The Jaggery Trader

Ko Hmat Kyi, 46, is a small business owner in Tetma village, located in the Dry Zone of Myanmar. He supports his family through his palm tree and vegetable plantations. To make enough jaggery for trading, he has to climb 30 tall palm trees twice a day using a basic ladder made from two tall bamboos.

The sugary sap is collected using a number of small earthen jars. After that, the liquid is mixed into a large pot, boiled and stirred until it thickens to a paste. The worker would then knead the product into small chunks which hardens after being cooled. Inside the rudimentary kitchen where the jaggery is prepared, the air is hot, dense and sweet.

In the past, Ko Hmat Kyi had no choice but to send his eldest son to fetch water in the day as his time was fully occupied with his jaggery business. To get clean water, his son often had to travel to a neighbouring village and queue for two to three hours to wait for his turn at the tube well or hand pump. This also meant that on days when he went to collect water, he would have to miss school.

Ko Hmat Kyi and his family

Things got better for Ko Hmat Kyi’s family in 2016. In partnership with Myanmar Engineering Society (MES), Lien AID completed a pilot project in Myanmar, enabling villagers in Tetma village to gain better access to clean water via a solar-powered, gravity-fed water distribution system.

Ko Hmat Kyi told us that better access to clean water has not only made life more convenient for his family, but it also led to an improvement in the school grades of his eldest son. He was able to pass his university entrance exams and now studies at a university in the city of Yangon.

Read more about our pilot project in Myanmar here.

The Village Poet

Bothingone Village, Myanmar

At 69, deputy village chief and Water Management Committee (WMC) chairman U San Yee is remarkably agile and energetic for someone his age. Dressed in a traditional Burmese longyi, he cheerfully led the way from the wooden jetty to the village, unbothered by the blazing sun and blistering heat. Beneath our feet, the soil was parched and cracked, and I could feel the heat radiating through the soles of my sandals.

Like many other villages in the south of the Ayeyarwaddy region, Bothingone village experiences an annual dry season of sparse rainfall that lasts for about 5 months. During this time, the only rudimentary rainwater harvesting pond in the village often dries up, leaving villagers with just a handful of hand-dug tube wells and pumps to obtain clean water for consumption. Sometimes, they have to travel to neighbouring village of Sarchet to collect water with jerry cans. It is common for villagers to ration water use during the dry summer months.

The existing pond in Bothingone village, which is the villagers’ main source of clean water. During the dry summer months, this pond sometimes dries up.

Jerry cans used to collect water

One of U San Yee’s grandchildren playing near the jerry cans.

As the chairman of the Water Management Committee, U San Yee was determined to tackle the water challenges and improve the villagers’ access to clean water. Under his leadership, the village made a unified decision to increase the catchment capacity of the existing pond to help tide them through the dry summer months.

Besides being a village leader and water champion, it turns out that U San Yee is also an aspiring writer and poet. Having experienced and survived the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, he decided to use poetry as a means to educate fellow villagers about the importance of protecting water resources and to encourage them to respect nature. As we sat down inside his home, he took out a notebook, and proudly showed us the poem he had penned.

U San Yee’s poem in Burmese.

This is the English version of the poem*:

Climate changes due to the unbalanced ecosystem,

followed by various natural disasters.

Do not regret only when you suffer such disasters.

Preparation with careful consideration,

will lead to peaceful deliverance of such disasters.

A united effort would breed resilience and sustainability.

Practise continuously,

to create a beautiful environment.

With optimism for the future,

by handing down these good practices to our children.

 

Dear fellow citizens,

be prepared and observant of

climate changes due to the unbalanced ecosystem.

With the effects of severe heat

and drought that resembles

A child without a mother, a fish out of water –

troubled and deprived,

Be prepared and observant.

If only to be awaken by a deep regret,

as helplessness leads to further errors and degradation

with lives at stake.

*This is an unofficial translation and provided for reference only.

