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Wells for Clean Water (Cambodia)
Nominated by Yolanda Henry for FAUSA was chosen by FAWCO Clubs to be the focus of a multi-year fundraising campaign.
Cambodia is a tropical country with abundant rainfall during the wet season (May to October) and almost no rain in the dry season (November to April). In the countryside, families use water from wells for drinking, bathing and washing as well as for animals and to irrigate crops. Unfortunately, during the Pol Pot years, most wells were destroyed.
In areas with no safe wells, drinking water is taken from open ponds or rivers which may be polluted with excreta or chemicals. Villagers (and most importantly children) often develop diarrhea, and other serious infectious diseases.Crops, especially rice, are grown during the wet season. However, it is so dry during the dry season that crops cannot be grown unless extra water is available. Families with wells are able to grow crops year-round. During the dry season they can grow "6-week' vegetables, including "morning glory", peas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. greatly increasing food and income security.
The goal of the Wells for Clean Water project is to provide potable water for 4732 families with 37,856 dependents with the installation of 1,912 wells/ponds in 12 project areas. Besides providing clean, safe drinking water, the project will also enable the families to grow crops year-round thus enabling them to increase their income from $50 a month to $250 within 3 month of receiving the water supply.
The project will be carried out by The Tabitha Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1994.Their activities are centered in Cambodia, whose people were decimated by a regime that promoted enforced starvation, mass executions, slave labour and wholesale dislocation to such a degree that the social, moral and economic fiber of the country was left in tatters.
Tabitha's current programs affect 1.6% of Cambodians; presently over 214,000 people in twelve provinces of the country. Over the 15 years of its operation, Tabitha has lifted more than half a million Cambodians out of poverty and despair, into lives of dignity, hope and active participation in their communities through four key programs: a savings program, cottage industry, volunteer house building and water wells.
2nd November 2010
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The Perfect Gift
What better way to recognize someone, than with a Foundation Donation Certificate for the Target Water Project. Whether it's for a birthday, holiday or thank you (you can even request one for yourself), it is a wonderful way to do a little something for the environment we all share.
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More information to come on the Wells for Clean Water Project and your role.
Thank you to all the clubs that took the time to vote on the Target Water Project!
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