Khmer Village Program

THANK YOU to the Rotary Club of West Seattle (Washington) for your support to the Khmer Village Program in Cambodia.

Follow up report from Peter Royce, Project Manager, currently in Chamkar Chek Village.

Project goals:

Now three village projects have grown to become the focal point of what's most needed to improve living conditions for residents, particularly health and safety. The first project is to drill a deep well through an underground rock layer, and install hand and electric pumps. The second project is to place speed bumps on the main road through the village. The third project is to build a community sanitation center.

Project One: currently, most village residents obtain water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning from a shallow, contaminated meter-wide uncovered well outside of the village. Polluted water, brought up in a bucket, is carried 40-80 meters uphill to their homes. Many families in other parts of Sihanoukville access clean water via 10 cm wide covered wells within their village, topped with hand or electric pumps. The total cost necessary to drill a deep well and install a hand and electric pump for Chamkar Chek Village is US$2,003.

Project Two: Chamkar Check Village is located around a curved roadway with notorious stretches of karaoke taverns beginning 50 meters in each direction. Day and evening, scooters and cars frequently cut through the intersection-free blind curve at dangerous speeds, and several scooters have tumbled down its south embankment. Not only do drivers put their own lives at risk in front of village homes, but also small children en route to our village class, state school, home, and elsewhere. The cost to install two seven meter long speedbumps and signage is US$570.

Project Three: several families have expressed strong interest in having bathroom facilities. Currently only three homes are equipped with squat toilet, while other villagers must relieve themselves in brush areas. A shared sanitation facility would make substantial gains in areas of hygiene, modesty, and effective cleansing of persons, clothing, and more. Cost to build a share sanitation center is still being worked out.