US Law will help end secrecy on oil, gas and mining payments to Cambodia

New Oxfam Initiative Seeks To 'Change' Low Youth Engagement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t6dOZzvjNg

Floods affect 1.6 mln Cambodians, Oxfam says outlook grim

A girl squats on her tyre raft in the floodwaters in Phnom Penh October 26, 2011. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

04 Nov 2011
Source: alertnet // Thin Lei Win

BANGKOK (AlertNet) – Severe floods in impoverished Cambodia have killed 247 people, disrupted the lives of 1.6 million - more than one in 10 people - and affected three-quarters of the country, a United Nations’ report says.

Flooding along the Mekong and other key rivers over the past two months has raised fears of food shortages and increased personal debt after more than 10 percent of the rice crop was destroyed.

This has left thousands of families without an income in a country of 14.7 million where close to 80 percent live in rural areas and 71 percent depend on agriculture (largely rice) and livestock for their livelihood.

“The most immediate humanitarian needs are food, water, sanitation, hygiene and related items and some shelter,” Manish Mehta, Oxfam’s humanitarian programme manager in Cambodia told AlertNet.

News Release for Wo​rld Food Day in Cambodia

Dear all,

Thanks for coming to the food exhibition this morning. If you missed the morning’s celebration of the World Food Day in Cambodia, please find attached the press release from the event.

Kind regards,

Soleak Seang
Regional Communications Officer
Oxfam America East Asia Regional Office
4th Floor, #64, Street 108, Wat Phnom, Daun Penh
Phnom Penh UTC/GMT +7 hours
H/P: +855 23 210 357 (ext-123)
Skype: Soleak_Oxfamamerica


http://www.box.net/shared/i0pxhv5m2lesih49ulhj


http://www.box.net/shared/n91xgt06f774y00okd65

World Food Day: call for support of small-scal​e food producers

Dear all,

This week is the World Food Week, and tomorrow there will be an exhibition to call for greater investment in small-scale food producers. For more information, please find the files attached.

Kind regards,


Soleak Seang
Regional Communications Officer
Oxfam America East Asia Regional Office
4th Floor, #64, Street 108, Wat Phnom, Daun Penh
Phnom Penh UTC/GMT +7 hours
H/P: +855 23 210 357 (ext-123)
Skype: Soleak_Oxfamamerica


http://www.box.net/shared/7i4br98x3c2clnp4etak


http://www.box.net/shared/4m4k3icgyc0lvlot7364


http://www.box.net/shared/53vm7iati3tr4z7k0xaq


http://www.box.net/shared/gbh9qbh40yznpsx54izo

Support Oxfam to prevent Cambodian land grabs

August 23, 2011
Seacoastonline.com

To the Editor:

Chanthy Dam runs an organization in Cambodia called the Highlander Association, which helps indigenous communities like La Lai protect their rights from mining and logging concessions that aim to take away communal lands without consent. Civil society organizations in Cambodia report to Oxfam that there are 67 mining concessions comprising more than 3 million acres of land operating in four northeastern provinces where the highest concentrations of indigenous people live.

The Highlander Association leads training programs for village elders and activists so they can learn about their rights under Cambodia’ land laws.

“The law says no authority can take away ancestral land from an indigenous community,” Chanthy says. “Only indigenous communities have the right to manage indigenous lands.”

Unfortunately, the Cambodian government is too willing to allow logging and mining companies and large-scale plantations to take over tracts of land set aside by law for indigenous communities. That leaves people in La Lai and elsewhere with no place to go. But instead of falling back on a pattern of disengagement from the government and its policies, native communities in the highlands of Cambodia are listening to Chanthy Dam and looking at other options: negotiating, defending their rights and staying put.

No authority can take ancestral land

Chanthy Dam is helping indigenous Cambodian communities to defend their land rights. But—even with the law on her side—her work involves great personal risk. Oxfam’s Chris Hufstader traveled to the highlands in the northern province of Ratanakiri to meet Chanthy and learn more.

No Authority can take ancestral land - Chris Hufstader, OXFAM
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/57425414?access_key=key-1pmo9zolhxcqji17b7o0


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLx1M9IWNRU&feature=player_embedded

Groups Urge Looser Reins on Development Aid

“Capacity: Helping Countries Lead” is among Oxfam America's latest research and policy reports. (Photo: By Soeung Sophat VOA, Khmer)

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, D.C Wednesday, 15 September 2010

“We talk a lot about investing in the recipients' ability to do things for themselves, but we don’t always deliver our aid in ways that make that easy for people. A lot of times, we fund the things that we think poor people in developing countries need, rather than taking the time to listen to what poor people and their governments say they need.”

