I work on a cashew farm very far from downtown. During the rainy season, the road is slippery. It is difficult to live on the farm. However, we have no choice but to live in remote areas.
My husband got cholera and diarrhea because we drank water directly from the pond. Sometimes we boil the water, but that is difficult for my family. The hospital is so far from my village. It’s about 80km to get to downtown.
Nearby we only have a small clinic. When we got sick, the medical treatment was so expensive that we made the long trip to the hospital downtown anyway. This is because the health center in our village did not have enough of the medicine we needed.
After my family received a bio-sand water filter from CWEF, the water is now safe to drink. And the filter is easy to use. We don’t have to spend any time boiling water. We are healthy again. We do not experience stomach pain, diarrhea, or other waterborne illnesses.
So now my family has time to work in the field, and we can afford food and transportation to school for our children. We would like to thank you for your support in lessening our poverty by reducing our cost of living.
– Sokhim, villager from Kampong Thom province in Cambodia
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What a difference clean water makes! Dirty water leads to illnesses. Illnesses keep capable hardworking people from working. Without work, there is less money for food, school, and everything else. Clean water starts a cycle of healing and hope!
And in addition to Sokhim’s own perseverance and hard work, you are one big reason that Sokhim has clean water to drink today and that her family is now healthy and thriving! Your generosity is providing years of clean water for many hardworking families like Sokhim’s!
THANK YOU for partnering with CWEF and generously giving the gift of clean water!
Would you like to learn more about why biosand water filters are so life-changing? Click here to read our blog post that explains just that!
What is it like to live in a rural Cambodian village?
It looks like…
Plumes of red dust in the air. Trees and homes coated in rusty clay.
Farmers and laborers driving motos, trucks, bicycles, trailer-attached big motos, traveling over and around divots in the unpaved roads. Big vehicles create dust clouds that make it impossible to see oncoming traffic.
Houses raised on stilts to create shade and allow airflow for the people and animals below. There is no air conditioning in the 35-40 degree celsius (95-100 fahrenheit) heat.
Naked children who are dripping wet from their third bath of the day. A way to keep cool.
Jackfruit, mango, and lychee trees scattered around people’s properties; fruit that is ready to be shared between family members and neighbors.
A woman sitting in her husband’s car repair shop, sewing and altering clothing for a living.
Long-sleeved shirts, long pants, long socks, and hats to protect their skin from the blazing sun.
Head lamps as laborers work through the night to harvest rubber from the rubber tree fields.
Older aunties and grandmas who sit at home and take care of the children while their parents work.
A young child drinking a cup of water fetched from the nearby well.
Wells, rain water catchment systems, expensive pre-filtered water containers from the local market, or the nearby stream – all possible water sources for the people who live here.
Your life may look vastly different than the people living in rural Cambodia, but you do have at least one thing in common: Water.
Water makes life sustainable for all people – from rural Cambodians to those working on Wall Street. Without safe drinking water, sickness can take people from their jobs, familial roles, and cause pressures on a community as a whole. As such a basic necessity to thriving communities, it’s one way we can support the health of communities in rural Cambodia.
*All pictures were taken during CWEF’s visit to Kampung Thum province, Cambodia for a health training on safe water and the disbursement of water filters. We delivered 44 filters to families in need. These water filters will last each family 15+ years. Life-giving water to real people, a real community, a real impact.
Would you like to help give clean water to families living in remote Cambodian villages like this? Click here to donate!
University students in white and plaid uniforms bustle around the college campus, paying for the next semester and chatting with friends. The new school year is about to start at Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Phunry, a petite girl with a big smile, is in her second year at the school. She is studying public administration and hopes to one day work as an assistant administrator of a commune or district office.
These are big dreams for a girl from Preah Vihear province, a southern province ranked highest in the country in multidimensional poverty (CSES 2016; 2017). Her parents were sustenance farmers, farming a small rice paddy that provided just enough food to feed their family of five.
When her father passed away, the family struggled even more, but Phunry continued to study. She held onto her dream of being something more than a farmer. In Cambodia, women are more than twice as likely as men to have none or only some education (CSES 2016; 2017).
Despite family pressures to stay and work, she continued to pursue higher education. She graduated from high school and enrolled in university, becoming the first in her family to attend university.
“I have the opportunity to study now, and I have to try. I want to be able to support my family and community,” Phunry shared.
In 2023, Phunry applied and was awarded the CWEF student scholarship. The scholarship will cover her tuition fees throughout her education. Her perseverance and grit have served her well during the first year of school and she is excited for year two. Phunry is grateful for you who have made this opportunity possible through your generosity!
