the gospel with her neighbors.

Besides farming and volunteering, Ron and his family bought a small plot of land in 2016 to grow vegetables. It is a small-scale farm that just supplies food for his family since they do not have enough time and the energy to expand and take care of it.

He shared: “When we take water from our well, sometimes we boil it before we drink it. Other times, we just drink it directly. We often get stomach aches and diarrhea, which does not give us enough energy to do other things.”

Through this project, Ron and his wife were able to install a BioSand Water filter in their home in 2017.

When we conducted a follow-up visit, Ron said “After we started using the BioSand Water Filter, we started getting sick less often and now have more energy and time to take care of our farm.”

By motorcycle, their farm is 5 minutes away and they have expanded their business by buying surrounding land and growing varieties of organic vegetables such as cucumbers, pumpkins, corn, beans, and more! They are very happy and thankful to CWEF for this BioSand Water Filter project since it has brought them easier access to clean water.

Looking into the future, we hope to reach even more families in Um Ron’s community with the precious and transformative gift of clean water. Please consider another generous donation today: $100 provides clean water for an entire family.

In addition to the Biosand Water Filters, CWEF trains families in proper maintenance of their filter, along with education on proper sanitation and hygiene, and its effect on disease prevention and overall health. With proper care and maintenance, each water filter can provide a family with clean water for more than 20 years.

Um Ron and his wife with their BioSand Filter

Their second daughter in law helping with the farm

Outside their home

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Mar 5, 2019
Solang's Story

By Mandy Qua | CWEF Volunteer

Solang with her BioSand Water Filter

Solang, who is 44 years old, lives in Veal Pring village in Kampong Thom province of central Cambodia. Here, she stays with her second husband, Chamroen, who is 36. During her first marriage, she had three children who are now all married and have their own homes. Now, Solang also lives with a three-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.

Other than farming, Solang’s husband goes fishing every evening in order to support his family. During the cassava season, he works for the Vietnam Cassava Plantation Company, located 100 kilometers away from his home. As a result, he is only able to visit his family every two to three weeks. While Chamroen is out working, Solang has to get up at 4 am every day in order to cook pork porridge and Cambodian noodle soup to sell in the mornings.

Solang lives alone with her two kids while her husband is out working during the cassava season. During this time, she used to have to go to her neighbor’s well in order to get water for her family for cooking vegetables and to drink. Solang often did not boil the water before she and her children drank it because it was more convenient for them. She said “The water is transparent, so I thought it would be safe to consume. We are all especially tired, and boiling the water takes up more time. However, my family and especially my kids often got sick from diarrhea and other diseases.”

Now, Solang is relieved of these burdens. Since then, she has dug her own well in 2015 and received a BioSand Water Filter from CWEF in early 2017. This made Solang very happy since her family now has easier access to safe drinking water. Through the BioSand Water Filter that CWEF was able to provide for Solang and her family, she can now dedicate more time and energy to her various jobs—growing vegetables, breeding poultry, and taking care of her children. Solang is very grateful to CWEF and hopes that this project continues to receive support in order for others to gain easier access to safe drinking water and live healthier lives with greater hope for their futures.

Looking into the future, we hope to reach even more families in Solang’s community with the precious and transformative gift of clean water. Please consider another generous donation today: $100 provides clean water for an entire family.

In addition to the Biosand Water Filters, CWEF trains families in proper maintenance of their filter, along with education on proper sanitation and hygiene, and its effect on disease prevention and overall health. With proper care and maintenance, each water filter can provide a family with clean water for more than 20 years.

Solang and her two children

Solang and her poultry

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Dec 10, 2018
Meet Pastor Koy Thea

By Joshua Lange | Executive Director

Koy Thea with Sokra and CWEF team members

CWEF’s trusted local partner for the Cambodia BioSand Water Filter project is Pastor Koy Thea, along with members of the congregation he serves, Veal Pring Christian Church.

Pastor Koy Thea was born in 1971 and grew up in the Veal Pring neighborhood. His childhood got off to a tragic start: he was orphaned as a 3-year-old. A generous local woman adopted him, and he went on to complete his secondary education in 1987. Since that time, he has been serving the community as a teacher, and now headmaster, of the school he graduated from – Kampong Taben Primary School. He is married to Sokra and together they have four children.

Koy Thea shared with us that health was always an issue for his and other families in the community:

“My family and the people in my neighborhood often got sick by using dirty water. Diarrhea, cholera and poor nutrition were common problems.”

In 2005, Koy Thea also began serving as the pastor of the church in Veal Pring, and through his work there has become an advocate for spiritual and physical health in his community.

In 2013, he began cooperating with CWEF and has been working closely with our Health Programs Director, Kanhchana Thoy. Together with another pastor in the area, CWEF has worked with Pastor Koy Thea to carry out an Animal Gift project (which is being run by a committee of local community leaders and residents) and now, the BioSand Water Filter project.

“The BioSand Water Filter project has reduced sickness in our neighborhood, and people don't have to spend so much time collecting and boiling water every day. Personally, my family has saved money, which we have used for sending our children to study in Kampong Thom city.”

Looking into the future, we hope to reach even more families in Koy Thea’s community with the precious and transformative gift of clean water. Please consider another generous donation today: $100 provides clean water for an entire family.

Koy Thea leading a Bible study

Koy Thea constructing BioSand Water Filters

Koy Thea with family

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