U San Yee’s support and influence proved to be paramount to the successful implementation of the clean water project in Bothingone village. Earlier this year, rehabilitation works to expand the capacity of the existing village pond began. When completed, this project is expected to enable over 1,000 villagers from 220 households to gain better access to clean water.

Construction to expand the capacity of the existing water catchment pond began earlier this year.

Close to the end of our visit, I asked U San Yee about his hopes and dreams for his grandchildren, as well as his advice for the younger generation. He left us with the following words of wisdom:

“My wishes are very simple. I hope for my grandchildren and great grandchildren to be healthy and educated. I hope they travel out of the village to explore the world outside. For the younger generation, my advice would be to stay healthy, build family unity and practise lifelong learning.”

U San Yee with a few of his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Some of U San Yee’s grandchildren and great grandchildren.

This project in Bothingone village, Labutta township, Myanmar is implemented as one of Lien AID’s pilot clean water projects in the Ayeyarwaddy region.

The Tears Fall, But My Mind is Strong

By the time our boat arrived at Kakayo village, located in the south part of the Ayeyarwady region in Myanmar, a small crowd had gathered at the wooden jetty. A tall, slender woman stood out from the crowd. Greeting me with a firm handshake, she introduced herself as Daw Mu Mu, a member of the village development committee.

Daw Mu Mu standing at the edge of the construction site for the new rainwater collection pond.

It soon became apparent that Daw Mu Mu was a well-respected figure in the village. Carrying with her an indefinable air of grace, she led the way with long strides as we surveyed the construction site for the new rainwater collection pond. Apart from sitting on the village development committee, the 51-year-old woman wears many other hats – she is also a mother, provision shop owner and farmer.

Unwilling to let her only daughter, Myint Zu Aung, accept the fate of an ordinary village girl, Daw Mu Mu’s foresight led her to a neighboring village in 2008, where she worked hard to earn more income so that her daughter could attend school in nearby Labutta city. Her husband stayed behind, working as a fisherman like most of the other men in the village. The couple worked hard to support their child, in the hopes that she will eventually lead a better life than they did.

Then Cyclone Nargis struck. Having never experienced a natural disaster of this scale, Daw Mu Mu rushed back to the village not knowing what to expect. Nothing could have prepared her for the extent of the damage that was done. The cyclone had wiped out most of the village population, leaving behind it a trail of wrecked homes, uprooted trees, dead animals and disfigured human corpses.

Daw Mu Mu’s husband was nowhere to be found. With her husband presumed lost, the only short-lived moment of happiness came when she found her daughter, who had managed to catch a boat ride back to the village after the cyclone. When asked what they had said to each other then, Myint Zu Aung replied,

“We could not speak. We could only hug each other and cry.”

Myint Zu Aung, Daw Mu Mu’s daughter. She is now 20 years old.

Though shackled by grief, Daw Mu Mu did not have the luxury of mourning for her lost loved ones for long. She went back to work and started to rebuilt the village with others, working twice as hard as before, this time singlehandedly supporting her daughter’s school fees. Miraculously, her husband returned unharmed after being missing for 2 years and 4 months. It turns out that his fishing boat got carried away by the current and ended up on the Indian shores.

Myint Zu Aung’s English exercise book.

But the problems kept coming. The village’s only source of relatively clean water was two village ponds, with water levels often dropping dangerously low during the dry season. In 2016, the ponds dried up, and the children in the village started drinking dirty water when their parents were away fishing or farming.

Women collecting water at the existing pond with buckets.

It was not long before the village was hit by a diarrhoea epidemic. Many of those affected were young children. Daw Mu Mu and the other villagers converted the village school into a makeshift health centre to quarantine and care for the patients. Tragically, they could not save a two-year-old boy in time and he passed away.

Daw Mu Mu was devastated and could not bear the thought of losing more family and friends. She was determined to improve living conditions in the village, starting from better access to clean water. Early this year, construction began on the new fenced pond and hand pumps in the village. When completed, the new rainwater collection pond will provide an additional source of clean water for the villagers during the driest months.

