Random Quotes

"I used to work as a domestic. Now with my own fruit trees I will be able to depend on my own work and not on people outside. I don’t want to depend on other people. I want to depend on myself"

— Sorroco Sanchez

Cambodia

Cambodia

Population:14,638,056
Capital: Phnom Penh
Life expectancy: 58 years
GNI per capita: $350
Literacy: 74%
HIV prevalence rate: 2.6% of population 15-49 years old
Under 5 mortality: 141 per 1000 live births
Cambodia continues to deal with the legacy of years of war and the devastating Khmer Rouge regime. Land mines and unexploded ordinance litter the country, with an estimated 4-6 million buried. Apart from the direct threat to human life, loss of livestock due to mines and the inaccessibility of agricultural land hamper rural development. Cambodia has the highest rate of amputees per population in the world (1 in 384 people).

Poverty is concentrated in rural areas, where 90% of the country’s poor live. The government has insufficient resources for public services such as health and education, and the years of conflict have led to high levels of family breakdown and trauma. Over-exploitation of forests and fishing grounds also threatens loss of livelihoods and widespread malnutrition.

Our work

CWS’s partner, Church World Service Cambodia, began providing emergency relief and working with the government on agricultural production in 1979 following the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. Since the early 1990s it has shifted to community-based development. The programme focuses on building the capacity of local Cambodian NGOs to more effectively worki with communities to deliver: 

  • Food security
  • Health services
  • Savings and credit schemes
  • Income generation
  • Training of volunteers to provide village services (eg: literacy teachers, health volunteers and livestock agents)

CWS has also helped fund their de-mining programme.

“With the help of CWS and their partner, me and some other people in the village were trained in basic healthcare. We educate people about hygiene and diseases and if necessary we arrange hospital visits or perform first aid.”

Ba Pura, Health Volunteer, Cambodia

Our partners

Church World Service Cambodia  Read case study
www.cwscambodia.org/start_eng.html