Outreach and Advocacy Archives - Page 2 of 3

Lien AID’s Community Water Enterprise programme gains the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Singapore

29 November, 2016/in Clean Water Programmes, Community Water Enterprise, Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

Since discussion began at the United Nations (UN) on the post-2015 Development Agenda, Singapore has championed a standalone UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on water, sanitation and hygiene, as sustainable water supply is critical to development. The handover ceremony at Kdul Village marks the commencement of the Ta An and Msar Krang Community Water Enterprises (CWE) in Cambodia. The CWEs have been established by Lien AID with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Singapore. These enterprises utilise a market based approach to provide affordable treated drinking water on a sustainable basis. The communes will own, operate and manage the water treatment and bottling plant through a water entrepreneur and a Water Management Committee (WMC) selected from the local communities. Since 2011, Cambodia has seen more than 370,000 rural poor Cambodians benefit from the creation of 65 CWEs across 11 provinces.

Singapore Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, Mr. Michael Tan, with Lien AID Chairman Mr. Michael Sim and Lien AID staff in front of the water treatment plant.

Singapore’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia Mr. Michael Tan said, “We are pleased to partner Lien AID in bringing clean water to villagers in Ta An and Msar Krang. Through these plants, approximately 2,023 households and 10 schools will have access to clean drinking water. This will help improve public and personal health. It will also benefit their local economy by creating jobs and generating income for the local water and sanitation sector. We are proud of the good work that our Singapore-based international non-profit organisations such as Lien AID are doing to improve sustainable access to clean water in developing countries.”

Singapore Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, Mr. Michael Tan speaks with Lien AID Chairman, Mr. Michael Sim and Cambodia Minister of Rural Development, His Excellency Dr. Ouk Rabun inside the CWE water treatment plant.

This project is implemented under the Singapore’s Sustainable Development Programme, to support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular our continued commitment to SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation for all.

Villagers buying bottled clean water at the CWE handover ceremony.

Villagers buying clean bottled water at the CWE handover ceremony.

Clean water is essential to health and to the overall development of a community and country. Yet, more than 200 million in rural Asia still have no access to clean water. Established in 2006, Lien AID remains committed to exploring sustainable solutions and collaborative efforts with actors from governments, civil society organisations and the private sector, to enable clean water and sanitation access for rural poor Asians.

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.

Lien AID launches #waterisluxury campaign

25 November, 2016/in Clean Water Programmes, News, Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

Singapore is a city of luxury that plays host to lavish social life and many designer brands. But there’s one home-grown luxury that few talk about: access to clean water.

Last month, Lien AID launched a pop-up luxury water bar in the city and invited hundreds of guests inside for an exclusive taste of Ô – the most expensive water in Asia priced at SGD $1,260 a bottle.

People flocked in for a free taste of Asia’s most expensive water – which is pH balanced, rejuvenating, hydrating and most of all, very refreshing.

Then, they realised that the luxury water was not quite what it seemed.

Eau does not actually exist.

Inside each bottle is 100% clean water, which is readily available to us here. But in our neighbouring countries, clean water can be up to 1,260 times less affordable than in Singapore.

For millions of Asia’s rural poor, water is luxury.

But it shouldn’t be.

More than 200 million rural poor in Asia still lack access to clean water. Lien AID is an international non-profit committed to enabling sustainable clean water access for Asia’s rural poor. Watch the full video below and learn more about how you can help at waterisluxury.sg.

For the latest updates on Lien AID, connect with us on our Facebook page.

The Prettiest Student Village Officer

26 October, 2016/in Clean Water Programmes, Community Stories, Outreach and Advocacy, Village Water Management /by Lien AID

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.

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

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

25 October, 2016/in Clean Water Programmes, Community Stories, Community Water Enterprise, Donor Stories, Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

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

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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

2 September, 2016/in Clean Water Programmes, Community Stories, Community Water Enterprise, Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sharing Knowledge: Speaking at the United Nations about “A River’s Tail”

6 July, 2015/in News, Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

People fly kites in a neighborhood of Can Tho, Vietnam. One of the first images from A River’s Tail in Vietnam.