The construction site for the new rainwater collection pond.

Daw Mu Mu hopes that villagers will enjoy better health after the new pond and hand pumps have been completed. Like many of the other villagers, her daughter regard her as a role model. When I commented on her strength and resilience, what she said stuck with me throughout the rest of my journey in Myanmar.

“I keep my feelings to myself.”, she said softly. “The tears fall, but my mind is strong.”

This project in Kakayo village, Labutta Township co-funded by Lien AID, is implemented under our pilot clean water projects in the Ayeyarwady region in Myanmar, and expected to be completed in 2017.

The Last Journey Down The Water

Deyroneath Village, Meteuk Commune, Pursat Province

Extract: This story was told by Sou and Tab, villagers in the floating village of Deyroneath. They tell of the tragic loss of their first son, and how life has gotten better since CWE enabled villagers to gain sustainable access to clean water.  

The Tonle Sap lake has long been revered for being one of the world’s most varied and productive ecosystems. As the largest freshwater lake in Asia, it is also home to the floating communities of Cambodia. These floating communities clean, bathe and defecate in the lake that they live on. Most of them are fishermen and depend on the contaminated water for their livelihood.

A girl in the floating village of Deyroneath

Left: A typical houseboat; right: a lady selling drinks and snacks in the floating village.

Tab Savoeuon, 39, lived with her husband and their 7-month-old on in the floating village. Tired from a long day of work, Tab stopped to take a rest on the hammock as her son played inside the dark and narrow houseboat. Her husband was out on a fishing boat.

Tab Savoeuon, 39

When Tab opened her eyes again, her son was missing. Frantic, she and the other villagers searched for him in the murky water.

Finally, at 5am, they found him. His tiny body was motionless, face down on a bed of water hyacinth.

Water hyacinth on the Tonle Sap Lake

Nobody knows for sure how the baby had ended up there. We could only guess that when his mother closed her eyes for just a minute, the baby must have crawled to the edge of the boat. Maybe he was looking at fish and fell into the water. Maybe he too, fell asleep and rolled off the edge of the boat. But it does not matter because he was gone.

Tab’s husband earned a meagre income from fishing, and the family did not even have money for a burial or a proper funeral. They placed their son’s body in an empty barrel, which drifted down the lake with the current. Villagers gathered to send the boy on his last journey down the water.

Tab and her husband, Sou Sok, were devastated after the death of their first son but life moves on. Years later, they went on to have five more children. Life only got more difficult. Sou was out on a fishing boat all day and Tab had to cook, wash, clean and take care of her young children alone in the day. She could barely rest for fear that another one of her young children would fall into the water and drown.

Tab preparing a meal inside the dark and narrow houseboat

With no affordable clean water source, the family of seven used the contaminated surface water for cooking and drinking. The children fell ill often with diarrhoea and fever.

Sok Chovam, 6, the couple’s youngest child

When her children fell sick, Tab could only sleep 1-2 hours  a night. She stayed up to put ice on her children’s swollen stomachs to ease their pain.

“We had to borrow money to buy medicine.  I was so tired and worried. I fell sick too.“ – Tab

Things finally took a turn for the better when Sou Sok, Tab’s husband, became a water entrepreneur. He was determined to make life better for his family and fellow villagers.

Sou Sok, 51, Water Entrepreneur

Sou Sok now earns enough income from being a water entrepreneur, and does not have to go out on the fishing boat anymore. The family moved their houseboat right next to the water treatment plant. Sou Sok can now help to look after his children, so the tragedy that happened 20 years ago will not repeat.

Left: Sok San, 11, playing outside the water treatment plant; right: front view of the CWE water treatment plant

After gaining access to clean water, Sou and Tab’s children have not had serious diarrhoea for the past year. With better health, they do not miss school as frequently as before.

Sok Chovam doing homework on the houseboat

The tragic loss of their first child remains a thorn in their heart, but Sou and Tab are glad that they have more time to look after their children after he became a water entrepreneur.

