This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Josephine Mahlie. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
The project was to build two wells, in two separate villages, on public land accessible to any villagers.
Josephine reports:
The wells at Chum 5 Village and Preak Krowl Village have been completed!
The first well in Thnot Chum 5 Village now serves more than 20 families, who use the well for bathing, cooking, laundry, and drinking water. The families have continuously reported how grateful they are and that they particularly like the central location of the well. It is being maintained by the village chief’s family who lives across from where it is located and the community members made their own cover for it.
For the proposed second site, in Pnou Village, a potability test was performed and deemed unsafe for usage. Working with the local Commune Chief, we identified another nearby spot with great need for a water source. Being a large rice farming community, many families spend long hours in the fields between the villages. We chose a high traffic area that provides access to the rice fields in the surrounding area for miles, with close access to their homes nearby.
This well was built in the middle of a road separating two communes, with 5 villages on each end; thus it is accessible to 10 villages total. Around this well, there are over 800 acres of rice paddies owned by the locals who will utilize it.
The maintenance will be overseen by the Try-O commune chief. Nearly, any time of day you drive by this well, you can expect to see someone using it! Kids will fetch water to bring home, families go to it to shower, and some people even clean their bikes with it!
With a little bit of leftover funds from the two wells, we were also able to purchase water filters for the local middle school! The nearest clean drinking water source is outside the school campus and students would often be too tired or busy to go retrieve water there so they are so grateful to now have a filter in every classroom! With Water Charity funds providing half, the school contributed the rest to have enough for each room.
Thank you so much to Water Charity for helping the Thnot Chum Community!
Water Charity and the National Peace Corps Association extend our thanks to Josephine for completing this excellent project, and again extend our thanks to the donors who contributed to date.
We have advanced funds for this project. Please donate, so we will have money available to continue to implement great projects such as this.