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Want to help more young people like Phunry? Donate here.
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References:
NIS/MoP (National Institue of Statistics/Ministry of Planning) (2018). Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (years: 2017 and 2016). Phnom Penh. On-line: http://www.nis.gov.kh/index.php/en/14-cses/12-cambodia-socioeconomic-survey-reports
When I was a child, I often felt scared. The other people in my village didn’t like me. They didn’t like me because of my father: he would often get drunk and do violent things. When I was 4 or 5 years old, my mom and dad decided to divorce. In my dad’s absence, my mom worked the land as a subsistence farmer, took care of the household chores, and raised me and my four sisters all by herself. Then many years later when I was 17 years old, my dad died.
Pov recently reading in his university-level English class!
My mom worked as a subsistence farmer; so she did not earn money like other people do from their jobs. Therefore, it was challenging for her to fund the education of me and my four sisters. The financial situation caused me and my sisters to miss classes. We also didn’t have the money to buy study materials. Like books. Or backpacks. Or other materials.
Pov and his friends showcasing some products that they made to sell for a class!
The next concern for my family was that we didn’t have enough money to pay for university. When Concordia Welfare & Education Foundation (CWEF) awarded me a scholarship, my situation got a lot better. It relieved the burden on my family to pay for my school. CWEF pays for my school fees and school supplies every year from the first year until now.
When Concordia Welfare & Education Foundation (CWEF) awarded me a scholarship, my situation got a lot better. It relieved the burden on my family to pay for my school. -Pov, a Cambodian college student
Pov making an ‘S’ statuefor a visual design course
Pov speaking at church
Finally, I am so grateful to CWEF for providing me with a scholarship to help me purchase my study materials and pay for college tuition. I appreciate that the donors support my university education. It is so helpful to all the students that need knowledge who come from impoverished communities or other places where people do not have enough support.
Pov and his classmates discussing various class assignments
Today, I am 22 years old, and I’m in my 3rd year at Phnom Penh University of Arts (PPUA) studying visual communication.
Thank you!
– Pov
THANK YOU for your willingness to help a young Cambodian in need go to college! And thank you to each of you that sacrificially gives to pay for his college expenses so that he can leave a life of poverty behind him!
Are you new to CWEF? Would you like to help more young Cambodian men like Pov attend college? $1500 sends one student to college in Cambodia for a year but any amount helps! Click here to donate today!
Dyna, a Cambodian teenager, dreamed of having a stable job as a banker. She wanted a wide range of professional opportunities. In order to fulfill this dream, she began studying accounting at a university in the city. But now…not far into her studies…she struggled with whether or not she should continue.
Her father had served God as a pastor for almost thirty years in Cambodia where they live; and during those years, his income was irregular and unpredictable. Because of the irregular income, he had to take out loans which he then struggled to pay off completely. Because of her family’s debt, Dyna’s family could not pay her school fees or support her life in the city where she studied. Dyna saw that whenever she needed money to pay for tuition or buy school supplies or just pay for life in the city itself, it all increased the heavy financial burden on her parents. Should she continue to study when it would put so much stress on her family? “But,” Dyna says, “the whole time God never forgot me.”
Singing at church
At this point, Dyna got connected to CWEF. After completing the application and interview process, she was eventually selected to receive a university scholarship. This would allow her to continue pursuing her accounting degree!! In addition to the scholarship, Dyna also found a Christian dormitory where she lived for the beginning of college.
Dyna says:
“The faith that I have in God has helped me a lot in my life and my living…without God, I also wouldn’t be here.”
I’d like to thank my scholarship donor because if I didn’t have the scholarship to support me, I wouldn’t be able to study here because we don’t have enough money to study; and we’d also have to spend a lot of money on school fees, textbooks, and other expenses. That is hard for me. Without the donor who gave me my scholarship, my life after 12th grade may have beeen uncertain. I may have found a random job to do. Studying at university is very important. After finishing grade 12, I don’t know what (marketable) skills I would have had.”
Dyna volunteers her time teaching English and Khmer at her church and also teaching math to children. Someday she wants to educate people in her community about how to budget and invest wisely as well as how to resolve financial hardships and avoid money-related scams.