When asked about his hopes for the future, Sou said, “I want to make life better for my children. I want them to be healthy and finish school.”

This project in Meteuk Commune implemented under the Community Water Enterprise programme in Cambodia, was supported with co-funding from Sabana REIT.

 

 

The Prettiest Student Village Officer

Puban Village, Gangkou Town

When villagers in Puban are asked about Zhangli, they invariably refer to her as the “Prettiest Student Villager Officer (最美丽的村官)”. Zhangli was a fresh graduate and young mother of a little girl when she decided to apply to work in a rural village as a Student Village Officer (大学生村官). Driven by her passion for helping others, she applied to and passed the Chongqing Municipal Committee’s selection exams with flying colours, and was subsequently assigned to Puban village in Gangkou town, Wulong county. As a Student Village Officer, she would take up residence at Puban village, supporting and implementing the Chinese government’s poverty alleviation policies at the grassroots level, and work to improve the well-being of the villagers.

Shortly after she arrived at Puban village in 2010, she was approached by a villager who was in dire straits from the death of more than 200 mountain goats that his entire household had depended upon for their livelihood. Together with some of the village leaders, they investigated the case and found that the goats had died due to the spread of disease in the dirty pens, which could not be cleaned regularly due to the lack of clean water. Subsequent visits, interviews and chats with other households in the village also unearthed similar issues. The root cause of their struggles with improving their means of livelihood was invariably linked to the lack of clean water.

Student Village Officer (SVO) Zhang Li

Zhang Li with some of the “left-behind” children in Puban village

Thus when Zhangli found out about Lien AID’s Village Water Management programme, she submitted a project proposal for Puban village. However, as a certain amount of co-funding from local governments and villagers was required, Zhangli initially faced a shortfall of funds for the project. She refused to give up however, as she knew that a piped water system would enable the villagers to have a better quality of life. Whenever Zhangli talked to the “left-behind” children in the village, she would be reminded of her daughter, whom she had left behind to take up the post at Puban village. She was determined to make the project a success so that they would have a better life with clean tap water.

Zhangli, the village head and Lien AID at a site visit to the completed project

Zhangli, the village head and Lien AID at a site visit to the completed project

With the support of Lien AID, the local governments, and the villagers, she worked tirelessly to raise the necessary funds and made sure the project stayed on tract, and was able to successfully coordinate and supervise the construction of the rural piped water system in Puban village. Although she often had no time during the weekends to visit her daughter and husband, who were living in another town, she found satisfaction in the fact that the villagers and the children no longer had to fetch water or depend on unreliable water sources.

“While implementing the clean water project, I gained not just technical knowledge in rural water facility construction but also learned how to resolve issues and manage stakeholders. The learning curve was steep but it was a great experience which allowed me to grow from a young graduate into a mature grassroots worker.”

In 2013, after the completion of the project, she was feted as one of the inspiring figures of Wulong county in the television programme “Ten Figures Inspiring Wulong” (感动武隆十大人物). Even though she is no longer working as a Student Village Officer at Puban village, she continues to serve the rural communities through her capacity as the chairwoman of the Women’s Federation of Gangkou town in Wulong county. And the villagers still remember her as the “Prettiest Student Villager Officer (最美丽的村官)”.

You can learn more about our work in China here

Meet the coffee connoisseur of Anglong Tean village

Anglong Tean Village, Borei Cholsar Commune
Cambodia

It was almost midday when the car pulled into the village of Anglong Tean in Takeo province. Located just 2 hours south of the bustling city of Phnom Penh, this quiet, serene village set along the Cambodia-Vietnam border seemed worlds apart.

Farmers working in rice fields in Anglong Tean village, Cambodia

Farmers working in rice fields in Anglong Tean Village, Cambodia

Cows grazing in the fields in Anglong Tean village

Cows grazing in the fields in Anglong Tean village

After passing through acres of rice fields set against the dramatic backdrop of the Mekong River, we finally came to a stop on the dirt road. I got out of the car feeling slightly disoriented from the bumpy ride and nearly tripped over a chicken, much to the amusement of the local children.

