Please click on our "CONTRIBUTE" button to find out how you can help us, help those most in need. Keep in mind that the average household wage for those living in the rural areas is less than $5/day, so when we say every little bit counts, we mean it!
Below you will find an overview of our current project details, progress, and future scope. We are happy to answer any questions, so please let us know if you have any thoughts, questions, or comments. Thank you!
Our first site-visit: Chi Kraeng District, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia
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Introduction:

Every day in Cambodia, 50 children under the age of 5 are reported to die, primarily due to waterborne diseases. Without safe hygienic practices and/or access to clean water, children are often subjected to diarrhoeal diseases which can lead to malnutrition and stunting. This will invariably put an additional strain on the families limited financial resources, and can interfere with older children’s attendance rates in school.
While it is imperative to have access to clean water, the simple act of hand-washing can have a significant impact; in some instances this has been reported to reduce diarrhoea morbidity by nearly 40% (see Figure 1). In addition to helping these families and communities gain access to more and better quality water, we would like to address the barriers preventing hand-washing from being regularly performed through a comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) initiative.
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Figure 1
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Please take a moment to look over the details of our efforts, and if you support our cause, we are currently a donation-based organization and would greatly appreciate any help you are able to offer. Our "Contribution" page will provide you with the opportunity to donate to our project and help us, help those most in need!
Summary: Project Focus
Water for Cambodia water testing price break-down:

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Details: Project Scope
Behavior Change
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We will work with local schools and communities to help raise awareness of the importance of washing ones hands to prevent the spread of disease. While working with children, we will provide fun and interactive activities to get the children excited and engaged with
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the topic. Additionally, we are in the process of contacting local soap manufacturers in an effort to provide the children with locally made soap that they will be awarded with throughout the program for their participation in the activities. It is our belief that this will instil a sense of ownership and pride in something that they earned, and ultimately will help ensure a continuation of its use once we are gone.
Resource Availability
Cambodia is a poor country, especially in the rural areas which account for 80% of the population. Despite the huge health benefits from hand washing, in many of these areas the purchase of food has to be prioritized over that of soap. There are, however, alternative options which we will discuss with the locals to gauge their interest in homemade soap from products that would otherwise go to waste. This, we believe, also has the potential to introduce income diversification and an alternative revenue stream to the families most in need.
Cambodia is a poor country, especially in the rural areas which account for 80% of the population. Despite the huge health benefits from hand washing, in many of these areas the purchase of food has to be prioritized over that of soap. There are, however, alternative options which we will discuss with the locals to gauge their interest in homemade soap from products that would otherwise go to waste. This, we believe, also has the potential to introduce income diversification and an alternative revenue stream to the families most in need.
Bigger Picture: Clean Water Access
Our goal is to address the mitigation of waterborne diseases from a multifaceted approach as we believe this is the most effective way to help these communities. While washing ones hands with soap and water is a step in the right direction, this water should be clean, the water one drinks |
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and cooks with, should also be clean. Many of these rural communities do not have the necessary infrastructure to ensure the availability of clean water. To help remedy this, there are several dedicated organizations and individuals who are investing their valuable time and effort towards constructing wells and installing water filtration devices in the homes, communities, and schools of those most in need.
As such, with your help, we can provide wells and filtration devices in the communities where we work to complement the hygiene and education component of our project. To ensure the success of these installations, we will be consulting with engineers, geo-hydrologists, and taking water samples to test for contaminants. We also agree with iDE’s County Director, Michael Roberts, that you “cannot donate people out of poverty.” We will therefore explore the option of micro-financing to help communities invest in their own futures, and thereby reduce their dependency on external donors.
It is important, however, to track progress to ensure that any effort made is yielding positive results. In order to establish a baseline and monitor results, in addition to collecting water samples to test for contaminants such as E. Coli and Arsenic, we will be conducting preliminary and follow-up interviews with the families and schools we will be working with. Some of the things we will be looking for include: attendance rates at school; frequency of water-related illness; time and/or money savings; livelihood diversification; behavior change indicators.
Where you come in:
In order to make this project a success, we need your help to ensure we are able to reach as many children and villagers as possible.
We need to raise money so that we can:
* More durable, require less maintenance, provide higher quantity of clean water
- Ceramic Filters ($8 - $25/ filter)
CURRENCY CONVERTER:
In order to make this project a success, we need your help to ensure we are able to reach as many children and villagers as possible.
We need to raise money so that we can:
- Buy materials to support our educational program
- Water Testing and Analysis (~$250/ 5 test sites)
- Well Installation ($230/ well)
- Water Filters
* More durable, require less maintenance, provide higher quantity of clean water
- Ceramic Filters ($8 - $25/ filter)
CURRENCY CONVERTER:
If you would like to help us help those in need, please visit our "CONTRIBUTE" page, and select an option that works for you. Every little bit counts -- including spreading the word... we can't do this without your help!
*The Association for Social and Environmental Development is a UK registered Non-Profit Organization, Ltd.