For the past six months Lien AID and a team based in Cambodia have partnered to create A River’s Tail, a visual documentary of human life along the Mekong river. The story will be told at ariverstail.com by photographers Luc Forsyth and Gareth Bright as they travel from the mouth of the Mekong River in Vietnam to its source in China.

I have spent the last six months working with Lien AID and the photographers on A River’s Tail to come up with marketing and social media plans. As the project nears publication the United Nations in Bangkok invited me to give a lunchtime presentation on what we have learned so far.

With A River’s Tail we are aiming to tell a story which will help people care about water issues without making them feel guilty. It’s a complicated story both visually and in text, but we decided not to sacrifice that complexity to make the story more palatable. Our initial indications are that the audience appreciates detailed stories and that the audience responds as strongly to black and white images as to color. A River’s Tail is more visually complicated than what’s customary for NGO journalism, but we have not seen any negative reaction when comparing audience responses between our more conventional images and grittier black and white photos.

A full set of notes about the presentation and lessons from A River’s Tail are available on Medium.

“Water You Waiting For?” A Collaboration With Students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic

5 June, 2015/in Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

This is a contributed post by students year two students in the Advertising & Public Relations diploma programme at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media Studies. The authors are students Deborah Ooi, Zachary Sng, Ester Porter, Jerome Lum and Ridha Fakhira.

“Water You Waiting For?” — that was the question our team of five wanted to pose to the youth of Singapore. With Lien AID as our project client, we were tasked to come up with a public relations campaign proposal to raise awareness of the devastating effects of water pollution regionally and globally in connection with Singapore World Water Day. Our job was to generate ideas to influence change in social attitudes and behaviours towards water pollution. At the start, we had a few uncertainties. How were we going to convince our youth that our actions on this tiny island called Singapore have a huge impact on the lives of others around the world? How were we going to encourage them to take steps to alleviate the problem? This was a tall order indeed; but after working on several PR school projects over the past year-and-a-half, a community service campaign was indeed a refreshing change and we were pumped and ready for the challenge.

Through our research, we discovered that our primary target public – Singapore tertiary students – were well aware and concerned about water pollution and its revolving issues. However, the pressing problem was that they were not taking action in combatting it. With this insight, we proceeded to develop an integrated PR campaign with the aim of reaching out to youth to join the battle against water pollution.

We wanted to ignite a change amongst youth. In order to achieve that, we decided to focus on the use of social media and experience-based direct engagement. Our earlier research findings helped to identify specific, impactful issues to highlight in our messaging strategy. For example, we learnt that water pollution is a serious, international problem with the major contributor being the incorrect disposal of substances. We also discovered that there are several, large oceanic garbage patches spread across the five main oceans. Those were the issues that we wanted to highlight in our communication materials, alongside the accessible steps that the public could take to alleviate the water pollution issue.

Deborah, our team’s ‘Account Director’, ensured the cohesiveness and efficacy of all components of the campaign in order to achieve what we set out to do, which was to communicate the message “Don’t wait, act now” – highlighting salient issues in a manner that was engaging and easy to understand.

Jerome, our ‘Media Relations Specialist’, came up with our campaign’s quirky tagline, “Water You Waiting For?”, which encapsulated the key messages of our campaign. The objective was to prompt the youth of Singapore to take immediate action to combat water pollution. We wanted to emphasise that every single minute counts. The longer one waits, the more lives are at stake due to exposure with or contact with contaminated water bodies and sources.

Zachary and Esther, our ‘Research Director’ and ‘Creative Director’ respectively, came up with the design concept. With the use of cartoons and vibrant colours, we managed to present our campaign in a light-hearted manner that would appeal to the millennial generation.

