Rotary bringing badly needed clean water to Cambodia

The Cambodia I Know- an echo report published in the April 2023 Rotary Magazine. My husband and I were honored to visit Cambodia-  Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and our experiences during our short stay are reflected in this Rotarian article.

This interesting article describes how clean water projects are trying to improve the quality of Cambodia's drinking water by a group of Rotarians who are installing special equipment designed to operate without the need for electricity. When my husband and I were in Cambodia, we used bottle water or the local beer to protect ourselves from intestinal or weird water borne diseases. But, one night, when we decided to swim in the hotel's beautiful salt water pool. Yikes! Just the splashing water into our yes caused us to experience intestinal distress. Although the pool's aqua blue water appeared to be crystal clean, it clearly was contaminated with microbes. Nothing too serious happened to us and we quickly recovered. This article in Rotary Magazine by Chenyi Chiu describes the need for clean water in Cambodia. 

Ankor What temple in Cambodia, near Siem Reap (L'Heureux photograph)

When I first came to Cambodia from Taiwan, 11 years ago, many of my fellow Rotarians at home were unfamiliar with this land of plains and great rivers on the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia.  But, in recent months, Cambodia dominates the news headlines not only in Taiwan but also in many  other parts of Asia due to the exposure of massive criminal scam operations there. Such negative news coverage does not reflect the country I came to know, so I felt it necessary to write about my experience thee to show a different side of Cambodia rom the perspective of a Rotarian.  More importantly, I want to shed light on the role Rotary is playing in improving local communities.

As illustrated by the grandeur of the famed Angkor Wat (near Siem Reap), an ancient Buddhist temple complex designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cambodia was home to a flourishing civilization that can be traced ack more than 4,000 years.  It has a wealth of natural beauty, from sunny beaches and pristine forests to expensive lakes and scenic islands (Maine Writer- but a very humid and hot weather climate.) Moreover, the capital Phnom Penh was known at one time as Le Petit Paris de L'est (The Little Paris of the East.)  The country has a complex history marked by periods of peace and prosperity, colonialism, civil wars and destructive political turbulence.

The first Rotary club was chartered in Phnom Penh as early as 1957, four years after Cambodia gained independence from France. The club dissolved during a series of civil wars in the 1970s. A Communist insurgent group, the Khmer Rouge, seized power in 1975, and established a national government headed by Pol Pot, whose brutal rule led to the deaths of an estimated 2 million people.

By the time the Khmer Rouge was overthrown in 1979, most of the population lived in dire poverty. Cambodia is now among the least developed countries in Asia. 

Rotary returned to Cambodia in 1995, after the country had entered an era of relative political stability under a constitutional monarchy.

A new Rotary Club of Phnom Penh was chartered that year. As Cambodia experiences rapid growth, Rotary has expanded and the country now has none clubs with about 200 members. 

In the early days, most Rotary members were European and North American expats. At the end of 2016, under Rotary District 3350, which covers Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, a group of Taiwanese and other Chinese-speaking professionals who worked and lived in Cambodia formed the Chinese-speaking Rotary Club of Phnom Penh Capital. The club has served as a bridge between Rotary clubs in Cambodia and Taiwan and collaboration has flourished. Joint service projects ae being implemented every year. 

I became the president of the Rotary Club of Phen Capital in 2018.  During my year, the club initiated a water and sanitation program with the Rotary Club of Taipei Everpeace in District 3481.  It was one of the most memorable events during my journey in Rotary.

The project took place on Tonie Sap Lake, the largest feshwaer lake in Southeast Asia. Near the Ankor Wat temple, it is on of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world.  Villagers live in houses resting on long stills in he water or on tied-up bamboo rafts floating on the lake. While they rely on the lake water or cooking and drinking, they also discharge kitchen and bathroom waste into the lake. Oftentimes, I would see a woman washing vegetables and rice with water from the lake while her neighbor was cleaning a chamber pot nearby. As a result, the lake turns turbid an unclean. Microbial pollution causes severe disease infections. For the villagers, having a glass of clean drinking water was a luxury, a dream.

We partnered with fellow Rotarians in Taiwan to provide water purification equipment for villagers.  I worked closely with Wang Lee-Yuan, past president of the Taipei Everpeace club, and applied for a global grant from The Rotary Foundation. The grant allowed us to purchase the purification equipment and install it in five floating villages. The systems, developed by a Taiwanese company, can be reused for more than five years and they work without electricity, which is not available in the floating villages.

The project was designed to benefit at least 10,000 villagers. Before installation, we made plans to provide training about how to use and maintain the equipment. 

Traveling to the scattered villages was challenging. A few times, we were stranded on Tonie Sap Lake at night and had to wait for locals to rescue us. Such risks and challenges were worth it when we saw clear water gushing out of the purification equipment and shimmering under the bright sun.  

Children crowded around the machine and happily drank the water.

A girl handed me an empty bottle, asking me to fill it up for her.  As we drank the water, together, I felt the humanity of Rotary. 

Thanks to Rotary, having a glass of clean water is no longer a dream for thousands of people around Tonie Sap Lake.  It is a reality.  

By Chenyi Chiu, past president of the Rotary Club of Phnom Penh Capital.