Cambodia and other countries should be encouraged to develop their own plans for progress, an international development group says in a new report.

In its “Capacity: Helping Countries Lead,” Oxfam America said developing countries could benefit more from US aid if they were given room to make their own plans for it.

“We talk a lot about investing in the recipients' ability to do things for themselves, but we don’t always deliver our aid in ways that make that easy for people,” Gregory Adams, director of aid effectiveness at Oxfam America, told VOA Khmer Monday. “A lot of times, we fund the things that we think poor people in developing countries need, rather than taking the time to listen to what poor people and their governments say they need.”

The report highlighted feedback from governments, civic institutions and US aid agencies themselves for better progress toward development goals.

“We believe, we know, and our experience tells us that development partners do not know what we want,” Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers said. “Only we the host country know what we want and what capacity we have in receiving assistance from development partners.”

Cambodia is heavily reliant on foreign assistance, which provides half its budget, more than $1 billion annually. The US provided $68.5 million for 2010.

Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Center, said he supported the overall idea of host countries giving more ownership of development projects to host countries.

“However,” he said, “I think that donors, including the US, should not just give a blank check to the host country.”

Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, was cautiously supportive of the idea.

“Absolutely, there need to be discussions with the Cambodian people to find out the real needs, because there are some projects that benefit just small groups of people,” he said. “There are projects that benefit political supporters and their party, and as a result it hinders broad economic development in the country. Therefore, participation from all people, and especially members of parliament, is very important to ensure the benefit for the poor.”

US Embassy officials declined to comment without having seen the report.

The report noted, however, that USAID was pursuing reform in its implementation and procurement systems already.

Keeping the Kingdom honest

The AngloGold Ashanti Mine pit is shown in Ghana. Communities across the West African nation have been relocated to make room for mining projects and have endured unemployment, environmental damage and the loss of agricultural land. (PHOTO SUPPLIED)

Monday, 05 April 2010
Solinn Lim
The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia needs transparent legal mechanisms to govern the development of its natural resources, preventing damage to society and the environment.

Over the past weeks, news on oil, gas and mineral mining rose to the attention of the media and the public with significant discoveries of silver, gold and bauxite, with Chevron also announcing oil operations to start in the Kingdom in 2012. While Cambodia has good reason to be pleased with these prospects, there are a number of important aspects that need to be considered in order to meet realistic public expectations and ensure good governance.

The task ahead of the Cambodian government is a large one. Cambodia will need transparent and accountable legal mechanisms and investment strategies in order to ensure that the valuable but finite extractive revenues will be reinvested into advancing important economic sectors, so that they provide opportunities for our country to grow. Provision of better social services such as healthcare and education will give everyone the chance to improve their standard of living, while investment in economic diversification will help ensure the competitiveness of other critical sectors such as garments, agriculture and tourism, which then can provide large and sustainable employment to Cambodia’s unskilled labour force. This is indeed a challenging task, and many civil society actors including Oxfam are prepared to support this preparation.

Recently, we’ve seen the Cambodian government establish specialised institutions to oversee oil, gas and mining development and start to take necessary steps towards responsible and accountable revenue management, including the recent disclosure of $26 million in signature bonus payments and social funds by PetroVietnam and Total. This is a good example that shows commitment to transparency.

Let me tell you about a large-scale gold mine I saw in Ghana, Africa. It was way beyond the small diggings we know from our small gem miners in Ratanikkiri and Pailin. One mining site seemed 100 times bigger than our Olympic Stadium, and all around were rumbling digging machines that had wheels the size of houses. Its depth was twice the distance from Wat Phnom to the Independence Monument. As Cambodia is preparing to reap the benefits of oil, gas and hard minerals, it has to reflect on the importance of balancing not only the potential benefits of these resources but also the social and environmental impacts.

From Oxfam’s experiences in extractive industries around the world, too often people’s livelihoods are interrupted and their communities are polluted by these projects. Operations at modern mines and oil projects can begin and end in fewer than 10 years. Communities must be prepared for sites to close. If reclamation funding or bonding for the cleanup is not properly negotiated, the community can be left with contaminated land and water, and no jobs. However, there is a way to ensure that this does not happen.