Dyna prays:
“Thank you, God. I prayed to you for my future plan. Thank you for answering my prayers and my family with support by giving me a scholarship from CWEF. I am excited and very happy…The fact that I received a scholarship from CWEF was a blessing in disguise as it helped me to continue my studies at the school I wanted to attend and helped ease my family’s burden of paying for school fees and school supplies…I truly thank CWEF and the staff for helping me continue my studies at the university, and God bless CWEF and all the staff.”
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THANK YOU to each of you that has sacrificially given to bridge the gap for young people like Dyna! Without your help, she may have never been able to finish pursuing her dream of becoming an accountant. But now, her education will be a blessing not only to her but also to her family and community! It’s exciting to see the ripple effect of kindness, isn’t it?
Check out our Facebook page to catch the latest news of your university scholarship recipients!
Please enjoy part of an interview with Kanhchana Thoy, CWEF Director in Cambodia:
How many people in Cambodia do not have clean water? According to the latest available data from 2020, More than 12 million people in Cambodia (72% of the population) lack access to safe water. Most of them live in rural areas.
What keeps people in Cambodia from getting clean water? There are multiple factors. The first is that the income people earn is too low to afford better access. The second is a lack of knowledge about the nature and impact of the water they are using as well as lack of knowledge about how to make the water safer. The third major influence is cultural practices. For example, one group of rural people receiving clean water support from CWEF is the Jerai people. Their habit is to use mountain runoff water directly without boiling it, and they previously did not realize how nearby human waste and animals contaminate their water. But through your support, CWEF has been able to teach and equip the Jerai people with the knowledge, skills, and tools to have clean water on a daily basis.
How does CWEF choose who to give water filters to? Since the need is greatest in rural areas, we seek to work with low-income communities in rural areas of Cambodia. Also, we look for communities whose leaders are motivated and interested in partnering with us.
How many water filters did CWEF give out in Cambodia last year? Last year we gave out 30 biosand water filters in Chang Village and 30 biosand water filters to the villages of Deh and Samkanigh in Rattanakiri province. So far this year, we have distributed 60 biosand water filters in Davealeng village, Deh village, Banlung, and other villages.
Think of each of these individual families – their grandparents, parents, and children – who now not only understand how their drinking water was contaminated and causing illness, but they are now empowered to sustainably access clean water every day! These families are experiencing greater health and happiness and are spending less money cleaning their water and treating water-borne illnesses because of you and your generosity! What better way to transform someone’s life?Thank you so much for your heart for clean water for families in Cambodia!
Help more people in Cambodia have access to clean drinking water! Click here to give today!
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After ten years making clothes in a factory in Phnom Penh, Chanthy decided to change jobs. She took a new job as a janitor in a Bible school. But while she cleaned the school, she dreamed of furthering her education. She dreamed of someday having an even better life. Then one day she spoke with her sister-in-law who encouraged Chanthy to pursue her dreams and take the national high school exam.
Chanthy (on the front right) traveling to a recent CWEF event
The suggestion was very daunting. More than a decade had passed since Chanthy last took classes. Back then, her father worked hard cultivating rice, growing vegetables, and catching fish to support his eight children; but in the end, there was only enough money for a few children to further their education, and the family gave the boys priority. So, Chanthy dropped out of school in ninth grade. Instead of finishing high school, she helped her family work at home and in the rice field.
Chanthy riding home for Khmer New Year
But now many years later, Chanthy decided to follow her sister-in-law’s advice. She would try to go back to school. Outside of work, she began intensely studying all the high school subjects she previously missed, including English. Chanthy struggled significantly preparing for the high school exam. But in the end, all her hard work paid off. She overcame all the obstacles she faced and passed!
Pursuing Her Dream
Chanthy next desired to go to college, but she felt anxious about the school fees. With the help of generous people like you and the CWEF scholarship program, Chanthy successfully enrolled at Norton College.
While there, she sadly faced even more hardships. During her second year of college, her father had a severe stroke. Chanthy cared for her ailing father throughout her studies. It was a great loss for Chanthy when he passed away two years later. Still, Chanthy tried to study hard through this, believing that the knowledge she was gaining could help her escape poverty.
Despite her great motivation, Chanthy received acceptable but never excellent grades. But her professors and classmates noted her hard work, kindness, and friendliness. Finally, in 2022, Chanthy achieved one of her dreams and successfully graduated from Norton University with a major in English for Teaching!
Chanthy preparing fish for a Khmer New Year’s dinner
Determination
“I always told myself that I would never drop out of university, especially when many challenges in my family happened nonstop: my dad getting very sick, my family needing more money, and my study result being not so good. But I didn’t give up.And one more thing, I am so grateful for the scholarship you gave me that helped me to study, and I didn’t want it to go in vain.
