I met Nthabaleng, the WFC Director, and Seur, the WFC field manager, in the morning at 8 AM and we then traveled 60 miles to the District of Srey Snam to visit with the Chief of Slaeng Spean Commune, Cheam Chork. He invited two of his 15 Village Chiefs to join us.

It was a very fruitful meeting, and I was surprised at their grasp of the subject matter and statistics.    You can read the Commune Chief Points for more information.

Their big concern was that the kids in the 10-year-old age range are getting what seemed to be a bladder infection or some kind of chronic kidney stones.  They treat the condition with some success with an antibiotic.

The situation, as outlined by the two Village Chiefs from Kandal and Char, is truly unthinkable with very high rates of skin rash, urinary tract infections and diarrhea as they get their drinking water from rivers and ponds, which are completely polluted by fecal matter during floods and heavy rains.

Neither village has any wells, septic systems, electricity and but six latrines.

The highest instance of disease is during the dry season when water is scarce.  Both villages are subject to floods of between 18’ and 3’ deep water for 10-14 days each rainy season.  This puts all drinking water sources under water.

We gathered a lot of basic data (Commune Demographic) during the visit and we will be enhancing what we learned – population, households, adults, and children – with more detailed data on the poverty level of the village residents, single moms, and handicapped residents during our visits to the Village Chiefs and villagers

This project will require traveling long distances over dirt roads. We are having a serious discussion about the cost and efficiency of addressing these issues in such remote settings, but if we don’t, it is not likely anyone will.