Ridha, our ‘Social Media Specialist’, devised a full social media response protocol to address the risks and opportunities that social media can bring as we drive our focus to engaging the youth through platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

In spite of our specific roles, we worked as one team to develop ideas and contribute to every aspect of our campaign. We were also blessed with the mentorship of Mr. Idran Junadi and Ms. Adele Soh from The Hoffman Agency, from whom we gained powerful, eye-opening insights that gave us the extra “oomph” we needed in our campaign. It was truly an incredible experience to learn from industry professionals and hone our skills as future PR practitioners.

With this project, we are thankful to Lien AID, The Hoffman Agency, and Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media Studies for giving us this unique opportunity. The learning for us went beyond strategic PR planning to a deeper appreciation and understanding of the issue at hand. This project truly opened our eyes to the reality and prevalence of water pollution. Although we may not feel the direct impact of water pollution here in Singapore, we have come to understand the consequences of our actions, which can affect millions of people in other countries. Indeed, every little restorative action can help to alleviate the issue. So, ‘water’ you waiting for?

Save The Wave: Students Design a Game to Raise Water Awareness

11 May, 2015/in Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

This contributed blog post is the result of a partnership between Lien AID and Year Two Advertising & Public Relations students from the School of Film & Media Studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Students Geena Hui, Nurul Natasha, Benjamin Sim, Lisa Leong, and Shee Wen Shin contributed to create this. Lien AID thanks these students for their wonderful work.

Save the Wave!

The client: Lien AID.

The PR goal: To raise awareness as well as encourage action among Singapore youth to alleviate the problem of water pollution, in conjunction with Singapore World Water Day.

Being part of the younger generation ourselves, we understand the communication culture of our age group in order to be able to effectively connect and engage with our peers regarding this serious global issue – and especially from a youth-centric perspective.

We decided that the theme of our campaign would be “THE WAVE OF CHANGE”.

Why “the wave of change”?

One of the key messages of the campaign was that water pollution defies political and geographical borders, therefore water pollution of Singapore waters would indefinitely create a ripple effect and affect neighbouring countries. Through our campaign, we want to encourage youth to be the next wave (generation) to reduce water pollution globally.

Well, how did we arrive at our big idea?

Through intensive research, we found that students in Singapore are generally aware of water pollution as a global issue and agree that it should be addressed. However, most of them were not actively engaged to play their part to reduce water pollution. The general belief was that they have not contributed to water pollution, which was far from the truth and a misconception that we wanted to correct.

Therefore, in addition to emphasising the fact that water pollution is borderless, we wanted to encourage students who so strongly believe in preventing water pollution worldwide to act upon their belief by being advocates for this cause in their community.

How did we propose to tackle the problem?

One of the tactical ideas we came up with was an online game called “Save the Wave”.

This is how the game goes: The player will be tasked to protect the water body by preventing trash such as styrofoam boxes and plastic bottles to reach the surface of the water. Each object that falls into the water will darken the water, showing the decrease in water quality. A pop-up box would then appear, educating players about how the presence of the object can affect both human and marine life. We think this game would really engage our target publics as it is simple and fun, and similar games like Flappy Bird and Angry Birds are huge hits among youth.

At the end of the game, an encouraging and empowering message will be screened to remind players about the impact of water pollution in different countries and to encourage them to share the news with their Facebook friends.

As our main call-to-action is to get students to pledge to be “the wave of change”, we suggested holding mini-events in schools to spread the word and get students to pledge to be “the wave of change”. Our toolkit would consist of PDF posters, banners, pledge cards and T-shirts for students to download from our campaign website. Apart from targeting individuals, we also proposed to reach out to environment interest groups across these institutions to amplify our key messages and gather pledges to be “the wave of change”.

