ALSO READ: Land Disputes , a case story
ALSO READ: 50kg of rice can make a difference, a case story

When CWS started working in Cambodia back in 1979, our main goal was to supply emergency relief to returning refugees and victims of the Khmer Rouge Regime. Fortunately, a lot has changed since that time.  Most refugees have returned to their motherland and the wounds caused by the Khmer rouge have finally started to heal. Cambodia's rural areas however, have remained very prone to disaster and the impact of annual drought and flooding is worsened by poor soil quality, diseases and a lack of knowledge. As a consequence, many Cambodians face food shortages and during certain months of the year, families have to depend on other ways of income generation such as catching fish or collecting fuel wood.  There are, of course, also people who do not find employment and are forced to sell their assets, borrow money or simply have no food to eat.

CWS, together with its partners, supplies emergency relief to people who are not able to feed and maintain themselves during the dry or wet months. We donate a one month supply of rice and fish for people to gain the opportunity to generate income for the next couple of months. Normally these people would work for their food every day without being able to build any reserves for the day after; a risky situation leaving many malnourished. Our response to emergencies is not the end of our presence in a village. CWS seeks to achieve durable solutions to these returning problems and we therefore focus on making communities less vulnerable. Through our social and economic development program, we cooperate with villagers to reduce the risks of disaster by training them in emergency management, risk reduction, first aid and planning.

We reach out a helping hand to Cambodians whose lives have been influenced by disaster and we believe our assistance to be a sparkle of hope and a positive beginning of a more fortunate chapter.