Siem Reap, KH – Thank you to visiting student volunteers from UK and South Africa – Apr 2024
March 28 marked the start of welcoming students to Peaksneng Village this year, we are very grateful to them and pleased to highlight the contributions made by those who give up their time to volunteer and fund raise to assist families to strengthen their health in our community in Cambodia. Thank you to our student volunteers.
These are the highlights of the students’ assistance with building vegetable gardens, toilets and completing a road.
Building Food Always In The Home (FAITH) gardens – Our FAITH garden progamme involves providing families with the necessary resources, like tools, seeds and techniques for organic gardening. With this assistance, families are able to grow different kinds of vegetables on their own plot offering them a continuous supply of fresh and nutritious vegetables for feeding their family. The students assisted families in our village to build gardens.
In many rural parts of Cambodia, access to nutritious food is limited, which leads to malnutrition among families. Peaksneng believes that one effective solution is the implementation of a FAITH garden program that empowers families to grow their own food, enabling them to have a sustainable source of food and contribution to their income when they sell surplus vegetables.
Home toilet building – Our Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) program assists families who do not have access to toilets and clean water, causing serious health issues and in some cases death. About 80 per cent of the Cambodian population lives in rural areas and only 10 per cent of them have access to adequate sanitation. Lack of sanitation also leads to sickness like diarrhoea caused by drinking dirty water, often contaminated from open defecation. Before Peaksneng Shop started working in Peaksneng village, most villagers were not concerned about sanitation and hygiene. They did not know about the negative impact that open defecation has on children’s growth and development. Most people used to defecate behind the bushes. Due to this unsanitary practice, the village became a breeding ground for bacteria. Diarrhea was common sickness among the local people. This was especially true for small children who were frequently falling ill. Families had to spend their small incomes on medicine. Thanks to the students from UK for funding and building three toilets in our community.
Road building – The completion of nearly 150 meters of red gravel road in the Rent-to-Own home community development project, is making it more convenient for daily travel for the families, children and guests. It will facilitate more efficient, easy and enjoyable travel for children to school and church. Thank you to Better Lives, True Adventures and, visiting students for making this possible.
This students visit was more than just a volunteering opportunity; it was a journey of personal and collective growth. Our families and visiting students not only contrubute and benefit from these projects, but also gain invaluable life lessons in empathy, cultural diversity and the power of service. One of the students shared. “Although volunteering can be hard work, it gives a sense of achievement and fulfilment when you feel that you have made a difference to families”.
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