To ensure equitable benefit sharing, community participation in decision making is vital. Oxfam has developed a position paper on Free Prior and Informed Consent that gives the details on what we believe constitutes appropriate consultation. This includes adequate time for decisions to be made; disclosure of adequate and independently verified information about the potential costs and benefits of a project, and the absence of any coercion or intimidation within the decision-making processes. We know that what we are asking is realistic, as there are precedents for good consultation processes in countries around the world including Canada, Australia and the Philippines.

By having taken the first steps to meet realistic public expectations and ensure good governance, Cambodia can increase its opportunity for sustainable development as set out in the government’s rectangular strategy. There is also clear opportunity for Cambodia to stand out as a leader and influence policies regionally and beyond.
----------------
Solinn Lim is regional coordinator for the extractive industries programme of Oxfam America’s East Asia regional office .

Helping communities in Cambodia save for change

09 Mar 2010
Oxfam

This blog is written by Soleak Seang, Regional Communications Officer with Oxfam America's East Asia Regional Office.

When Sean Ing first heard of "Saving for Change" in January 2009, she was skeptical. But Ing had a big expense coming up - her daughter's wedding, which she wasn't sure how to fund. Ing owns 1.5 hectares of farm land, but it takes her half a year to harvest the rice and she had limited access to banking services. So she decided to listen.

"First I decided to just listen to what the trainer had to say about saving money. Then it got more interesting, and I thought I would want to give it a try," the 53-year-old thin, jovial farmer said.

Then Ing found out Saving for Change allows members loans not only to solve short-term credit needs, but also to expand their income sources such as by raising livestock and growing vegetables.

She decided to join a savings group to help address her family's financial difficulty.

Ing lives in Bantoat Bos, a village some 400 km from the Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. People in Ing's village depend heavily on rain-fed agriculture for their living. The majority grow wet-season rice. During the dry season, some migrate to other provinces and some cross the border to look for work in Thailand.

Many are poor, earning less than a dollar a day. And like many poor Cambodians, most villagers in Bantoat Bos consider themselves too poor to save money.

The Saving for Change program aims to address this misconception.

Never too poor to save Five men and five women in Ing's village started their Saving for Change group in mid January 2010. With the support of a trainer, they established group rules, selected group leaders, and named their group Bantoat Bos Prosperity.

This group meets and saves three times a month, and members can borrow money at the second meeting of every month. When the group meets, each member puts in savings ranging from 5,000 Riels ($1.25) to 15,000 Riels ($3.60) into the group's savings box.

In January, Bantoat Bos Prosperity saved 305,000 Riels ($75) and Ing was the first beneficiary. She borrowed 300,000 Riels to prepare meals - buying chickens, pork, and vegetables - for her daughter's wedding.

According to the group's rules, Ing will pay a two percent interest per month, and she has three months to pay back the loan. That will give her enough time to harvest and sell her rice.

The Saving for Change program shows poor, rural communities how to save their money as a group and make small but important loans to each other. Members of Ing's group act as their own community bank - they save, lend, and pay each other interest.

This approach has helped Ing and thousands of other Cambodian families to reduce dependency on credit providers, moneylenders, and intermediaries who would demand collateral like land titles and charge high interest.

From small savings to big changes During an Oxfam's recent visit, all 10 members of Bantoat Bos Prosperity gathered under the shade of some banana, coconut and mango trees. They sat in a circle on a blue plastic sheet and began their group meeting.

Everybody had some money to save. Ing handed over 10,000 Riels ($2.50) for savings and 6,000 Riels ($1.50) to cover the interest on her loan.

These savings are tiny amounts but they add up over time, and in return, can help people like Ing overcome financial difficulty and bring changes in their lives.

They also teach Bantoat Bos Prosperity members basic skills in managing financial resources.

In Cambodia, the Saving for Change program has been helping people in Banteay Meanchey and Preh Vihear provinces since 2009 to work their own way out of poverty.

Since Oxfam America launched the program in Mali in 2005, it has spread to three other countries - Senegal, El Salvador, and Cambodia - and is reaching 351,000 families who have mobilized savings of more than $6 million.