Children in Anglong Tean village, Takeo Province, Cambodia

Children in Anglong Tean village, Takeo Province, Cambodia

Feeling rather hot and thirsty, we decided to get a drink at the first provision shop that we came upon. Run by a warm, friendly lady named Se Hin, the shop was small but well-stocked – the shelves were lined with jars full of candies, crackers and cookies, sodas in every colour of the rainbow, small toys and a dizzying variety of household items.

(Left) Shop owner Se Hin; (right) coffee made by Se Hin.

(Left) Shop owner Se Hin; (right) coffee made by Se Hin.

At Se Hin’s insistence, I got an iced coffee – her specialty, as I was told. The first sip that I took left me pleasantly surprised. The coffee was dark and smooth, comparable to what you would expect in a hip café somewhere else in the world!

Se Hin making a cup of coffee

Se Hin making a cup of coffee inside her shop

Se Hin, as it turns out, was not born and raised here. She came to Anglong Tean village from Vietnam 20 years ago in search of a better life. She started off by working long, strenuous hours as a farmer in the rice fields.

Life was difficult back then. She could not afford a proper stilted house, so in the wet season, Se Hin’s home was partially submerged in water. She had to sleep on a hammock that hung precariously from the roof.

One year, the area was hit by a big flood and her crops were destroyed, taking with them her only source of income.

But Se Hin was strong-willed and ambitious. Unwilling to let her four young children go hungry, she took a bank loan and opened the provision shop, selling porridge, coffee, snacks and other household items.

However, it was not long before she had new problems. The water from the Mekong river was polluted with feces and pesticide. People were getting sick from drinking the contaminated water. Se Hin started buying bottled clean water daily from Vietnam to make coffee and porridge to sell.

The Mekong river that runs alongside Anglong Tean village. Vietnam is accessible by boat from the village.

The Mekong river that connects Anglong Tean village to Vietnam

Sometimes, the water did not arrive in time and she would have to make multiple trips to a pond to fetch buckets of water. The amount of porridge and coffee that she sold depended on the amount of water that she could collect.

A girl fetching water. Before Community Water Enterprise (CWE) came to the village, Se Hin sometimes had to make multiple trips to fetch water with buckets.

A girl fetching water. Before Community Water Enterprise (CWE) came to the village, Se Hin sometimes had to make multiple trips to fetch water.

When Community Water Enterprise (CWE) came to the village, Se Hin was one of the first ones to jump on board. With better access to affordable clean water, she can finally make more porridge and coffee to sell, and earn more income to support her family.

Bottles of clean water in the CWE treatment plant in Anglong Tean village.

Bottles of clean water in the CWE treatment plant in Anglong Tean village.

With better access to clean water, Se Hin can make more coffee and porridge to sell and earn more income to support her family.

With better access to clean water, Se Hin can make more coffee and porridge to sell and earn more income to support her family.

“Business is good now”, she tells me. “People used to spend twice as much on imported water from Vietnam. Now they have more money to buy snacks and drinks. I have more income to send my children to school.”

For the first time ever, Se Hin also has the time and money to take care of herself. These days, she can afford to buy new clothes and makeup. “I did not have money or time to look good when I was young. Now I have to catch up”, Se Hin tells me as she proudly shows me her beautifully decorated home right beside the shop.

(Left) Se Hin poses beside her war wardrobe; (right) the interior of her home.

(Left) Se Hin poses beside her wardrobe; (right) the interior of her home.

Before we left, I complimented her on her smile. “Thank you”, she says, “You make me feel beautiful again.”

This project in Borei Cholsar Commune implemented under the Community Water Enterprise programme in Cambodia, was supported with co-funding from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

The Top Student

It was an exceptionally hot day for the wet season. By the time we made it to the only school in Pou Andait village, my shirt was soaked with perspiration. Morning class had just ended.  School children poured out of the classrooms and clambered onto over-sized bicycles, legs stretched to reach the foot pedals as they made their way shakily down the dirt road outside the school.

