Evacuated village families denied aid

I was very disappointed to learn last night from our in-country director that hundreds of our village families, who have been evacuated from the war-torn border with Thailand, are being denied access to emergency food aid that our team is poised to deliver after we provided funds late last week.

These families have been resettled in an evacuation camp near the tourist city of Siem Reap and although officials have provided some assistance in the form of rudimentary shelters, hammocks and some food and water, our team described the conditions as "very distressing". 

Interestingly, as well as being prevented from bringing in food aid, we were also instructed not to take any photos in the main section of the camp where most of the families are struggling to survive. There's no access to employment and the children are not being provided with any form of education, despite the camp being on the grounds of a former public school.

We were allowed to hand out some ice blocks to the kids and take a limited number of photos on the outskirts of the camp, which was some consolation to our families.

Although a ceasefire has been signed by both the Cambodian and Thai governments, residents are being prevented from returning to their homes as tensions are still high on the border with a significant military presence on both sides of the fence. The prospects for Cambodians desperate to get back to work in Thailand are not great in the near future as the border is expected to remain closed for some time to come.

As soon as families are permitted to return to their homes we will roll out our emergency food aid program in earnest, re-open our school (where students receive a nutritious meal every day) and provide a safe and secure place for our high school boarders at the OM House of Hope.

When we set the budget for the food aid program we were expecting to need to support in the vicinity of 100 of the worst affected families, but after visiting the evacuation camp, our team now believes there could be as many as 400 families that desperately need our help.

With this in mind, we would love for you to consider supporting these humble mums and dads and their children at this very distressing time. 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.