Working with local organizations in Cambodia such as RACHA and Save Cambodia's Wildlife, Oxfam America has formed Saving for Change groups for 41,000 people and about 80 percent of them are female. The organization expects to reach 91,000 Cambodians in the next three years.

Oxfam Calls on Chevron to Improve Transparency Practices

"Chevron is currently involved in oil and gas exploration in Cambodia" - KI-Media

SOURCE: Oxfam America

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- International aid agency Oxfam America filed a shareholder resolution today with Chevron calling on the California-based oil company to adopt a comprehensive policy of publicly disclosing payments made to governments where the company operates.

The resolution, filed on International Human Rights Day, aims to promote the rights of citizens in oil-rich countries by providing them with vital information about revenues coming into their countries. Co-filers on this resolution include Newground Social Investment, Robert Brooke Zevin Associates, Inc., and likely several other Chevron shareholders.

In 2008, Chevron paid more than $40 billion in taxes to governments around the world. Managed properly, oil revenues can contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction in countries where Chevron and other companies operate. However, history has shown that oil company payments to governments as well as government receipts are often kept secret, leading to embezzlement, corruption, and revenue misappropriation by host governments, which, in many cases, has prevented oil revenues from contributing to economic development in these countries.

"Natural resource revenues are too often squandered through corruption, internal conflict, and weak governance," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "Citizens of resource-rich developing countries need adequate information to hold their governments accountable for using natural resource revenues for essential services like health and education. Chevron should maintain its position as an industry leader on this issue by practicing the highest degree of disclosure of payments to host governments to help make this possible."

Chevron plays a leading role in the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a voluntary program designed to increase transparency of payments by oil, gas, and mining companies to governments where resources are extracted. EITI is recognized as an important step toward improving revenue transparency, but a voluntary initiative has limited effect and does not cover all countries where Chevron invests, including Angola, Chad, and Cambodia.

"While Chevron has endorsed the concept of revenue transparency with programs like EITI, it does not fully disclose payments to governments on a country-by-country basis. A policy for disclosing this information in all of Chevron's countries of operation will help ensure that the company's - and the shareholders' - investments contribute to increased economic development and political stability in developing nations," said Offenheiser. "We hope that other Chevron investors will join us in supporting this proposal."

Oxfam's proposal presents an opportunity for Chevron to take a leadership role as the US Congress contemplates legislation that would legally require all oil, gas, and mining companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose payments made to host governments. This includes European companies, such as Shell and BP, as well as many companies in emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil. The Energy Security through Transparency Act of 2009 was introduced with bipartisan Senate support in September and is expected to be considered for a vote in 2010.

"This legislation hopes to address the lack of transparency in the oil, gas, and mining industry that often goes hand-in-hand with government corruption and violent conflict. The resulting instability poses a long-term threat to company investments and higher energy prices for consumers. By recognizing the value of transparency, Chevron can help elevate the industry and foster accountability in nations where secrecy has undermined development, democracy, and human rights," said Offenheiser.

Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 100 countries, Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice. Oxfam America is an affiliate of Oxfam International.

Typhoon Mirinae likely to worsen Cambodia's flood problems: Oxfam

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- International aid agency Oxfam has cautioned that a new wave of rain from Typhoon Mirinae is expected to reach Cambodia on Nov. 2.

In a statement received Saturday, Oxfam said situations in communities already affected by Typhoon Ketsana and prolonged annual floods in central and northern Cambodia are likely to worsen with the effects of the new typhoon, putting already affected people further at risk.

"Typhoon Mirinae is currently on track to hit the northern Philippines island of Luzon . Although Cambodia may not be hit with the full strength of the typhoon, the country remains vulnerable due to its limited resources for preparation and response, and while the country is just beginning to recover from recent flooding," the statement said.

"Typhoon Mirinae could set back on-going emergency work and planned recovery and rehabilitation efforts in Cambodia ," said Francis Perez, Country Lead of Oxfam in Cambodia .

"The effects of the new typhoon could increase hazards in still flooded areas and cause further damage to crops and livelihoods. It may also displace communities or prolong the return of those already displaced by Typhoon Ketsana," he added.

Fearing a new threat of another typhoon, Oxfam is alerting humanitarian agencies and government authorities to help communities living in areas susceptible to flooding to be prepared by stocking on clean water and food and securing important documents.

