Community Wells
Thanks to generous donations from Sasebo Elementary School in Japan and the Laughton Foundation, JWOC has been able to build two Community Wells so far in the province of Siem Reap.
July 2009
Yeang Village, Yeang Commune, Pouk District, Siem Reap Province
Donated by the Laughton Foundation
February 2009
Self Help Community Center, Tau Teia Village, Krobie Real Commune, Pouk District, Siem Reap Province
Donated by Sasebo Elementary School in Japan----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interested to learn more about these wells? Read on!
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Yeang Village, Yeang Commune, Pouk District, Siem Reap Province
In early May 2010, Marti Brown, a visiting volunteer from the US, accompanied our Clean Water Project Manager to Yeang village to follow up on the Community well JWOC installed there in July 2009. She brought back the following report...
Yeang Village, Yeang Commune, Pouk District, Siem Reap Province
Click here to read the report.
Self Help Community Center, Tau Teia Village, Krobie Real Commune, Pouk District, Siem Reap Province
On 31st October 2009, Sheena and Tony Cowell - visiting Cambodia from the UK - took a trip back to JWOC's first community well to see how it was doing after 8 months of service. To read about what they found click on the report below:
JWOC's first Community Well - February 2009
Written by Judith Johnson (JWOC Volunteer)
See A Problem
The way this project developed reveals one of the strengths of JWOC's grassroots approach to providing community assistance. One of JWOC's activities is providing scholarships for students who need help in attending college. During their university studies, these students "give back" to the community by performing volunteer work. A number of JWOC scholarship students continue working for the community after graduation. One of these students, Se, chose to work with both JWOC and with the NGO that sponsors the Self Help Community Center (SHCC). The SHCC was established in 2007 and is supported by an organization called "This Life Cambodia" whose aim is to help the center become self sustainable. Se told us that while working at SCHH, he noticed that "the children from the classes would often try to get water from the nearby family wells, but would be chased away by the villagers, who needed the water for their families." As part of his volunteer work for JWOC, Se had gone into the villages to find sites for family wells, so he knew that JWOC was committed to bringing clean water to Cambodian communities. He approached JWOC about the possibility of sponsoring a larger well for community use at SCHH. JWOC was able to respond to the need by using funds contributed by Sasebo Elementary School in Japan.
Solving A Problem: The Community Well
JWOC is pleased to announce the recent installation of a "community well" in the village of Tau Teia, which is in Krobie Real Commune near Siem Reap, Cambodia. One of the most challenging aspects when looking for a place for a community well is knowing that it will be used in such a way as to justify the larger capacity of water pumping that it offers. Using more sophisticated piping than our family wells, and with a much bigger pump, the Community well provides a much bigger capacity of water meaning that it opens up new possibilities for the community it serves. The place we found and installed the community well is a combination between a school and a self help community centre, designed in such a way as to promote a sustainable way of life to all the houses in the community. This includes the provision of training and education in agriculture, hygiene, well maintenance and water conservation.
This large, two person hand pumped well will provide much needed clean water for over 420 children who attend school at the SHCC in the village. The school at SHCC began as the dream of a local villager who wanted to bring the knowledge he had managed to obtain for himself back to his village. He described for us the beginnings of a "one room, make-shift" school. Now the school provides free daily pre-school and English language classes, along with other community services, and utilizes NGO volunteers to enhance its service capacity. Installing the new well at this school for community use, leverages the strengths of committed organizations and individuals to improve the overall quality of life in this Cambodian village. The impact of this water well will be great in that it will not only provide plentiful fresh water for the children and families living in the community but it will also give the center the opportunity to explore the education and practical training it can offer, especially in agriculture and hygiene.
Before the installation of this well, a smaller hand pumped well, characteristic of those installed for single families, had provided water at the school. But, as attendance at the school grew, the need for water exceeded the capacity of the original well. By mid-day, water supplies were scarce, and as and SCHH staff member told us, "the water was frequently muddle and smelled bad." Thanks to the new larger community well, the children can look forward to ample fresh water throughout the day. If enrollment continues to increase, as is hoped, the community well, which has the capacity to produce 500 liters of water per hour, will be able to accommodate the new students.
The villagers themselves will benefit from the fresh water supply as well. While some families have been able to purchase small, individual wells, a number of these are inadequate to the families' needs; others are often out of service, awaiting repairs. Repairs, which can cost up to $90, often exceed the average family's modest monthly income. Some villagers still have no near-by source of clean water. We spoke with one mother who has recently built a home near SCHH. She told us how happy she is that she'll be able to provide water to her family from the new well.
Supplying fresh water responds to a fundamental need in the Cambodian community. While JWOC family wells continue to respond to this need, the larger, community well will expand these efforts. Currently, the children at SHCC tend a few small gardens. But because the new well has greater capacity than the existing well, they will be able to increase the size and productivity of their gardens, growing more vegetables to supplement their nutritional needs. While establishing a source of healthy food is important, the garden project serves another purpose as well. The children will be introduced to permaculture - an organic, sustainable method of agriculture that can benefit them and their community in the future. Solar power is also part of the overall gardening plan. Using these methods to establish a productive garden will serve as a model for what the villagers themselves might do to improve their own lives.
Once the garden is established, the children will be able to harvest the crops and use them to prepare meals - giving them a change to learn to make a variety of nutritious dishes for themselves and their families. Long-term goals of the staff include establishment of an organic cooperative in the village and partnerships with local restaurants interested in serving locally grown, organic ingredients.
While the focus of the garden project is on increasing the community's ability to engage in sustainable agriculture, it is possible that some produce will be available to sell in the local market. If so, SHCC plans to use the proceeds for small celebrations for the children and small gifts recognizing their accomplishments in school.
A project such as the installation of this community well - which addresses an immediate problem and at the same time lays the groundwork for long-term community benefit - is the type of project that JWOC is proud to sponsor. JWOC extends its thanks, and those of the school children and the villagers, to the Sasebo Elementary School for its donation of funds for this important project.
To learn more about the Self Help Community Center, please visit www.shcccambodia.org.