(Left) students getting on bicycles to go home after school: (Right) children in the school.

(Left) students getting on bicycles to go home after school; (Right) children in the school.

Some stopped and got off their bikes to observe me from a safe distance with squinted eyes. After all, an outsider was a rare sight in this village. However, it was not long before their wary looks were replaced with wide-eyed curiosity. Soon, I found myself surrounded by excited, smiling children eagerly posing for photographs.

Amid the crowd of excited school children, one girl caught my attention. She stood out from the other students with her quiet confidence and calm demeanor. Her eyes had a pensive, brooding and slightly melancholic quality to them. She did not smile, not much anyway.

Chann Mie, 11 years old.

Chann Mie, 11 years old.

Inside the principal’s office, I was granted an introduction to this girl. Her name is Chann Mie, and she is 11 years old. This little girl who looks just half her age suffered from poor health her whole life. Yet, she is the top student in her school, her teacher told us.

Chann Mie is a special girl. She is smart, respectful and always willing to help her friends. Her favorite subjects are mathematics and Khmer language. Despite being born into a poor family, she is unwilling to accept the fate of an ordinary girl in Pou Andait village.

“I want to be a teacher when I grow up so I can live a life less difficult than my parents. But last month, I fell sick five times with diarrhea and could not come to school.” – Chann Mie.

Chann Mie (with the pink backpack) getting on her bicycle for the journey home.

Chann Mie (with the pink backpack) getting on her bicycle for the journey home.

After school, Chann Mie goes home to help her parents. On a typical day, she has to finish her homework, babysit her younger sister, help her parents in the rice fields, hand wash dirty clothes and herd the goats back home. If she finishes all her chores early, she gets to skip rope with her friends.

She cannot do any of that when she is sick.

Like many other students in her school, Chann Mie brings water from home – usually rainwater or river water. Sometimes her parents do not have time to boil the water, and the whole family gets diarrhea.

(Left) empty bottle in a school bag; (Right) rainwater collected inside a water storage jar.

(Left) empty bottle in a school bag; (Right) rainwater collected inside a water storage jar.

But things are changing for the better.

Today, under the Community Water Enterprise (CWE) programme in Kanchor Commune, Chann Mie’s school can obtain a number of free 20-litre bottles of clean water daily. Since the completion of this CWE project in October last year, we have been continuing our efforts to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of this project. The fight for clean water is a continuous uphill battle with numerous challenges, but we are hopeful for a future where Chann Mie and her schoolmates will enjoy better health through improved access to clean water.

Bottles of clean treated water in the CWE treatment plant in Pou Andait Village, Kanchor Commune.

Bottles of clean treated water in the CWE treatment plant in Pou Andait Village, Kanchor Commune.

Join us now to work together towards a common vision of better water governance and a future where sustainable clean water access is available to everyone. You can also learn more about our work in Cambodia here.

A Small Price to Pay for Better Health

Mr. Touch and his wife at their home in Preak Koy Village

Mr. Touch and his wife at their home in Preak Koy Village

Preak Koy Village, Preak Koy Commune
Cambodia

“When I was a boy we drank river water without boiling it and didn’t get sick.” said Mr. Touch Bunthorn, a resident of Preak Koy Commune in Cambodia. “During the Pol Pot regime people began to get sick from drinking river water, so we started boiling the water before drinking it.” Mr. Touch and the families in his commune continued boiling water for decades. Like many families in their commune, the Touch family used forest wood as fuel and spent up to six hours per week gathering wood from the surrounding woods.

Mr. Touch and his family of ten live in a traditional elevated house along the banks of the Mekong River in Cambodia. Mr. Touch and his family, vegetable merchants in a nearby market, sit down at a massive wooden table to tell their story. Lim Heng and Ly Meng, wearing matching red and blue shorts, play and stare during the conversation.

