Massive food aid program helps thousands of forgotten Cambodians

As an eerie quiet descends on the Cambodia/Thailand border in the wake of the latest ceasefire agreement that was signed by both countries back on December 27, tens of thousands of families are taking a punt and trickling back into the war affected provinces.

In Oddar Meanchey where our primary school normally delivers a first class education and nutritious meals to over 500 students daily, the families who were previously hiding in the jungle because they had no means to escape the fighting, are nervously returning to their homes and are being joined by others who have made the journey back from the evacuation camps to tend to animals and crops, their only livelihood.

There has been considerable much publicised foreign aid pouring into Cambodia to assist the hundreds of thousands of displaced villagers, but understandably the aid organisations have not been willing to enter the designated danger zones where the villages we support are located and hundreds of families are now anxiously trying to survive.

As shared recently, our in-country director Pastor Abe and a small band of brave helpers, risked their own lives recently to provide life-saving aid to around 1,000 scared villagers forced to hide in the jungle when they were left behind at the time of the mass evacuations when fighting escalated before Christmas. Well, they have returned in the last week to provide more food aid and medicine to an estimated 2,500 residents when a special support program was rolled out at our primary school and further down the road at our farming project. This was such a significant event in the lives of these people and this forgotten corner of Cambodia that it attracted village elders and governors from the district and representatives from the Cambodian Army.

These families really have their back to the wall as many have no way of escaping the danger areas or feel compelled to stay to look after animals and crops that are their only form of very meagre income. The support that we have been able to provide is their only lifeline so I extend a massive thank you to our generous donors who have rallied to the cause at this most desperate time and especially Abe and his team on the coal face.

While the fighting has ceased for the time-being, it is still a very nervous time for these families. Abe recounted to me about the sleepless nights he had while rolling out the food program as every night Thai drones could be heard flying overhead, supposedly conducting surveillance flights well inside the Cambodian border. While they are no longer dropping bombs, they instill much fear in the minds of worried children and their parents.

On a more positive note, I hope to have some encouraging news to share with you very soon about some happenings at our Trampoung Primary School in the heart of Oddar Meanchey. Stay tuned and once again thank you for your ongoing support.

We would love for you to consider partnering with us in an array of great projects across two of Cambodia's poorest provinces by making a tax deductible donation today (or any day). You can contribute directly into our Australian working account ‘Supporting Cambodia’ BSB: 015-600 Account: 1967 91878 (Please include your name and email address in the transaction for a tax receipt) or with a credit card on our donation page.

Thanks again,

Rob