Well Projects (WELLS)

With the support of the Morgan Stanley Foundation, Lotus Outreach continues to fund the construction of wells in rural Cambodia. According to UNICEF’s 2006 report “Progress For Children: A Report Card on Water and Sanitation,” only 35% of Cambodia’s rural population has access to improved drinking water sources, leaving the remaining 65% vulnerable to life-threatening infectious disease—with children under 5 at the greatest risk.

When poor Cambodians have no drinking water, they have to buy it or spend valuable work hours fetching it. The cost is up to $30 or comparable in-kind labor per month for a typical family, which equals the average monthly salary of one Cambodian adult. This expense has a severe impact on communities, where 80% of families cannot afford to pay for more than two days of rice at a time.

In addition to drastically reducing the financial burden on rural families and lowering the incidence of infectious disease, these wells allow villagers to grow vegetables during the dry, drought-prone season, which can last from eight to ten months per year. The availability of fresh vegetables will help reduce widespread malnutrition and hunger. Furthermore, the wells help villagers to weather more frequent and extreme drought and flooding due to climate change and deforestation.