The damage from Typhoon Ketsana runs to around 40 million U.S. dollars in Cambodia, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The storm, which killed at least 30 people, affected about 6,000 families and destroyed thousands of hectares of rice fields, and local infrastructure such as irrigation systems, roads, schools and houses.

Cambodia's killing fields 30 years on: 'They will kill our parents tonight... we must escape'

Orphaned Cambodian children in refugee camp in 1979
Young Somaly Lun
Somaly as she is today
With her daughters (All pics: Harry Page, Getty)

27/10/2009
By Ros Wynne-Jones
Mirror.co.uk

It is 30 years since John Pilger revealed the existence of the Cambodian Killing Fields in the Daily Mirror. For Somaly Lun, the anniversary is bittersweet.

Today, customers at the Oxfordshire supermarket checkout where she works have no idea of her extraordinary story.

How she escaped US B-52 bombers as a child, a Khmer Rouge concentration camp as a teenager, and Vietnamese soldiers as a young woman. How she lost her father and six brothers to the Khmer Rouge.

Somaly owes her life in the UK to Oxfam's Marcus Thompson, then a young humanitarian worker who had become friends with Somaly and her husband Borithy.

"England gave me the first safe place I had ever lived," Somaly says.

By the time she was 10, her home town of Kratie was under attack, even though Cambodia was neutral. Kratie was close to the border with Vietnam which was at war with the States, and US President Richard Nixon ordered 100,000 tonnes of secret bombings.

"The B-52s came every day," Somaly recalls. "Every day, shooting and bombing and running." One day a man grabbed her as an F-11 US fighter jet swept low and held her in front of him as a shield. "The plane was so low I could almost see the pilot's face," she says. It permanently damaged her hearing.

Somaly's family fled to Phnom Penh, but by 1975 it had fallen to Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. Backed by the US against the Vietnamese communists, the Khmer Rouge were determined to return Cambodia to Year Zero, to a time before industrialisation.

"My father, a doctor, was in the middle of an operation the day the Khmer Rouge came," Somaly says. "He said, 'What about the patient?' They pointed a gun at him and asked, 'Do you want to die?'"

Somaly's family were herded out at gunpoint with two million other people. The family was taken to Pursat, a concentration camp in the remote countryside. Then the Khmer Rouge came for Somaly's father.

"They said, 'We know you are a doctor'." The first time, they wanted him to treat one of the leaders. But the second time, "they took him away and he never came back". Somaly was forced to spend 20 hours a day as a slave doing hard labour in the rice fields despite starvation, exhaustion and malaria.

Her older brother was caught saving his food rations for her. "They made him confess he was a US spy," she says. "They kept beating him until he died. Then my younger brother was taken. They put him in a prison with other children, and burned it to the ground. The screams have haunted me ever since.

"One day, they came and took 2,000 people. One of the girls came back like a zombie with blood all over her. She said, 'They killed everyone'." Then, one day a pal whispered: "They are killing our parents and we have to escape now, tonight." Somaly says: "After dark we went to where people were gathered with three big boats."

The Khmer Rouge chased them along the river, firing at the boats. She says: "We hid in the mangrove and caught fish and ate it raw as we didn't dare to make a fire. We drank muddy water. We all became sick - just skin and bones."

Everyone on Somaly's boat was drifting in and out of consciousness. "But somehow it arrived by itself at Kampong Chhnang, where the Khmer Rouge was driven out," she says. "They gave us food, water, shelter."

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New escapees from Pursat told Somaly that thousands had been taken to a cliff and forced off at gunpoint. Yet, somehow her mother, sister and brother had escaped. "The day I saw them again was the happiest day of my life," Somaly says.

When they returned to Phnom Penh in 1979 they found a ghost city occupied by the Vietnamese liberators.

Somaly took a job at the hotel Samaki - now Le Royale - as a receptionist, where she met Borithy, who was working for the Cambodian foreign office as a translator.

She also met Marcus Thompson, a 34-year-old British aid worker sent by Oxfam to set up a humanitarian programme. "We became friends," he remembers. "We were all stuck together at the hotel."

But Cambodia was still dangerous - and Borithy was warned to leave Phnom Penh. "He said he was in love with me and refused to leave without me," Somaly says.

On March 16, 1980, the couple married in secret inside a destroyed pagoda. The next day, they escaped. Passing through fields of landmines, they made it through Vietnamese, then Khmer Rouge territory and even past the Thai border guards to Khao I Dang, a squalid refugee camp on the border. Somaly wrote to her family and to Marcus to tell them they were alive.

