Challenging Poverty in Cambodia

This year the face of Project Compassion is Na Rin from the village of Toul in Kampong Cham in Cambodia. Na Rin is married to Ron and they have 3 daughters.

Their story, like the stories of many people in Cambodia has been one of struggle and poverty. However, because of the work of Caritas with the community of Toul, the life of Na Rin and her family has changed for the better.

Cambodia is a beautiful country in Southeast Asia; bordered by Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Over 14 million people live in Cambodia and over 80% of these people are in rural villages like Toul. The life expectancy for Cambodians is approximately 48 years and extreme poverty is widespread. A lot of the poverty can be attributed to the tragic recent history of Cambodia. In the 1970s it is estimated that over 2 million people died as a consequence of civil and international war and the tyrannic and violent rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Many Cambodians are still dealing with the enormous atrocities and losses that they experienced.

In Na Rin’s village the violent Khmer Rouge were still in control up until 7 years ago. Consequently many people in her village have suffered enormously. Before Caritas started working in Toul, Na Rin and her family had no access to safe drinking water and malnutrition was common. People in Toul ate poorly because they could not afford to buy vegetables and had no capacity to grow them.

Today, as consequence of a diversity of Caritas programs many people in Toul, including Na Rin have a better life and a more hopeful future. Families have taken part in agricultural training and are growing nutritious vegetables. Farming these vegetables helps with both the health and income of the people. Caritas has also installed water pumps, which has given people access to fresh water. Together with the villagers Caritas has created irrigation canals for the farmland. Another important development in the community has been the building of a school. Now children, like Na Rin’s daughters can get an education. This is invaluable for improving their futures.

One of the most important programs in the community is the Savings group scheme that Na Rin leads. This group encourages the community to save money in a community pool. This money is then used to lend to families at low interest rates so that they can start up small businesses or borrow in emergencies. This is extremely important because before Caritas helped establish this scheme, if the people needed money they had to borrow from moneylenders who demand huge interest rates that crippled the families. People simply could not afford to start up a business and were locked in a poverty cycle living from meal to meal.

In January this year a group of Australians who participated in the Caritas Australia ‘Think Globally Act Locally’ program visited Cambodia and went to many of the different villages to witness the fantastic development projects Caritas Cambodia is running. One of the group members Carol van Gelder made the following observations about the Caritas projects: “ I was so impressed with the projects because it was development at grass roots levels. Speaking to the people you heard from them what an enormous difference being involved with Caritas has made to their lives and the lives of their families.” Carol went on to say, “what impacted on me was witnessing the power that the Savings scheme gave to people. It allowed the people to own a business, to make money and to save. This then meant that they could afford to send their children to school. All of these changes empowered them, in particular the women, who are so proud of what they had achieved and what they can give to their families”. Saving is a revolutionary concept that has allowed many people to work their way free of poverty.

Na Rin’s family is joined by many families in Cambodia who have benefited from the work of Caritas. The programs are challenging poverty and helping people become empowered. The fantastic work of Caritas in Cambodia is dependant on the generous donations of people in Australia during Project Compassion.