Thnout Village, Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia

Thnout Village, Two Pump Wells

The village of Thnout in Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia does not have enough clean water and needs two pump wells to supply water for the 380 families that live in the village.

“We are now using rain water for cooking and drinking. We use water from a nearby water source for washing because it it not clean enough to drink and cook. When the dry season comes we are facing a very bad water shortage”, the chief of Thnout Village said. The privately owned water source used by the villagers is small and runs out of water when it is dry. The villagers make a living by growing rice and fruit and vegetables such as Papaya and Sweetsop. Those that can afford it spend much of the money they earn to buy clean water. “If we have two pump wells our village will be safe for the next dry season”, he said.

Bour Kek lives in the village and is 46 years old. She has 3 children. One of her sons and her daughter are now living in an orphanage in Poi Pet city because she cannot afford to care for them or send them to school. She lives with her eldest son who is 19 years old and her husband and they grow rice to make a living. Bour Kek has a bicycle and she uses it as her transportation to bring papaya and Sweetsop to sell in the village and Sisophon city. Some days she earns 5 dollars but sometimes nothing. She said, "this month every house has Papaya and Sweetsop as well so not many buy hers". She spends $2.50 (10,000R) of this income to buy water for cooking and washing. Bour kek is happy that they have rain this month but she is worried for the next dry season. She said, "I will be facing a water shortage again for the next dry season if we don't have wells in our village we can use”.

When they don't have money to buy clean water Bour Kek and her son ride their bicycle to their closest water source near the national highway about 15 kilometres away. She and her son sometimes don’t arrive home until 9 or 10 pm at night because it takes so long to travel to get water. Bour Kek is delighted if her village can have a well and her neighbours who are in the same situation as her can have a clean water too. She hopes to have clean water safe from diseases. The important thing is that they will have clean water and she is grateful for this project that will save many lives in her village.

For US$1460, two pump wells can be built that will provide a secure source of clean and safe water for all the families in the village.

Implementing Partner Youth of Banteay Meanchey