After the UNICEF funded community water treatment plant opened in November, 2014, Mr. Touch’s family began drinking from 20-litre bottles of treated water. “We save time now because we don’t have to gather wood to boil the water. My family can use that time to work, study or relax instead. My grandsons no longer wake up in the mornings with stomach pain.” said Mr. Touch.

Lim Heng and Ly Meng, age six

Lim Heng and Ly Meng, age six

Mr. Touch told us that before drinking treated water, his grandsons, six year old twins Lim Heng and Ly Meng, woke up in the mornings complaining of stomach aches. After they began drinking treated water their stomach aches have gone away. We asked Lim Heng, age six, about the stomach pain and he was hesitant to talk. He did point to his stomach when we asked him to show us where the pain was, and he told us that it’s gone away now.

“The treated water has improved my whole family’s health. I prefer the taste and color of the treated water and that it is consistently the same quality.” Mr. Touch said. “I also like that I can go to the treatment plant at any time. Some other people here sell water but I never know how they treat it. In this community I can take a look for myself.”

Mr. Touch said that he feels confident that he is buying treated water from his Community Water Entrepreneur. While there are other local water vendors, Mr. Touch mentioned that he is concerned that it may come from untreated well water.

Mr. Touch’s household of ten people purchases about ten bottles of treated water per month. At 1,000 Cambodian Riel per bottle, a 20-litre bottle of water from the community water treatment plant costs one quarter of that sold in the local market.

Mr. Hav Lay, Community Water Entrepreneur

Mr. Hav Lay, Community Water Entrepreneur

After talking with Mr. Touch, we met with Mr. Hav Lay, Preak Koy Commune’s Community Water Entrepreneur. Mr. Lay told us that back in November his treatment plant sold only about 300 bottles per month but that over the past five months his sales have increased sevenfold to almost 2,000 bottles per month. “I’m thankful for this job because it gives me a more predictable income supply than I had before I’m hoping that in the future I can get a trailer so that we can deliver water directly to houses.” said Mr. Lay.

This project in Preak Koy commune, implemented under the Community Water Enterprise programme in Cambodia, was supported with co-funding from UNICEF Cambodia

More Time to Farm

Mrs Chorn Sina and her husband in their home in Pak Nam Village

Mrs Chorn Sina and her husband in their home in Pak Nam Village

Pak Nam Village, Pong Ro Commune
Cambodia

Mrs. Chorn Sina and her husband are tobacco farmers in Pak Nam Village, a rural community of just over 1,000 families along Touch River in Pong Ro Commune, Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. A UNICEF funded Community Water Treatment Plant opened in Pak Nam Village in November, 2014. Before the plant opened, Mrs. Chorn and her husband had to gather firewood from a nearby forest to boil their water.

“Gathering wood to boil water took us several hours every week so we spent less time working on our farm and with our family.” Said Mrs. Chorn. Now Mrs. Chorn and her family of three, including her husband and ten year old daughter, buy four to five bottles of treated water every week. The bottles cost 1,000 Riel each. “We think it’s worth the time savings to buy water instead of boiling water and we tell our friends to do the same.” said Mrs. Chorn.

During the harvest season, Mrs. Chorn’s family plans to buy even more water, about one bottle every day, so that she can provide clean drinking water for their hired labour. Along with buying water for workers, Mrs. Chorn tells her friends and family that the water makes her feel healthier than boiled river or well water.

“We like that we can inspect the water treatment plant at any time,” said Mrs. Chorn, “It makes us feel confident that what we buy is not just untreated well water.”

Mrs. Si Mean showing the bottles of treated water

Mrs. Si Mean showing the bottles of treated water

Inside the Community Water Treatment plant works Mrs. Si Mean, Pong Ro commune’s Community Water Entrepreneur. Covered under a pink plastic sheet are dozens of 20-litre bottles, filled with water that has just been treated.

Mrs. Si keeps detailed handwritten notes on bottle sales every day. Over the three weeks leading up to our visit, Mrs. Si’s notes indicate that she sold an average of 71 bottles of treated water per day and generated about 525 USD in revenue. As with Mrs. Chorn’s family, Community Water Entrepreneur Mrs. Si was also a tobacco farmer before taking on her new role. “We sell about 2,100 20-litre bottles of water every month,” said Mrs. Si, “but I hope that will continue to grow because we can generate four times as much water.”

