Plan Cambodia Annual Progress Report 2009

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SUMMARY REPORT

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GOOD REASONS why Plan works in Cambodia

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• Cambodia has one of the highest mortality rates for children under five in Asia • The percentage of children who do not finish primary school has remained at 25% since 1999 • Only 41% of the population has access to clean water, and only 17% has proper sanitation

Phnom Penh VIETNAM

Kampot

Our priorities in Cambodia

CAMBODIA

CAMBODIA

Country Office Programme Unit

• Increasing opportunities for children to have a quality education • Protecting the health of children and young people • Improving families’ access to clean water and decent sanitation • Helping families to increase their household incomes • Protecting children from abuse and exploitation

Morang MALAYSIA

Makwanpur

Ouanaminthe Fort-Liberté Trou du Nord

Ouanaminthe Fort-Liberté Trou du Nord

Gonaïves

Port-au-Prince

HAITI

IQUE

CIA

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Bara

Croix-des-Bouquets Dolney Beudet

Jérémie Les Cayes

This playground has become an outdoor classroom

Gonaïves

Croix-des-Bouquets Dolney Beudet

Jérémie

Port-au-Prince

Frères

CAMBODIA FACTS La Vallée

Frères

Jacmel Cayes Jacmel

Rautahat

Les Cayes

Sunsari

La Vallée

Jacmel Cayes Jacmel

HAITI

Country Office Plan Programme

Country Office Plan Programme

Capital: Phnom Penh Population: 14.2 million Language: Khmer (95%), French, English Climate: Cambodia’s temperatures range from 21° to 35°C and experiences tropical monsoons.

Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moistureladen winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean

BARBADOS

from May to October. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season, which lasts from November to March.

Economy: Per capita income is rapidly increasing, but is low compared with other countries in the region. Most rural households depend on agriculture and its related sub-sectors. Rice, fish, timber, garments and rubber are Cambodia’s major exports.

Shared wells help reduce water-borne illness

“The well has become something of a local attraction, drawing people from miles around to admire it and fill containers with water.”

A YEAR IN

CAMBODIA 09 SUMMARY REPORT

FOCUS ON: CLEAN WATER AND DECENT SANITATION Lack of clean water is one of the main reasons for disease in young children in Cambodia. Plan is working to improve families’ access to clean water and latrines.

We’re increasing the number of reachable water sources. We’re teaching families about hygiene and sanitation and helping to protect young children from diarrhoea.

We’re ensuring schools have a quality water supply and proper sanitary facilities and teaching pupils about the link between cleanliness and health.

RATHA’S NEW WELL

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The committee chose the location of the well and its design and monitored the construction.

“I always had to watch Ratha when she went to the well,” says her mother, Soknei. “But sometimes she would forget to tell me and I’d get so worried.”

The new well is now one of four and is the pride of the village. In fact, it’s become something of a local attraction, drawing people from miles around to admire it and fill containers with water.

ollecting water for her family used to be a precarious business for eight-year-old Ratha.

Volunteers keep health records of mothers and children

The Bigger Picture

Plan is working with children, families and whole communities to address the problems that Cambodia faces. This report can only tell a small part of that story. As a further insight, last year we also: • Enabled over 2,400 children to gain a decent education by building six new schools • Worked with local partners to improve access to basic health services for 14,000 people in remote and rural communities • Helped 27% of participants in our savings and loans project to increase their savings, and 16% to improve their diet • The Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has now instructed all schools to use the Plan training manual on alternatives to corporal punishment.

Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these positive results. So on behalf of the communities, partner organisations, and most of all the children we work with – thank you!

“The village children were at risk of lifethreatening illnesses like typhoid and diarrhoea – a killer in many of the poorest parts of the world.”

Soknei was right to be concerned. She and her family live in Svay Po Pea, a village in Dambae, eastern Cambodia. This was one of the last regions to see an end to the fighting after the fall of the Khmer Rouge and years of conflict have taken their toll. Most villagers are subsistence farmers, growing rice and cassava to survive. Health and education services are poor, and up to 85% of families have no clean water.

Lessons for the future But in many ways, installing the well was the easiest part of the project. The water committee knows its real challenge lies in keeping it clean and in good working order. They meet regularly to ensure it is properly maintained.

Like their neighbours, Ratha’s family relied on wells they had dug by hand for their water supply.

Such wells are notoriously dangerous, particularly for children. Just this year, a three-year old boy fell into a deep well and lost his life.

Plan has taught the committee about hygiene and sanitation, and in turn, they have passed on this information to their neighbours. Now, families understand why clean water is so important and how they can help to make sure the well will benefit generations of children to come.

If this wasn’t terrible enough, other hazards lurked in the wells. Ratha recalls: “I could see mosquito larvae and little red worms in the water.” The village children were at risk of life-threatening illnesses like typhoid and diarrhoea – a killer in many of the poorest parts of the world.

Ratha’s mother is very pleased. “Now, if the well pump breaks the committee will raise the money to fix it,” she says. Ratha is happy too. She and her friends no longer fall ill from drinking water.

So they have more time to go to school, and better their opportunities for the future.

Action for change Plan and families in Svay Po Pea decided to act. We agreed the village needed safe water sources and wells that everyone could use, including children.

When Plan works with communities to bring clean water to their villages we begin by setting up a water and sanitation committee. This is a group of local people elected by their neighbours to manage the project and make sure it benefits families for years to come.

But Ratha’s mother believes the water project has taught her daughter far more than school ever could.

“Our children are getting far more than safe water,” she says. “They are learning about healthy practices. Before, they were too shy to participate, now they are getting smarter.”

Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy purposes.

Ratha was delighted when she was chosen to be part of the committee. Adults often ignore the value of children’s opinions, but Ratha’s contribution was the key to finding a solution that would really improve life. After discussion, we decided on a well with a hygienic, child-friendly design.

To learn more about Plan’s work in Cambodia visit plan.org.au/ourwork/asia/cambodia

Produced for Cambodia by the Australian National Office.

plan.org.au