We are excited to share that we recently met with Battambang Province’s head of the appeals court. With the cooperation and partnership of local officials, we have the green light for drilling 10 new water wells.
Sitting in the far northwest of Cambodia, Battambang Province is 75% jungles and mountains. Despite being the fifth-largest province, we had not yet been able to drill clean water wells there.
However, our drilling operations have started! Construction began on Nov. 23, and we’ve installed four new water wells in Battambang so far. These particular wells are already bringing fresh water to over 1,900 rural Cambodians.
The need for safe, clean water in Cambodia’s rural communities is desperate: Roughly 90% of the country’s poor live in rural areas, and 82% of the total rural population don’t have access to improved water and sanitation facilities. Without clean water wells, many of these rural communities must rely completely on rain for their water supply. We build our fresh water wells using top-quality, heavy-duty hand pumps and stainless steel connecting rods. The water wells require very little maintenance and can be taken apart with a single wrench.
Thankfully, God often provides ways for us to cooperate with local authorities to bring hope and change to these impoverished people. In addition to clean water wells, we often partner with civic leaders to distribute mass amounts of food to communities devastated by COVID-19 as well as to disseminate life-saving essential medical supplies we import from the United States.
In 2021, despite setbacks caused by pandemic-related travel restrictions, we’ve constructed 72 new wells in the name of Jesus. Over 77,000 impoverished Cambodians now have access to clean water this year.
To learn more about our flagship ministry of installing water wells in Cambodia, visit our Clean Water Wells project page.