The village of Khvav, is a small community of 750 people which is located far away from everything. With the nearest city more than an hour’s drive away, the village used to experience many problems. Water supplies were insufficient, health care was minimal and due to a lack of opportunities people often migrated to nearby Thailand, further worsening the situation.

However, with the arrival of our local partner, a lot has changed in Kvav and when we last visited we were welcomed by a proud team of villagers who successfully coordinated the development of their own village. “A lot has changed since back then!” Ot Preun, the coordinator of “poverty support” told us. “Many people’s lives improved with the community development program and I am one of them!” “Four years ago I experienced many difficulties,I was a very poor man and my two daughters used to cross illegally into Thailand all the time because we could not make a living here.” “In 2003 however, I was given an interest free loan of 40 dollars with which I bought a bag of grains to bake bread” “After I had sold the bread, I had earned 15 dollars which I then used to start a small business”. “I’m not a desperate man anymore!” “Many other people in the village have met similar destinies and most people who obtained a loan four years ago are now earning almost two dollars a day!”

Ba Pura, a local health volunteer, confirms the positive changes and starts telling about his own job. “With the help of CWS and their partner, me and some other people in the village were trained in basic health care.” “We educate people about hygiene and diseases and if necessary we arrange hospital visits or perform first aid.” “Before me and my colleagues started, most people never washed their hands, hygiene was low and tuberculosis was endemic.” “After only four years, the changes in our village are enormous!” “Tuberculosis is not an issue anymore and especially the children get sick less often.”

Other volunteers and coordinators told similar stories of great improvement. In only a short time, quality of life has taken a giant leap forward and today most projects are almost self sufficient. People have gained access to health care, food and money and they are further developing themselves every day. There are still many problems though, despite a sharp decrease, emigration to Thailand still occurs and the latest initiative to improve water quality has yet to be implemented. The most important change in Khvav however, is probably to be found in the spirit of its people, or as the village chief stated;

“Community development has been a blessing and brought us a renewed trust in the future”.

The Village of Promat Dei

Mrs. Kheu Khorn (57) has been living in Promat Dei Village her whole life. She is poor, and years of war have left very few possibilities to improve her life and that of her children. In 2000 however, Mrs. Khorn was selected by the Cambodian Organization for Women Support (COWS) to join their micro credit and “savings” group as part of their wider community development efforts. With a grant from CWS, COWS provided Mrs. Khorn with training in basic financial bookkeeping as well as agriculture, and with the micro loans that weresupplied to her, she was able to improve many things in the livelihood of her family. “With the loans from COWS, I was able to build an elevated vegetable bed that allowed me to grow vegetables during the rainy season” “I also bought seeds for several kinds of vegetables which I can sell for a good price” “Last month I paid back my debts and from the money I saved last year I was able to upgrade our house.” “We now even have a metal roof that doesn’t leak!”

CWS: Ecumenical Partnership

CWS: Ecumenical Partnership Our partnership program also aims to enhance relationships among local churches in Cambodia. CWS, for example, offers its interchurch partner organizations opportunities to cooperate and exchange knowledge with each other during seminars and conferences. Furthermore, we supply them with knowledge through theological seminars and operational trainings. Another example of support to our partners was through the study-service term at Goshen College, Indiana (USA), wherein students assisted our partner Kampuchea Christian Council (KCC) through the collection of data on its 70 member churches. By doing this, KCC has gained the knowledge to better assist Cambodian churches. CWS contributes to a strong community of interchurch organizations in order to extend their ability to assist with the development of all Cambodians through our Christian values.