Where There is Water

    
THINK OF ALL THE WAYS THAT YOU HAVE USED WATER SO FAR TODAY.

Did you take a shower this morning? Did you flush your toilet? Or wash your hands? When you made or ate breakfast, was water used? How about when you cleaned up after the meal?

Now imagine walking each morning to gather water for your family, knowing the water you were collecting was unclean and could make the members of your family sick.

Next, let’s imagine that each year for several months you don’t have access to water because it was the dry season and your water source had dried up. How would you get by? What parts of your daily routine would you have to abandon? How would you provide water for your family?

Unfortunately, these are realities for many people around the world.

In a rural community in Cambodia, the only water available was from a shallow, hand-dug well. Each day during the rainy season, a grandmother named Som Bee would walk to the well to collect the water for her family. But the water from the well was unclean, sometimes leading to health problems, including diarrhea.

Thanks to your support, the community was able to address the unclean water problem by installing a ring well. The members of the community received training on how to filter the water, and to keep it clean for daily use.

Because of your support, the members of the community now have access to clean water year-round, and they are sick less often.

Because of your support, Som uses the clean water for her garden to help her grow tomatoes, pumpkins, spinach, gourds, cucumbers and mushrooms. Of course, her family eats the vegetables, so they now have a healthier diet!

Som’s garden is so bountiful, she is also able to sell some of her vegetables in her local community,

earning money to support her family and buy other items that her family needs.

Your support has reached 16 villages in central  Cambodia with clean, safe water. You were here with Som and her neighbors as they gathered to build their well. Now, you are with Som each time she leaves her home and only walks a matter of yards to the well.

You are here when she waters her garden and prepares nutritious meals. You are here as her granddaughter grows healthy and strong.

  

You are here. And their future is brighter because of your  support.

  

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