Battambang, KH – Parmiters students assist families to improve health, education, and income – 29 Jul 2019

21 students, 3 teachers, and 1 True Adventure leader from Parmiters School visited Healthy Life Reinforcement for 8 days of service work, community collaboration, and cultural immersion. The students collaborated with Healthy Life staff, local families, and other community members to expand Healthy Life’s organic gardening program and provide additional support to families who already have productive vegetable gardens. The group’s achievements include completing:

• 4 organic compost piles
• 4 family vegetable gardens
• 300 vegetable seedlings
• 2 family vegetable garden extensions
• 2 family toilets
• 2 family water reservoirs
• 1 family pig pen repair

Healthy Life Reinforcement manager Salee Oum appreciated everything the group did for the community. “We really enjoyed this group,” he said, “the families and our team and even the tuk tuk drivers had so much fun. It was fantastic.” Many students felt the same. As one student said: “Food was amazing, tuk tuk drivers were very funny and very enjoyable, and project work was really fun and well organized!”

The group’s hard work will benefit families’ health, education, and income opportunities for years to come. Vegetable gardens provide daily income and nutrition. Some families will choose to expand their gardens to increase the income they are able to earn. Compost and seedlings are critical inputs to support productive organic vegetable gardens.

Water reservoirs assist families to get through the long dry season. Without a reservoir families will either drink dirty water, spend a long time collecting water, or pay for clean water. Drinking dirty water has negative effects on health and education. Spending time collecting water takes away from time learning and studying. Paying for water can lead to an income shortage. Reservoirs enable families to have free, clean drinking water all year long.

Toilets benefit families and their neighbors. Parmiters students built two easy latrine toilets which are safe for users and hygienic for the entire community. Many families have no toilet and will go to the bathroom in bushes, streams, or wherever they can find privacy. This presents a health risk for the entire community. Some families have toilets, but they are unsafe – just a platform with a hole over a large pit. Not only are these toilets unhygienic, they also present immediate physical dangers.