All of the children that Hope for the Nations works with are 'at risk' because of the effects of extreme poverty. Poverty impacts children because it hurts families. There are a number of ways in which it does this.
Poverty is a barrier to accessing health services. HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB affect millions of parents each year; without access to treatment, parents are unable to get well, earn a living or care for their children. Sometimes this means that their children are orphaned.
Poverty impacts a family's ability to provide food, shelter and education for all of their family members. In extreme poverty conditions, families may send their children to work rather than to school; in the worst scenario, children are employed in the worst forms of labour or parents sell their children into the trafficking network.
Poverty, in a variety of ways, feeds the cycle of violence in countries that are caught in conflict. Not only does this violence kill parents and children, it also causes major upheaval in the lives of families and communities, destroying family assets and future opportunities.
Without strategic interventions, poverty tends to be passed from one generation to another. Hope for the Nations believes that by intervening in the lives of the children who are most disadvantaged by poverty - orphans and vulnerable children - we can begin the process of change and the cycle of poverty can be broken. "Today's orphans" can be "tomorrow's leaders".
Khvaithom is a remote and heavily forested village in Malai District. The approximate 300 families living in the village are ex-Khmer Rouge.
Rice farming is the main source of income for the people, but when there is no crop to harvest, many of them take up migrant work in Thailand.
The area surrounding the village is still heavily laden with landmines.
The current source of water is 5-6 km away, in a neighboring village, an exhausting and dangerous trip for the children who go to fetch water for their families.
The general aim of this project is to provide a sustainable solution to the lack of access to clean water.
The results expected upon implementation of this project include:
• The 300 families of Khvaithom Village have access to clean water for drinking, household use, agriculture and animal raising
• Children of 300 families are kept safe from landmines and wild animals when they are relieved from walking far distances to fetch water
• The 300 families of Khvaithom Village are trained in sanitation and show signs of improved health
• Crop-planting is increased and livelihoods of the people of Khvaithom Village are improved
• A Village Development Committee (VDC) is established and oversees maintenance and use of the wells and ponds
There are four main activities that are proposed to achieve these objectives:
1. CHO will facilitate formation of a Village Development Committee (VDC), a group of volunteers in Khvaithom Village who are committed to the development of the community. They will be trained in well maintenance and sanitation. The VDC will play an important role in overseeing maintenance of the water systems and training villagers on their use and sanitation.
2. Bids will be sought from companies for the drilling of one well. A company will be selected, and the wells will be drilled to meet specifications.
3. The VDC and CHO will train the community in sanitation and use and maintenance of the water systems. With the support of CHO, they will also establish a means to collect money from users to fund well maintenance.
Cost:
It costs $3,500.00 CAD for each pond project to be created.