Preethi Nallu, press TV, Phnom Penh
It is a special day for this 26 year old and his family. His home in the outskirts of Phnom Penh city in Cambodia will now have 24 hour clean water supply. Like many other Cambodians living in slum communities, Sinkue, who is an English teacher at a local school had to travel a long distance to obtain safe water for daily use. He is confident that this round-the-clock water supply will increase the quality of life for his family and his students.
Water: an essential element for sustaining life. Yet, according the World Health Organization (WHO), 884 million people across the world lack access to safe water supplies. This number equates to roughly one in eight people.
Cambodia, a country that depends heavily on foreign aid, has been in the process of re-developing its water infrastructure since the early 90s after the end of the Pol Pot regime that left the country in an impoverished state and without basic amenities.
The director of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority draws from his own experience of moving to the city from a rural province and his struggle for water on a daily basis during and after the Khmer Rouge years.
Latest WHO reports claim that people living in slums often pay 5 to 10 times more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city. At a recent speech marking the World Water Day, UN agencies working in Cambodia admitted that the country suffers from a similar inequity where residents living in urban slums would need to pay 5 times the cost for safe water. As a result many rely on unsafe sources.
Although government authorities admit that for many years slum communities were largely ignored in terms of clean water supply, in recent years they have focused on trying to find domestic and international funding to subsidize these communities. A current project being funded by the World Bank aims to provide 5000 families in communities like this one with clean water.
The local water authorities are facilitating installation of water pumps that are subsidized at 100 percent and only require a minimal deposit fee.
It is evident that Cambodia has progressed significantly over the last decade in terms of clean water for its people but a large percentage of those enjoying the benefits live urban centers. Those living in slum communities and rural areas continue to experience high incidence of water borne diseases due to lack of clean water and adequate sanitation. In fact, Cambodia remains one of the countries with the lowest provision of sanitation to its rural communities.
3 comments:
I wish and hope HUN SEN BOOT UP THE CLEAN WATER CRISIS TO HELP POOR KHMER FARMER OR ALSO ALL PEOPLE IN CAMBODIA .SPECIALLY I FOCUS ON POOR KHMER FARMER WHO WORK DAILY FOR RICE FIELD TO SHARE AND FEED CITY PEOPLE .
Hun Sen never cares about clean water
for the ethnic Khmer groups;what he
cares are Power and money for his own
families and his clans.
He is grabbing Khmer people land and selling to companies that are building houses and tall buildings.
The Hun Sen high and low officials
are rich and live happily;he lets the
poor Khmer people live in the slumps
and drink dirty water.
Koh Tral Island must not be forgotten
By Ms. Rattana Keo
Why do Koh Tral Island, known in Vietnam as Phu Quoc, a sea and land area covering proximately over 10,000 km2 [Note: the actual land size of Koh Tral itself is 574 square kilometres (222 sq miles)] have been lost to Vietnam by whose treaty? Why don’t Cambodia government be transparent and explain to Cambodia army at front line and the whole nation about this? Why don't they include this into education system? Why?
Cambodian armies are fighting at front line for 4.6 km2 on the Thai border and what's about over 10,000km2 of Cambodia to Vietnam. Nobody dare to talk about it! Why? Cambodian armies you are decide the fate of your nation, Cambodian army as well as Cambodian people must rethink about this again and again. Is it fair?
Koh Tral Island, the sea and land area of over 10,000 square kilometres have been lost to Vietnam by the 1979 to 1985 treaties. The Cambodian army at front line as well as all Cambodian people must rethink again about these issues. Are Cambodian army fighting to protect the Cambodia Nation or protecting a very small group that own big lands, big properties or only protecting a small group but disguising as protecting the Khmer nation?
The Cambodian army at front lines suffer under rain, wind, bullets, bombs, lack of foods, lack of nutrition and their families have no health care assistance, no securities after they died but a very small group eat well, sleep well, sleep in first class hotel with air conditioning system with message from young girls, have first class medical care from oversea medical treatments, they are billionaires, millionaires who sell out the country to be rich and make the Cambodian people suffer everyday.
Who signed the treaty 1979-1985 that resulted in the loss over 10,000 km2 of Cambodia??? Why they are not being transparent and brave enough to inform all Cambodians and Cambodian army at front line about these issues? Why don't they include Koh Tral (Koh Tral size is bigger than the whole Phom Phen and bigger than Singapore [Note: Singapore's present land size is 704 km2 (271.8 sq mi)]) with heap of great natural resources, in the Cambodian education system?
Look at Hun Sen's families, relatives and friends- they are billionaires, millionaires. Where did they get the money from when we all just got out of war with empty hands [in 1979]? Hun Sen always say in his speeches that Cambodia had just risen up from the ashes of war, just got up from Year Zero with empty hands and how come they are billionaires, millionaires but 90% of innocent Cambodian people are so poor and struggling with their livelihood every day?
Smart Khmer girl Ms. Rattana Keo,
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