Food, Water and Education Lift Standard of Living

In the villages of Cambodia's Kampong Speu province, west of Phnom Penh, a pilot program sponsored in part by TPRF is restoring self-sufficiency and dignity to the poorest of the poor.

The Cambodian Sao Sary Foundation (SSF), dedicated to building strong communities that will impact positively on the standard of living of poor and vulnerable people, is combating the demoralizing effects of poverty through an immediate infusion of nutritious food and clean water coupled with education in efficient farming methods, sanitation, and financial management.

"Our village is so green now. There are gardens in every home," said a villager in Kraing Rohong, the first village to benefit from SSF's comprehensive approach. TPRF has contributed $21,200 to help SSF spread this successful initiative to other villages.

After years of political turmoil, Kampong Speu province is now suffering from severe drought. This has led to chronic failure of crops and depletion of livestock, depriving farmers in the area of their traditional sources of income. More than half the households in the area live below Cambodia's established poverty line of US$1.25 a day. Rice and drinking water must be purchased in other, more fortunate villages, where merchants often charge exorbitant rates—and many families have nothing left to sell in order to buy food and water. Adults have tried to support their families through logging or domestic work in neighboring cities and countries, where they are often exploited and end up working without pay. Desperation has forced some to sell their young daughters into the sex trade in order to survive.

Under these conditions, development among the villages of Kampong Speu has been severely impeded. About 90% of households don't even have a sanitary toilet.

To these overwhelming conditions, SSF brings a simple, pragmatic solution. It begins with immediate food assistance and the building of wells in water-scarce communities. Local families are provided with training, tools and seeds to plant home gardens, which will give them long-term food security and a source of income. The training includes farming techniques such as intercropping that will increase yields and harvests, as well as basic financial literacy to guide families in the management of income generated by their gardens.

TPRF's grant allows SSF to extend this program to Thlok Downsok village, where it will benefit 85 families, or about 560 individuals.

In expressing his appreciation, SSF Executive Director Vichetr Uon said, "You truly did a wonderful thing." One year after SSF began working in Kraing Rohong, he said, "This village has gained significant improvement in terms of human trafficking reduction, women empowerment, increase in livelihood and a decrease in hunger as well as sending the children here to school ... additionally, SSF has managed to convert their financial habits of borrowing from loan sharks to self-sustaining loans from community-led rice banks and animal banks."

Photo credits: SSF team and Vichetr Uon (woman at water machine)