Meet Pastor Koy Thea

CWEF’s trusted local partner for the Cambodia BioSand Water Filter project is Pastor Koy Thea, along with members of the congregation he serves, Veal Pring Christian Church.

Pastor Koy Thea was born in 1971 and grew up in the Veal Pring neighborhood. His childhood got off to a tragic start: he was orphaned as a 3-year-old. A generous local woman adopted him, and he went on to complete his secondary education in 1987. Since that time, he has been serving the community as a teacher, and now headmaster, of the school he graduated from – Kampong Taben Primary School. He is married to Sokra and together they have four children.

Koy shared with us that health was always an issue for his and other families in the community:

“My family and the people in my neighborhood often got sick by using dirty water. Diarrhea, cholera and poor nutrition were common problems.”

In 2005, Koy also began serving as the pastor of the church in Veal Pring, and through his work there has become an advocate for spiritual and physical health in his community.

In 2013, he began cooperating with CWEF and has been working closely with our Health Programs Director, Kanhchana Thoy. Together with another pastor in the area, CWEF has worked with Pastor Koy to carry out an Animal Gift project (which is being run by a committee of local community leaders and residents) and now, the BioSand Water Filter project.

“The BioSand Water Filter project has reduced sickness in our neighborhood, and people don’t have to spend so much time collecting and boiling water every day. Personally, my family has saved money, which we have used for sending our children to study in Kampong Thom city.”

Looking into the future, we hope to reach even more families in Koy’s community with the precious and transformative gift of clean water. Please consider another generous donation today: $100 provides clean water for an entire family.

In addition to the Biosand Water Filters, CWEF trains families in proper maintenance of their filter, along with education on proper sanitation and hygiene, and its effect on disease prevention and overall health. With proper care and maintenance, each water filter can provide a family with clean water for more than 20 years.

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