"I needed to go to those camps as part of my work," Marcus says. Somaly says she will never forget seeing Marcus walking through the camp. "I cried out 'Marcus!' and just hung on to his neck," she says.

Marcus was shocked by their plight. "They couldn't go back to Cambodia," he says. "The Thais wouldn't accept them. We had to do something."

Back in England, Marcus and his Oxfam colleagues went through official channels to ask whether Britain would accept the family as refugees.

"We had no expectation anything would happen," Marcus says. "But then we got a letter saying 'Yes'."

Somaly, 22 and pregnant, arrived in the UK on May 12, 1981, with Borithy, Somaly's mother Moeun, brother Rithy and sister Virak - and settled close to Marcus and his family in Witney, Oxfordshire.

"People at the Oxfam offices donated all kinds of furniture, saucepans, an old TV, carpets," Somaly remembers.

Today, the couple's daughters are success stories in their own right. The youngest, 23-year-old Bophanie, is a teacher in Brighton, while her sister, Mary Thida Lun, 27, is Assistant Private Secretary to the Minister of State for International Development, Gareth Thomas.

At 64, Marcus still works as an adviser to Oxfam, and the charity remains working in Cambodia, still tackling the legacy of the dark days of the Khmer Rouge and facing new challenges from climate change, typhoons and flooding.

Today, 30 years on, when she goes to and from work at the local supermarket, living her British life, Somaly sometimes remembers the words her father said to her before they took him away.

"He said, 'You are going to survive. You are going to go places'." She shakes her head slowly. "I think that was what gave me the strength to survive."

Oxfam:15,000 Cambodian Households Need Food Assistance

21-Oct-2009
Source: Xinhua

The hunger period has been prolonged, and people in flood affected communities cannot wait any longer, international aid agency Oxfam warned Tuesday.

Food assistance is not delivered quickly enough to the affected communities, and thousands of families who are in need of urgent food assistance are still marooned in floodwaters, it said.

Oxfam estimates that 15,000 households are waiting for immediate food assistance, and the number is increasing rapidly as floodwaters continue to recede slowly and many more families have used up their food stocks. Some households who received food assistance earlier were also running out of food for weeks.

"People in the flood affected regions needed food a month ago, and they are still waiting for food," said Francis Perez, Country Lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia. "Food insecurity is getting worse in the affected communities. Government bodies and international aid agencies concerned with the current situation must start delivering food assistance now."

About 100,000 people are affected by typhoon Ketsana which coincided with annual floods in late September and early October.

The storm affected both farmers who own farmlands and those who sell their labour to work on those farms, thus depriving both groups of their livelihoods. Normally people facing disruptions in their livelihoods in the provinces would have family members migrate to Phnom Penh and other provinces to look for work.

But the cities are already flooded with unemployed workers due to the global financial storm that has ravaged the country's economy. So, that kind of strategy to stave off hunger may no longer be available as an option to those displaced by the floods.

Flood-affected Cambodians need food aid, Oxfam urges

21 October 2009
Charities Aid Foundation

Thousands of families in Cambodia are still marooned and without adequate food aid after major floods hit the country, a charity reports.

According to Oxfam International, some 15,000 households are in need of immediate food assistance because aid has not been distributed quickly enough.

The organisation estimates that some 100,000 Cambodians were affected by typhoon Ketsana, which hit at the same time as annual floods at the end of September, many of whom are farmers or rural labourers.

Francis Perez, country lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia, commented that many people have been urgently awaiting aid for a month.

He said: "Government bodies and international aid agencies concerned with the current situation must start delivering food assistance now.

"Food insecurity is getting worse in the affected communities."

So far, the international aid agency has delivered non-food aid to 5,000 families in the badly-affected regions of Kratie, Kampong Thom and Stung Treng, but wishes to meet the food needs of 1,000 more.

Oxfam International is also working to help flood-stricken families in Bangladesh through the construction of shelters.

More Capacity Needed for Resource Management

By Im Sothearith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
20 October 2009

Laws, regulations, and capacity building comprise important steps in natural resource development, which can fill government coffers, Cambodia’s ambassador to the US said at a recent discussion in Washington.

