Water Water Everywhere

Finally a chance to sit and catch up on my reporting.  I'll start with Saturday visiting families who have had field wells donated through the FAWCO Foundation's Target Water Program.  It would take to long to explain here, so I'll just link you through but suffice it to say, Tabitha's Well Program impressed FAWCO's membership and they voted to channel their fundraising for clean water through it.    Here was my chance report back first hand and show FAWCO's members and clubs just how great an impact they have made on families livelihoods and health.

Srei and Tharry from Tabitha took us south of Phnom Penh some 50 km to the district of S'ang in Kandal Province.  About half way there, we started seeing children lining the road, dressed in school uniforms, holding pictures of the King and Queen of Cambodia.  Apparently the royalty was going to be visiting the villagers today to see how they have survived the recent flooding.   Village after village was waiting to greet the procession.  How they managed to stand out there for hours in the morning sun one can only imagine.  I do hope that at some point they did get to see their king.

Bok Choy being harvested for market

That aside, we arrived at the first village.  Field wells were situated in the fields, of course, and the only way to get to them was via muddy paths.  Shoes off and ankle deep in mud we traipsed from one family to another, saw their crops and learned how much they could make.  They grew bok choy (chinese cabbage), spring onions, morning glory and raised piglets and chickens.  3/4's of a hectare of bok choy could bring a family $1200 per harvest, every 6 weeks.  The families respond to market demands to make sure what they are growing will provide an income.

Vegetable gardens demand more water than rice, so the field well is put to use morning and night.

Another woman dug a pond and is using the field well to grow fish.  In 7 months she will have raised 2000 fish, plus spring onions.  We saw success after success, smiling faces, healthy bodies, and children who go to school.  Water is indeed a source of life in so many ways.

To date 123 family wells and 101 field wells have been intalled with FAWCO funds, and there are more to come.  Family wells are shared by 3 to 5 families for their daily needs - cooking, cleaning, washing, drinking and a small plot of vegetables.  Field wells are shared by two farming families and can irrigate up to 10 hectares of land.  Tabitha has found that field wells really give families a huge boost in working their way out of poverty.

Back at our base in Phnom Penh, more team members for the house build are arriving.  While Pat, Terry Ann and I were out seeing the wells, Sunny from England, Dennis, Kathy and Lys  arrived after their 21 day adventure through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.  Carole and Andrew made it in from Bangkok late in the day.  The excitement builds!

Village kids hamming it up as kids will do