I am so grateful to all my beloved people around me that God sent into my life…especially CWEF, who provides me with scholarships. This organization is a big part of what helps, guides, and supports me along the way. Even though I was discouraged at times, I remained motivated…four years later, I finally made it.”
Because of previously experiencing her family’s struggles as well as experiencing factory working conditions, Chanthy never stopped pursuing her dream and strongly believes that education is the only thing that will lead her to a better future.
“Seeing my family’s poor situation pushes me to struggle forward more and more in my life…I am always dreaming of living a better life in the future through education.”
Chanthy, CWEF Scholarship Recipient
In the End
Chanthy transformed herself from high school dropout to university graduate and English teacher. She is also a faithful Christian and gifted at working with children. So, in addition to her work, she serves as a Sunday school teacher. Chanthy married in 2021 and is now 33. She is the only one of her sister-siblings to graduate from college.
Thank you so much for choosing to generously equip Cambodian students like Chanthy to fulfill their potential and achieve their dreams of a better life! You are transforming lives!
Yun’s family kept borrowing money. More and more money, more and more debt. What could he do? Everyday life simply cost too much. He couldn’t afford the things his family needed to survive.
Yun is a young man of twenty-five years old and lives in Kampong Thom Province in Cambodia.
He and his whole family kept falling ill over and over again. They returned to the hospital over and over again. Every month they needed medical treatment, and the treatments cost a lot.
More bills, more debt.
Yun wanted to earn money through his work as a farmer; but he often felt so physically terrible due to sickness that he couldn’t work very much, and he had no other way to earn more money for his family.
Yun standing with his family next to a CWEF biosand water filter
At home, when Yun and his family wanted to cook dinner or wash clothes, they retrieved water from a well. But they knew that the well water was dirty, and they feared what might happen to them if they drank dirty well water.
So they came up with another idea: collecting rainwater for drinking. The rainwater must be clean, they thought. But still the cycle continued of more illness and less work and more debt.
Thanks to your generosity, Yun’s family eventually received a biosand water filter through CWEF! Yun watched his family closely in the days and weeks after they began drinking the filtered water, and he happily realized that they came down with sicknesses much less often. He also suddenly discovered that he had more free time.
And on top of that, he had more energy. Enough time and energy to farm and earn more money and, even better, start saving money! Best of all, he received fewer and fewer expensive medical bills. Isn’t it amazing what clean water can do?
Now before he goes out into the fields to farm, Yun brings bottles of water from the the biosand water filter. And he will drink multiple glasses of filtered water before he goes out to the river to catch fish. Yun says, “Now, I am very happy after having received a Biosand Filter from Concordia Welfare & Education Foundation (CWEF) in 2019. All of my family members and I are healthy, and I hope that in the future my family’s living condition will be better.”
Yun thanks you for your generous donation and for supporting his living situation!
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Ven is a 23-year-old from Kampong Chhnang province in Cambodia.
Like many other young adults, his parents are subsistence farmers. For nearly 30 years, Ven’s father has harvested palm sugar. This low-paying work is extremely dangerous, but was necessary to provide for Ven’s family.
“My father received very little education after the Pol Pot regime; he has few skills other than farming and producing palm sugar,” shares Ven. “For many years he got up at 3 a.m., climbed the palm tree [about 20-25 meters high], harvested the palm tree water, and gave it to my mom for making sugar. The process is not very difficult, but it takes a lot of time to make it.”
Ven with his family
While Ven was in high school, his father suddenly got sick and needed an urgent surgery. His family could not afford the hospital fees, so Ven’s mother decided to sell some of their farmland and cows to pay for the treatment. After his father recovered, the doctor warned him not to climb palm trees or work as hard as before. The situation was dire for Ven’s family.
After Ven graduated from high school, he asked his parents for permission to study in Phnom Penh. At first, they disagreed because they didn’t have any money to pay his school fees. However, they wanted to see Ven have a bright future, so they decided to take out a loan from a neighbor and sell their last cow to pay for the school fees. During his first year, Ven sought a part-time job in construction while studying. As a day laborer, it was difficult for him to find enough work to make ends meet and to pay for his education expenses.
Ven’s father climbs palm trees for work
Ven heard about a scholarship opportunity through his church and made an application to CWEF. With your generous support, he was approved and has been sponsored through the CWEF University Scholarship program since his second year of studying electrical engineering at National Technical Training Institute (NTTI). Ven is now in his final year and will graduate in 2023!