Handwritten sales records

Handwritten sales records

Indeed, although sales are strong for Mrs. Si, only 15% of families in Paknam Village buy water from the Community Water Treatment Plant today. Commune Chief Mr. Khim Porteang is happy with the sales so far but thinks they could grow. “We think the progress is good so far but I would like if all families bought water from the plant.” said Mr. Khim.

A few of the villagers we talked with do not buy water from the Community Water Treatment Plant. These included a family with a rainwater collection tank, a family with an arsenic-free well near their home and a family which gathers and sells firewood as a business – they already had a large pile of firewood available and said they don’t mind spending extra time gathering wood for themselves.

This project in Pong Ro commune, implemented under the Community Water Enterprise programme in Cambodia, was supported with co-funding from UNICEF Cambodia

Keeping Children in School in Koah Roka

Schoolchildren in Koah Rokar village where schools receive 10 free 20-litre bottles of treated water per day.

Schoolchildren in Koah Rokar village where schools receive 10 free 20-litre bottles of treated water per day.

Chrey Thmei Village, Koah Roka Commune
Cambodia

Koah Roka is a commune of 508 families just a few kilometers from the Vietnam border. Carts drawn by water buffalo move along the dirt road that runs into Vietnam, arriving empty into Cambodia and leaving heavily laden with bags of rice. Along this main dirt road there are three schools and a community health center.

A Community Water Treatment plant opened here in March 2015 and two of the schools now use the treated water from the plant, with the remaining one using a donated rainwater storage system. In the few months since the opening of the plant, 82% of the families in the commune are also now regularly purchasing treated water.

Mr. Nhen Bunthorn, Community Water Entreprenuer in Koah Roka commune, Prey Veng Commune Cambodia. Mr. Nhen has expanded his business by buying this delivery truck so he can deliver water to households and schools himself.

Mr. Nhen Bunthorn, Community Water Entreprenuer in Koah Roka commune, Prey Veng Province Cambodia. Mr. Nhen has expanded his business by buying this delivery truck so he can deliver water to households and schools himself.

Teacher Mrs. Choup Sida credits the Community Water Treatment plant with helping students focus more in class. “We never had treated water at our school before the Community Treatment Plant opened because a bottle of water from Vietnam costs 12,000 Dong (about 0.55 USD) and we could not afford it. We wanted a water storage tank but they are very expensive and only one school in this commune has had one donated.”

Inside Mrs. Choup’s classroom, a 20-litre bottle of water sits at the front of the class. Students in Mrs. Choup’s classroom, as with other classrooms in Koah Roka, can get up to drink water when they need to during a break in class. “Before the CWE, students had to either bring water from home or drink water from storage jars in the neighborhood. It took extra time and became disruptive. Students would leave school just to get water. Now my students can stay at school longer to either focus on work or talk with each other

Schoolchildren in Kaoh Rokar village.

Schoolchildren in Kaoh Rokar village.

Mrs. Choup has also noticed a decrease in students skipping classes due to diarrhoea and other illnesses. The chief of the nearby commune health center, Dr. Long Choum, previously saw about 8 to 10 cases of diarrhoea related illness every day before the CWE opened. Now he sees only two or three. Since the CWE has only been open for four months, he expects that the biggest impact is yet to come.

Mr. Long Choum, commune health center chief.

Mr. Long Choum, commune health center chief.

“The biggest change will come once the rainy season arrives” said Dr. Long, “When the commune floods many of the toilets are not elevated above ground — it is too expensive. The flood water will overflow the toilets and make the flood water not safe to drink. Then we will see big health benefits from having so many people drink treated water.”

This project in Koah Roka commune, implemented under the Community Water Enterprise programme in Cambodia, was supported with co-funding from UNICEF Cambodia