In October 2020, Cambodia was hit by heavy rains leading to widespread floods, the strongest in a decade. Many donors responded to the emergency humanitarian appeal launched on crowdfunding websites by the Field Coordinator. The team reacted with great responsiveness and the three Program Officers (FA, FI, Students) were able to deliver emergency humanitarian aid in a few days for more than twenty families supported in our different programs.
AEC-Foyer Lataste was able to respond in two stages, thanks to the support of private donors and the Rue des Iris Foundation.
Firstly, thanks to the 1 730 euros of donations collected on online platforms, 22 families received food and first aid hygiene products. This concrete help allowed to meet with the vital needs of the affected families. The kit consisted of 50kg of rice, noodles, canned fish, sugar, salt and milk, 50L of drinking water as well as washing powder and soap. The objective was to support those families who, already living under the international poverty rate, are largely vulnerable to natural disasters.
In 2021, and in the second stage, AEC-Foyer Lataste was able to meet a second objective thanks to the additional donation of 2 300 euros, to support families who were victims of the floods on the long term. More than emergency humanitarian aid, we also accompanied the families towards resilience and food autonomy. Families who have lost their agricultural production have been given new rice seeds. Some have received livestock, for others, the material damage has been taken care of.
In addition, we were able to intervene in two of the local communities most affected by the floods, in the district of Mongkol Borei, where the floods had reached 2 meters of water in the streets. More than distributing food, we brought school materials to encourage families to push children to return to school. We made our resources available to make ourselves known to the most vulnerable families so that we could offer them more comprehensive support to ensure the children’s access to education.
The whole team warmly thanks all the donors.
Solène Zech, Field Coordinator
