![Her son at vegetable farm]()
Her son at vegetable farm
Access to clean water and adequate sanitation is a human right that should be afforded to every individual. However, this is often not the case in rural Cambodia. It is difficult to retrieve clean water and often takes much time whereas the easily accessible water contains bacteria, dust, insects, and pollution. This is why so many families and children are often very sick. Clean water is necessary for drinking, bathing, sanitation, cleaning your home, cooking, feeding animals, and growing vegetables. To meet all these needs, you would need to carry many heavy water buckets to and from the water the supply and to your home.
This was the life for the 70 indigenous families living in the Pu Char village before CRDT began its "Water for Health" project, funded by the Australian Government and your donations.
This project aims to improve the health and economic situation for the Indigenous families living in the Pu Char village, through providing fresh clean water to all. Much of the main aspects of the project have been achieved but there is still work to be done.
A widow women works to support family
Ms. Kunthy is 53 years old who has one daughter living with her in a small house in Puchar village. Kunthy has one hectare of rice farm. Unfortunately, it was damaged by a drought in 2015 leaving her family with food shortage, so to full fill the food shortage period, She has to sell her labor to nearby village, sell a cow and borrow some money from Microfinance Finance Institute (MFI).
Ms. Kunthy has a regular income from selling oranges, coconuts and chickens. She added that when the weather is too hot. She is sick, and she sometime got diarrhoea which she is spending around 200.000 Khmer Riel for her treatment at the health centre. She said, “I am so please with the water for health project that CRDT provided, We knew the way to treat water for safe drinking like boiled, using water filter and washing our hand after using toilet and before we eat food.”
Ms. Kunthy is one of the beneficiary among 70 households in Puchar village community. She has received the training on primary health and technique on agriculture. She applied the techniques on vegetable growing, and chicken raising which was conducted by CRDT staff by using water supply system.
She expanded her vegetable growing land from 0.3 are (a) to 10 are (a) increasing the supply for her family daily home consumption. Now she can save 2000 Riel (0.5USD) every day from having her own vegetables instead of buying them from the sellers. She can have a total income of 540.000 Riel (135USD) from selling vegetable to villagers. In the meantime, her income from chicken raising has increased after she applied the technique that CRDT provided. She can earn 1.972.000 Riel (493USD) not including the cost of 2 to 4 chickens that her family consumes per month.
‘Today, it is better, not like before any more, that we rarely have chicken and many kind of vegetables to sell and eat. Our family health is good and family income also increases. I am very happy and feeling to share and welcomes for the other villager to visit my farm and provide the good practice experience to them to apply like my family”. Ms. Kunthy said.
CRDT has also followed up the previous training on primary health, and continues to provide training on health to the Pu Char community. It is very important for our beneficiaries, including Mr. Sameuron and his family, as it helps to reduce the money burden that is required when going to the hospital. CRDT also continues to provide Sanitation and Hygiene training to improve the health situation amongst the indigenous communities.
The main aspect of the project has been achieved thanks to your participation, but there is work still to be carried out. Some of the houses in the village have not yet been linked to the water system. It is also highly important to provide the necessary training, which is currently pending. Your donations will help contribute towards implementing this training and all the reading materials required to raise awareness within the community. Additionally, some toilet and sanitation facilities still need to be built. Your contributions will greatly change the lives of these people forever!
![Kunthy is taking care her vegetable farm]()
Kunthy is taking care her vegetable farm
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