These are some of the PDF posters designed by our Creative Director Lisa Leong:

Overall, working on the Lien AID project was a great experience. After handling so many consumer-oriented campaigns in both advertising and PR, it was exciting to work on a project for a non-profit organisation, especially given that it would be for the greater good. The project gave us a well-rounded experience in planning a PR campaign, from extensive research on the issue of water pollution across the globe, to budgeting and even logistics.

Besides learning and planning for PR campaigns, this project also provided us the opportunity to learn more about water pollution in-depth and how it impacts the world. Water pollution is still greatly overlooked in Singapore, especially to youth. We are now certainly better equipped to educate the people around us about water pollution and help spread the word to alleviate water pollution in different ways together.

We are very grateful for the guidance from our lecturer and The Hoffman Agency mentors for giving us valuable feedback throughout the campaign planning process and helping us to determine whether our ideas were feasible. Last but not least, thank you Lien AID for this wonderful and enriching opportunity!

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Preventing Illness Around the World.

4 March, 2015/in Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

When the acronym WASH is used in discussing international development it means increasing access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. It might be confusing why Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene are grouped together. What does water have to do with toilets and hand washing? How does the lack of these basics affect the world population?

The cause tying the three topics together is preventable illness. In developing countries 80% of diseases are caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation . One of these diseases in particular, diarrhoeal disease, causes 2.5 million deaths each year of which 760,000 are children . As a result, water and WASH programmes are more about preventing illness than they are about combating thirst.

WASH programmes have evolved over the years. In the past more emphasis was put on clean drinking water than on sanitation and hygiene. This emphasis on clean water led the world to meet the 2015 UN development goal of giving 88% of the world access to clean water. However, the world missed the goal of giving 75% of the world access to basic sanitation. As of 2011 only 63% of the world population had access to improved sanitation and 2.4 billion people worldwide still do not have access to basic sanitation .

WASH programmes are especially needed in Asia. According to the UN Water Facts and Trends, 670 million people in Asia are without access to improved drinking water sources and 1.9 billion people in Asia are without improved sanitation. In Southeast Asia 8.5% of deaths each year are caused by diarrhoeal disease.

A good place to learn more about WASH programmes and water development is the UN Water Facts and Trends. Lien AID develops and implements community-based sustainable clean water programmes in Asia, which you can learn more about here.

Lien AID celebrates World Water Day 2014

24 March, 2014/in Outreach and Advocacy /by Lien AID

This month, Lien AID celebrated World Water Day on a few occasions in Singapore and Cambodia.

Ahead of its official international date of March 22, we participated in a Singapore-wide World Water Day celebration organized by PUB on March 15, marking our second year of involvement.

Through the use of an interactive touchscreen display at our booth at the Marina Barrage, we were able to raise awareness of water issues faced by rural communities, and advocate the need to address their lack of access to clean drinking water.

1403_W3_LA-celebrates-WWD-2014-2

On March 21, Lien AID representatives presented a ‘Lunch and Learn’ talk to HEINEKEN Asia Pacific employees in Singapore, highlighting water issues, our sustainable water projects in the region. Lien AID also co-facilitated an interesting hands-on activity. HEINEKEN Asia Pacific employees each got the chance to build a simple water purification device that demonstrated how dirty water is filtered through various stages (sand, gravel, active carbon etc) to obtain clean water.

Protecting water resources is one of the four focus areas of HEINEKEN Asia Pacific’s sustainability strategy, ‘Brewing a Better Future’. Their water efforts include reducing water consumption in their breweries, balancing water demand, and waste water management.

1403_W3_LA-celebrates-WWD-201431

That same day, we also participated in World Water Day celebrations in the Kampong Speu province of Cambodia. As part of the festivities, government officials, commune councils, schools, NGOs and the community were present to partake in various activities.

These include speeches by government officials and commune councils on water management and the importance of drinking clean water, an entertaining comedy show by Charb Chein team and students on health and its relationship with safe drinking water, a gift presentation to students for a community water painting initiative, and exhibition booths managed by NGOs and the Provincial Department of Rural Development (PDRD).