Wells of opportunity

Water is a crucial commodity to life.  Despite this, access to clean water is something that many Cambodians in rural areas are denied.  In a sub-village of Prey Rongeang, thirty families, who live in severe poverty, were deprived of this basic human essential.  The lack of water in this sub-village, called Kraing Hong, not only caused health problems, but financial problems.  They were forced into buying in water at an inflated rate, costing them around $0.5 - $1 every day.  This meant that the people of this village spent almost all of their small income just on obtaining water, and the rest of their income on other essentials, such as food.  Having to spend all of their money simply on surviving meant that this village had no opportunity to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.  They were unable to save any money to enable their children to go to school, let alone money to invest in small businesses, or anything that could provide them with a higher income.   

Spending all of their money on surviving and stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty meant that many of the villagers became vulnerable to moneylenders.  Moneylenders charge a ridiculous interest rate of 10% a day.  According to villagers, when they borrow $10 the charge is $1 a day, meaning that in ten days the amount they have to pay back doubles to $20. This obscene amount of interest means that, once a family borrows money, it is very unlikely that they will be able to escape their debt and, instead, find it spiraling out of control.  This spiraling debt is often how people fall victim to outside human traffickers, leading to abuse, exploitation, commercial sexual exploitation, child labor and child marriage.

This village suffers severely from outside human traffickers, who come presenting themselves as respected businessmen and promising a better life.  With the assurance of work and a way to support their families, many people are quickly swayed into leaving their homes, but the reality when they arrive at their destination becomes quickly apparent. Several boys from the village were taken to work in cities in Cambodia and different parts of Thailand. Many describe the work as slave labor, involving abuse and little or no money.  Two boys trafficked to Thailand to work on fisher boats, who managed to escape back to Cambodia, said that they were in constant fear of their lives.  Similarly, girls who find themselves persuaded into moving to Phnom Penh, or other major cities, believing that they are going to work as cooks or cleaners, invariably end up sold to brothels.  This was the fate of two such girls from this village, who ended up, not only sold to brothels, but thereafter contracting HIV and dying.

Sadly, this village is particularly vulnerable to outside traffickers because it lacks support from the local authorities.  Unfortunately, the local village authorities in Prey Rongeang believe that this sub-village supports the political opposition of the ruling Party.  The local authorities are, therefore, completely unwilling to give any assistance to the people of Kraing Hong, even when they ask for it.  It is obvious then why rich, sharp-looking business men, who offer assistance and the chance at a better life, can easily manipulate these people into being trafficked.

In the 2009 fiscal year, in collaboration with Groundwork Opportunities, SSF found the funding to install a well in Kraing Hong.  Well construction began in April 2009, providing the entire village with access to clean water.  The well took two weeks to build, with much help from the villagers themselves, who also built a fence around the well as protection from cattle. Amongst these people, five residents were selected to learn the skills required to maintain and preserve the well, so that any problems that arise with it can be dealt with directly by the villagers.  It is important that the villagers know how to keep the well in good condition, so that they do not have to waste money in the future on its maintenance, and can sustain the well themselves.  By providing the village with a well, it has alleviated a severe financial burden that affected every family.  It’s construction has meant that the villagers no longer have to spend their entire income simply on surviving.  Through SSF support and guidance, this will even lead to opportunities to save money, which can then be invested in small business ventures to generate a regular income for the villagers.   

 Along with the well, SSF hope to be able to install home gardens so that the villagers do not have to be reliant on outside sources of income to feed themselves, with the added potential that these gardens could lead to a small source of income.  Education will be provided alongside these home gardens about the importance of looking after the natural resources that these villagers have at their disposal, with particular emphasis on the importance of using non-chemical fertilizers.  Moreover, SSF plans to organize regular meetings to create Self-Help groups to monitor the well and the village’s progress.  This will provide ground to connect the people with their local authority and encourage the villagers into a greater sense of community, turning to each other when they have problems, financial or otherwise, to minimize the use of moneylenders.  SSF hopes, through this support, the people of this village will begin to understand and seize the opportunities that they have to work themselves out of poverty.  SSF not only hopes to inspire them to save, but also appreciate the resources around them to produce an income.  Moreover, it is vital that the people of this village are educated about the dangers and legalities of human trafficking and child labor, so that it ceases to be a solution to their problems.  SSF concentrates on solving problems at their root cause.  The installment of the well, along with SSF support for the next three years, providing that SSF continues to get the financial backing that it requires, will hopefully alleviate the vulnerability of this village to debt and, therefore, their vulnerability to human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, child labor and child marriage.