A gift from the skies: rainwater harvesting in rural Cambodia
2007/07/16
“As a child, I had to leave home at 6.00 in the morning to collect water for my family from a pond on a hill three kilometres away,” recalls 45-year-old Keo Sok, the head of Veal Choeung village in coastal Cambodia. “My father and his father did the same.”
Today, thanks to a Red Cross programme, his children are spared the task, which not only took time and strength, but also kept him from going to school.
With funding from the Australian and New Zealand Red Cross Societies, the Cambodian Red Cross has implemented a successful rainwater harvesting programme that covers all 138 families in this tiny village.
During the rainy season between May and October, they now harvest water in tanks and use it for drinking, washing, cooking and for the animals.
Two years ago, another partner, the Austrian Red Cross, started a pilot rural water improvement project in a nearby village.
This focuses on educating women about basic health-related issues such as washing hands to prevent diarrhoea, using locally-produced ceramic water filters, and cleaning houses to prevent dengue fever and other water-borne diseases. The project also includes individual latrine construction.
“The filtered water is clean and tastes much better than the boiled water we used to drink,” explains Keo Sok. “Now we don’t suffer from diarrhoea nor do our children."" He says he is saving money, and even makes a couple of dollars a day from catching and selling fish, which is possible because he has more time.
The extra time has also allowed him to grow plants and build a row of fences in front of his compound to stop animals roaming around.
“Our life has completely changed for the better,” he says.
Cambodia is ranked among the lowest countries in South-East Asia for water and sanitation development.
According to the UN Development Program’s 2006 Human Development Report, only 41 per cent of the population has sustainable access to an improved water source, while just 17 per cent have sustainable access to improved sanitation.
The figures for neighbouring Laos, for example, are 51 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
The International Federation’s community-based health development programme for improved access to water is part of the organization’s Global Agenda, which supports the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The aim is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Around the world, including Cambodia, the Red Cross Red Crescent is contributing to achieving this goal through its own water and sanitation programmes.
Fifty-year-old Pich Eng has been trained by the Cambodian Red Cross and now works as a volunteer, providing water and sanitation support to five villages.
He emphasises how important water is for rural communities struggling with poverty.
“I never imagined that one day we would have free water,” he said.
Although water and sanitation-related health problems have gradually decreased, there is still work to do.
“Not all villagers regularly use latrines despite the health benefits,” explains Dr Chhiv Bunthoeun, the water and sanitation project manager for the Cambodian Red Cross.
“Our task is to educate and monitor them so they learn to change their behaviours and benefit fully from the project.”
“As a child, I had to leave home at 6.00 in the morning to collect water for my family from a pond on a hill three kilometres away,” recalls 45-year-old Keo Sok, the head of Veal Choeung village in coastal Cambodia. “My father and his father did the same.”
Today, thanks to a Red Cross programme, his children are spared the task, which not only took time and strength, but also kept him from going to school.
With funding from the Australian and New Zealand Red Cross Societies, the Cambodian Red Cross has implemented a successful rainwater harvesting programme that covers all 138 families in this tiny village.
During the rainy season between May and October, they now harvest water in tanks and use it for drinking, washing, cooking and for the animals.
Two years ago, another partner, the Austrian Red Cross, started a pilot rural water improvement project in a nearby village.
This focuses on educating women about basic health-related issues such as washing hands to prevent diarrhoea, using locally-produced ceramic water filters, and cleaning houses to prevent dengue fever and other water-borne diseases. The project also includes individual latrine construction.
“The filtered water is clean and tastes much better than the boiled water we used to drink,” explains Keo Sok. “Now we don’t suffer from diarrhoea nor do our children."" He says he is saving money, and even makes a couple of dollars a day from catching and selling fish, which is possible because he has more time.
The extra time has also allowed him to grow plants and build a row of fences in front of his compound to stop animals roaming around.
“Our life has completely changed for the better,” he says.
Cambodia is ranked among the lowest countries in South-East Asia for water and sanitation development.
According to the UN Development Program’s 2006 Human Development Report, only 41 per cent of the population has sustainable access to an improved water source, while just 17 per cent have sustainable access to improved sanitation.
The figures for neighbouring Laos, for example, are 51 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
The International Federation’s community-based health development programme for improved access to water is part of the organization’s Global Agenda, which supports the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The aim is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Around the world, including Cambodia, the Red Cross Red Crescent is contributing to achieving this goal through its own water and sanitation programmes.
Fifty-year-old Pich Eng has been trained by the Cambodian Red Cross and now works as a volunteer, providing water and sanitation support to five villages.
He emphasises how important water is for rural communities struggling with poverty.
“I never imagined that one day we would have free water,” he said.
Although water and sanitation-related health problems have gradually decreased, there is still work to do.
“Not all villagers regularly use latrines despite the health benefits,” explains Dr Chhiv Bunthoeun, the water and sanitation project manager for the Cambodian Red Cross.
“Our task is to educate and monitor them so they learn to change their behaviours and benefit fully from the project.”
