registered in ministry of interior cambodia
NO:4595ប្រក
IN THE COMMUNITIES
A safe and secure home gives each family a base to create a better future for themselves.
In a country which suffers from almost daily deluges during the rainy season and searing heat in the dry days, climate is not the only enemy...
Extreme poverty is the reality and norm in the remote villages of Cambodia. Living conditions are so bad that families make shelter from whatever materials they can find. They earn less than $2 a day, if they are lucky enough to work. Children can’t always go to school – and the cycle of poverty continues. A safe place to call home is the first step to making a difference.
Our small, dedicated team work carefully in the villages to find families that are in desperate need of a home. Through our community partners, we also look at what other opportunities we can assist with; from education, health care and small business start ups.
Many, if not all of the recipients of our houses, exist on the lowest society level in already poor communities. This makes them desperate, and many have no choice but to live as cheap, disposable labour. We don't see the provision of homes as ‘lifeboats’, but rather as a way to help restore their dignity and regain standing in their local community. The houses, and the conditions under which they are given, are specifically designed to foster and underpin local community values.
The recipients of our houses are obliged to adhere to basic community values relating to neighbourliness, hygiene and care of their own family, including ensuring that children in the family are properly educated and fully enrolled in the local education system.
While all project activity is conducted openly and in conjunction, wherever possible, with local authorities, great pains are taken to ensure that the corruption and nepotism, which is rife in Cambodia, does not invade our process.
Our overall aim is to provide quality housing, in a supportive and trusting environment, to give each family space for living and to run a small business. With a safe and secure home, each family has a chance to build a better future for themselves, and their families, and take advantage of opportunities which might come their way.
Having a sound and solid home not only relieves enormous burdens of stress, but encourages stable family units. It also gives our families the chance to live as securely and comfortably as possible in the harsh social and physical environment which is the reality for Cambodia’s poor.
MEET THE CHHLAM FAMILY
Just one of thousands of families living in extreme poverty.
The Chhlam family lives in a remote village in the Battambang Province. The father is a construction worker who earns around $50 USD per month and the mother takes care of their 3 year old daughter and 1 year old son.
Due to their extreme living conditions, their only option for food is from a local lake that is unsanitary and constantly causes health issues. The little money they do have is spent on medical costs.
THEIR WISH
“I wish to have a proper home to live in so we can focus on better food, farming and sending my children to school so they can have a better future.”
A new home will create security, stability and give them a path to a better future.
Their wish was granted when the community from Bega High School sponsored a home in March 2016.
