Eam Kheng and her family of eleven, have been living in Trapang Russei village in the Takeo Province for the past five years.
Prior to receiving clean drinking water from KWSH two years ago, Eam Kheng’s family purchased water delivered by trucks every three to four days. As a KWSH beneficiary, Eam Kheng currently pays between 20,000 – 23,000 Riels (~ USD 5) a month compared to 30,000 Riels (~ USD 7.20) previously for one water delivery. Water delivered by trucks was also unreliable in terms of hygiene and delivery schedule (e.g. delivery could be delayed during national holidays).
With KWSH, Eam Kheng has been very happy with the access to clean water as well as the financial benefits it has brought her family.
While KWSH has reached a milestone by creating access for villagers, the work is not over. Marketing and campaign efforts are required to discourage some of the villagers’ old habits. These include boiling water before consumption, only drinking bottled water, and storage of water in large clay pots. Boiling leads to the unnecessary use of resources, bottled water results in plastic waste production, while storage can lead to water contamination. We are hopeful that in the near future, villagers will have confidence and trust in the water quality from KWSH.