2007/07/16
“As a child, I had to leave home at 6.00 in the morning to collect water for my family from a pond on a hill three kilometres away,” recalls 45-year-old Keo Sok, the head of Veal Choeung village in coastal Cambodia. “My father and his father did the same.”
Today, thanks to a Red Cross programme, his children are spared the task, which not only took time and strength, but also kept him from going to school.
With funding from the Australian and New Zealand Red Cross Societies, the Cambodian Red Cross has implemented a successful rainwater harvesting programme that covers all 138 families in this tiny village.
During the rainy season between May and October, they now harvest water in tanks and use it for drinking, washing, cooking and for the animals.
Two years ago, another partner, the Austrian Red Cross, started a pilot rural water improvement project in a nearby village.
This focuses on educating women about basic health-related issues such as washing hands to prevent diarrhoea, using locally-produced ceramic water filters, and cleaning houses to prevent dengue fever and other water-borne diseases. The project also includes individual latrine construction.
“The filtered water is clean and tastes much better than the boiled water we used to drink,” explains Keo Sok. “Now we don’t suffer from diarrhoea nor do our children."" He says he is saving money, and even makes a couple of dollars a day from catching and selling fish, which is possible because he has more time.
The extra time has also allowed him to grow plants and build a row of fences in front of his compound to stop animals roaming around.
“Our life has completely changed for the better,” he says.
Cambodia is ranked among the lowest countries in South-East Asia for water and sanitation development.
According to the UN Development Program’s 2006 Human Development Report, only 41 per cent of the population has sustainable access to an improved water source, while just 17 per cent have sustainable access to improved sanitation.
The figures for neighbouring Laos, for example, are 51 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
The International Federation’s community-based health development programme for improved access to water is part of the organization’s Global Agenda, which supports the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The aim is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Around the world, including Cambodia, the Red Cross Red Crescent is contributing to achieving this goal through its own water and sanitation programmes.
Fifty-year-old Pich Eng has been trained by the Cambodian Red Cross and now works as a volunteer, providing water and sanitation support to five villages.
He emphasises how important water is for rural communities struggling with poverty.
“I never imagined that one day we would have free water,” he said.
Although water and sanitation-related health problems have gradually decreased, there is still work to do.
“Not all villagers regularly use latrines despite the health benefits,” explains Dr Chhiv Bunthoeun, the water and sanitation project manager for the Cambodian Red Cross.
“Our task is to educate and monitor them so they learn to change their behaviours and benefit fully from the project.”
“As a child, I had to leave home at 6.00 in the morning to collect water for my family from a pond on a hill three kilometres away,” recalls 45-year-old Keo Sok, the head of Veal Choeung village in coastal Cambodia. “My father and his father did the same.”
Today, thanks to a Red Cross programme, his children are spared the task, which not only took time and strength, but also kept him from going to school.
With funding from the Australian and New Zealand Red Cross Societies, the Cambodian Red Cross has implemented a successful rainwater harvesting programme that covers all 138 families in this tiny village.
During the rainy season between May and October, they now harvest water in tanks and use it for drinking, washing, cooking and for the animals.
Two years ago, another partner, the Austrian Red Cross, started a pilot rural water improvement project in a nearby village.
This focuses on educating women about basic health-related issues such as washing hands to prevent diarrhoea, using locally-produced ceramic water filters, and cleaning houses to prevent dengue fever and other water-borne diseases. The project also includes individual latrine construction.
“The filtered water is clean and tastes much better than the boiled water we used to drink,” explains Keo Sok. “Now we don’t suffer from diarrhoea nor do our children."" He says he is saving money, and even makes a couple of dollars a day from catching and selling fish, which is possible because he has more time.
The extra time has also allowed him to grow plants and build a row of fences in front of his compound to stop animals roaming around.
“Our life has completely changed for the better,” he says.
Cambodia is ranked among the lowest countries in South-East Asia for water and sanitation development.
According to the UN Development Program’s 2006 Human Development Report, only 41 per cent of the population has sustainable access to an improved water source, while just 17 per cent have sustainable access to improved sanitation.
The figures for neighbouring Laos, for example, are 51 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
The International Federation’s community-based health development programme for improved access to water is part of the organization’s Global Agenda, which supports the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The aim is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
Around the world, including Cambodia, the Red Cross Red Crescent is contributing to achieving this goal through its own water and sanitation programmes.
Fifty-year-old Pich Eng has been trained by the Cambodian Red Cross and now works as a volunteer, providing water and sanitation support to five villages.
He emphasises how important water is for rural communities struggling with poverty.
“I never imagined that one day we would have free water,” he said.
Although water and sanitation-related health problems have gradually decreased, there is still work to do.
“Not all villagers regularly use latrines despite the health benefits,” explains Dr Chhiv Bunthoeun, the water and sanitation project manager for the Cambodian Red Cross.
“Our task is to educate and monitor them so they learn to change their behaviours and benefit fully from the project.”
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