Through the years, Ven has worked hard to show appreciation for his parents’ struggles and out of gratitude for your generous support through CWEF. Because of his humility and good character, he has been able to develop supportive relationships with his classmates and teachers, and he has become an outstanding student.
Ven on site at a construction jobVen at his current job
Your generous support through CWEF has inspired Ven to keep fighting onward.
Ven shares:
“The support from CWEF has helped me a lot—to pay for school fees and housing costs, and also to encourage me when I am discouraged, and to help me focus more on my studies.”
Ven leads prayer at a church near his hometown
Additionally, Ven never forgets to serve at his church in Phnom Penh each weekend. On other weekends, he goes back to visit his family and to serve at the church near his home in Kampong Chhnang province.
Through your generous gift of a university education, Ven has transformed himself from a part-time day laborer to a technical team leader in an engineering company in Phnom Penh.
He is grateful for this job, because it is closely related to what he is studying at university. Ven worked hard to overcome many obstacles the last few years during the pandemic, and he is filled with joy to be serving as a team leader who looks out for his coworkers. Ven was especially pleased that he was able to install many electrical machines at his own university through his company’s projects.
“During COVID, I was in front of the computer, just learning from theory with no practice. But when I started working, I realized that there are many things to learn and keep learning. So now my motto is: to work hard, keep fighting, be honest, and be humble.”
Ven’s ambitions do not end here; he aspires to someday become an electrical engineering lecturer at a university, so he can pass on knowledge to students, teaching not only the theories but also through sharing from his practical experience in the field.
Ven says “thank you”
Ven is filled with gratitude for your support through CWEF, which has given him the opportunity to pursue his dream.
“I would feel regret if I had not decided to come to Phnom Penh to study. I would never know how big the world is, and I don’t know what my life would be like,” shares Ven. “Maybe I would have followed in my father’s footsteps. But – when I chose education, and especially when I received the scholarship from CWEF, my life changed dramatically.”
Thank you for standing by outstanding young people like Ven through your generous support of the CWEF scholarship fund for students in Cambodia! Your gifts are transforming lives!
This article was written by Panhary Port Puth, Education Program Coordination, Cambodia.
Meet another outstanding CWEF scholarship recipient: Bun Leang.
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In the tropical country of Cambodia an estimated 2-3 million people get their daily drinking water from unsafe water sources. Rural communities gather water from rainfall, wells, rivers, or standing water. The Cambodian government has set an ambitious goal for 100% of the population to have access to safe drinking water by 2025.
If properly installed and maintained, a BioSand water filter can last up to 25 years! This slow drip system removes 100% of waterborne worms and eggs. Surface water is cleaned in the low-tech device and is easily accessed directly from the filter. When a filter is installed at home, families can conveniently treat water at home to protect against disease.
Playing games with local kids in Ratanakiri
What difference do CWEF’s local partners make?
Pastor John is a farmer and serves a local congregation in his hometown in Ratanakiri province. As a local partner of CWEF, he provides important health training to families in his area who receive gifts of BioSand Water Filters, because of your generous giving.
When a family receives a water filter, they immediately experience many health benefits. Furthermore, local partners like Pastor John also train families in how to properly maintain their water filter, and lessons in sanitation and hygiene practices give families additional tools for preventing disease and improving their overall health.
In 2022 and 2023, CWEF will provide clean and safe drinking water via BioSand Water Filters for over 100 families in two rural communities in Ratanakiri province. The partnership with local Christian pastors like Pastor John, together with their congregation members in the Deh and Chang villages, will make your gift of safe drinking water more powerful and sustainable for the long-term.
What difference are you making by supporting CWEF BioSand Water Filters in Cambodia?
Globally, diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in children under five years of age. Water-borne illnesses are preventable with the use of proper water treatment, such as the BioSand Water Filters you are supporting in Cambodia. Access to clean water, coupled with handwashing and other healthy hygiene habits, can bring a life-changing renewal of health to whole families. In particular, more children and their families in Deh and Chang villages in Ratanakiri will enjoy full health without the threat of malnutrition, dehydration, or death from diarrhea.
This past October, CWEF highlighted the importance of WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), in connection with Global Handwashing Day on October 15.
Don’t forget — the next time you wash your hands or drink from an indoor faucet, you also can remember the gift of health that you have provided to families in rural Cambodia. Because of your generosity, they too can enjoy the immense gift of drinking water at home, and the improved health it brings.
Thank you for your partnership!
This article was written by Karin Semler, CWEF Board Member