“The revenue from both the petroleum and mining sectors will contribute substantially to the nation’s development of infrastructure, to form the basis for the future economic growth,” Ambassador Hem Heng said at the Oct. 15 discussion, organized by Oxfam America.

The International Monetary Fund estimated in 2007 that revenue from Cambodia’s untapped oil reserves could reach $174 million in 2011, climbing to $1.7 billion by 2021.

Since then, Cambodian oil has attracted major international corporations, spurring concerns from local and international organizations and donor countries that the government’s management capabilities may not be adequate.

Critics point to a record of poor management in other resources, such as timber.

Oxfam America is working with Cambodian government on natural resource management.

Lim Solin, the group’s East Asia program officer, said Oxfam America wants to see the government use resource revenue with transparency and accountability, and for future investment.

The strategy is to work with the government, civil society, the private sector and donors.

“We all have common goal to develop natural resources successfully so that average Cambodian people benefit from the developemnt” Lim Solin said.

Michael Zwirn, director of US operations for Wildlife Alliance, which has project in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, said discussion of resource management can help improve the government’s opportunities when oil and gas begin to flow.

Government officials have proven very cooperative with Wildlife Alliance, he said, but some still lack political will and dedication to develop natural resources.

“There’re some individual members of the Cambodian government who are tremendously supportive,” he said. “The other members have not yet been convinced, but we’re helping to develop political will within the Cambodian government at a very high level, as well as the rural government in the provinces.”

Hungry in Cambodia: Flood affected communities are still waiting for food assistance

20 Oct 2009
Source: Oxfam

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – The hunger period has been prolonged, and people in flood affected communities cannot wait any longer, international aid agency Oxfam warns. Food assistance is not being delivered quickly enough to the affected communities, and thousands of families who are in need of urgent food assistance are still marooned in floodwaters.

Oxfam estimates that 15,000 households are waiting for immediate food assistance, and the number is increasing rapidly as floodwaters continue to recede slowly and many more families have used up their food stocks. Some households who received food assistance earlier were also running out of food for weeks.

'People in the flood affected regions needed food a month ago, and they are still waiting for food,' said Francis Perez, Country Lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia. 'Food insecurity is getting worse in the affected communities. Government bodies and international aid agencies concerned with the current situation must start delivering food assistance now.'

About 100,000 people are affected by typhoon Ketsana which coincided with annual floods in late September and early October. The storm affected both farmers who own farmlands and those who sell their labour to work on those farms, thus depriving both groups of their livelihoods.

Normally people facing disruptions in their livelihoods in the provinces would have family members migrate to Phnom Penh and other provinces to look for work. But the cities are already flooded with unemployed workers due to the global financial storm that has ravaged the country's economy. So, that kind of coping strategy to stave off hunger may no longer be available as an option to those displaced by the floods.

Oxfam has been distributing non-food items to about 5,000 families in three hard-hit provinces: Kampong Thom, Kratie and Stung Treng. Recognizing an eminent danger of food shortages among the affected communities, Oxfam has decided to urgently distribute food items to 1,000 families in addition to its non-food assistance. Oxfam continues to coordinate relief assistance with government authorities and other agencies at the national and local levels.

Looming Food Crisis in Cambodia’s Flood Affected Regions

Now finding enough food is a big challenge

Source: Oxfam

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - October 15 - A food crisis is looming in flood affected communities in Cambodia, international aid agency Oxfam warns. Oxfam estimates that 100,000 people are affected by the floods and 15,000 households are in need of immediate food assistance.

Oxfam expects the situations to worsen if no coordination and urgent action are taken to deliver food assistance. Thus, Oxfam urges relevant government bodies, UN agencies, and other humanitarian organizations to find solutions to the food shortages.

Given the situation Oxfam has decided to urgently assemble food supply for 1,000 families in the three provinces where it operates. This is only a short-term solution for a few of the estimated 15,000 families who are in urgent need of food.

‘Every community we provided relief items to told us they needed food urgently. Some people skip meals so that their children can have more,' said Francis Perez, Country Lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia. ‘All agencies concerned with the current situation must act now to ensure that food quickly reaches those in need.'

Eight provinces in the central and northern Cambodia are affected by flooding. Many of the affected families are forced to borrow rice from each other, but now finding enough food is a big challenge. In some communities, Oxfam has also observed an increase in food prices which further weakens the capacities of the most vulnerable to live life in dignity.

