Household Filters Change a Community's Health

April 20, 2015 • Cambodia
Cambodia water filter

Clean water reduces illness and gives children a chance to attend school

Man Vith is a farmer in northwestern Cambodia.

My life used to be difficult. My children couldn’t go to school because they got diarrhea, abdominal pain, and typhoid fever frequently. We spent a lot of money on clinic visits. I never knew it was because of unclean water.

Household Filters Change a Community's Health

This BioSand water filter can be installed in an individual’s home. The technology is easy to maintain and doesn’t need electricity, and water can be drank right from the tap.

But last year, my wife and I joined a hygiene training with Samaritan’s Purse. In the time we spent with the staff members, we realized how unclean water was affecting our lives. My wife didn’t hesitate to register with our village leader to receive a household water filter.

I helped to construct the filter, and one week later, Samaritan’s Purse staff members came to our home to install it. They also taught my wife how to use it.

After we received the filter, we never had to boil water or worry about using unclean water. We’re all happy with the filter because we can drink directly from it, and now our health is good. We’ve saved more than $30 and plan to spend this extra money for our children to go to school.

Since I’ve been using the filter, some of my neighbors are interested in it and have asked to use it. I’ve encouraged them to register with Samaritan’s Purse this year to join the project. So far, 10 families in the community have already done so.

I thank Samaritan’s Purse for providing us with life-saving water.

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