Oxfam have responded to the current emergency in three hard-hit provinces, Kampong Thom, Stueng Treng and Kratie. It has distributed plastic sheets, water filters, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, Sarongs, kettles, water buckets, and soaps to affected communities in the three provinces. Oxfam has reached about 75 percent of the intended 5,000 families with its relief items despite difficulties to access many affected regions. It also plans to reach an additional 5,000 families in the recovery phase in the next three to six months to help affected communities restore water and sanitation facilities and ensure food and livelihoods security.
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CONTACT: Oxfam International

Francis Perez, Country Lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia, (+855)-12 815353 or FPerez@oxfam.org.uk

Soleak Seang, Media and Communications Officer, Oxfam International in Cambodia, (+855) 12 356 389 or sseang@oxfamamerica.org

Over 5,000 Families Need Immediate Help In Cambodia :Oxfam

PHNOM PENH, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Cambodia is still in emergency relief mode though flood waters in some areas are beginning to stabilize, the international humanitarian agency Oxfam said Tuesday in its press release.

Affected populations are in need of food, plastic sheets, mosquito nets, water filters and water containers among other non- food item needs, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Livelihoods have greatly been threatened especially with loss of the current rice crop. Wage labour opportunities are no longer available to those who rely on agriculture labour for income, the release said.

According to Oxfam, 5,000 families or about 20,000 people need immediate assistance in four provinces.

This figure may grow bigger as more information is received and more areas accessed. Oxfam's staff reported that flood victims in Kampong Thom, Stueng Treng, Kratie, and Preah Vihear remain among the most vulnerable.

"We can't underestimate the situation" said Francis Perez, Country Lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia.

"We are still in an emergency situation. Public health concerns and people's livelihoods are our priorities. We must keep strong coordination with other humanitarian agencies."

It is now estimated that 60,000 people are affected with at least 17 deaths including one pregnant woman, 65 injured with 18 serious cases and 30,000 hectares of rice fields and plantation destroyed by flood waters.

Oxfam's field reports show that 1,519 houses, 55 public buildings, 40 km of rural roads, 160 irrigation systems, channels, dams, embankments, and three bridges were damaged, causing major disruption to people's livelihoods. Relief works are hampered by transportation problem as roads and bridges have been damaged.

The traditionally dispersed settlements of Cambodian people also make some of the forested villages inaccessible for need assessment and aid distribution, whilst public health concerns are mounting among unaccounted population in remote and forested villages.

Oxfam's health experts warn that people must be careful about drinking water, as flood waters are highly contaminated.

More destruction expected for typhoon-hit Cambodia: Oxfam

PHNOM PENH, Oct 03, 2009 (Xinhua) -- Oxfam predicts more widespread destruction caused by Typhoon Ketsana and a higher demand for immediate humanitarian assistance in Cambodia, press release from the Oxfam international said here Saturday.

An initial assessment shows that at least 17 people died and 47 others injured in Kampong Thom alone due to the effects of the Typhoon, which brought unusually high volume of rainfall to the Southeast Asian country, it said.

It added Kompong Thom is not the only affected province. At least eight more provinces were affected with Preah Vihear, Steung Treng and Kratie being severely affected. Therefore, the worst has yet to come as the rising water levels continue to ravage these provinces, and a larger destruction is underway.

"The floods are affecting more people and wider areas of the country than we initially estimated," said Francis Perez, Country Lead of Oxfam International in Cambodia.

"Greater cooperation and immediate action on the part of humanitarian agencies in the country is increasingly important to ensure that groups with different kinds of emergency needs and vulnerabilities such as women, children, elderly, and people with disabilities and HIV/AIDS are prioritized," said the release.

There is a high risk that more lives will be lost, more families and livestock will be displaced, houses collapsed, roads, bridges, hospital and school buildings damaged. Public health concerns are making their way to some evacuation areas due to lack of sanitation.

An early damage estimate of more than 30,000 hectares of rice paddy and crops could be doubled or even tripled as flood waters continue to rise. This could cause a severe crop failure for Cambodia's largely farming population, according to the release.

Oxfam's staff reported that water levels increased half a meter in Preah Vihear Friday night, causing the already evacuated population to struggle even harder. Up to 4,000 families or 20,000 people were affected in Preah Vihear compared to just 100 families a week ago.