Health for the Bread Winner
Villagers are happy for Dou’s family
Daryl, you have made Dou Sian’s life more productive and his family more secure with your donation of a water filter. Dou has a family of six, himself and five women, and earns his income by moto dop. He lives in a palm house and when he is down with the frequent stomach upsets caused by drinking bad water, there is no income. The family has no stored food supplies so Dou’s income is essential to their survival. Dou lives in Treak Village, Siem Reap Commune, Siem Reap District. Thank you, Daryl, for giving this family new hope.
This donation:
| Jul 21 |
Neil view profile
Neil
gave 50 for a water filter |
Trained and ready to use their new filter!
Boy Buon is the household head who lives in Puok district, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. He and his wife have 6 children including 5 sons and 1 daughter. They live in a thatch-roof house with wooden walls, and have one bicycle, two buffalos and a cart to take to the paddy field. This year his family grew 600kg of rice to feed the family. They are happy with their new bio-sand water filter donated by Neil and delivered by the Trailblazer team. They received training on the proper use of the filters and the maintenance required. Thank you, Neil, for making such a positive impact on the lives of the Buon family by providing them with fresh water.
This donation:
| Jul 13 |
Daniel view profile
Daniel
gave 50 for a water filter |
Than has a new biosand filter!
At 29 years old, Than is the household head. He has two sons (pictured above). The eldest is 6 years old while the youngest is 3 years old. He lives in Reul commune, Puok district, Siem Reap Province. He asked the water filter team at Trailblazer to set up the filter inside his kitchen in order to protect it from his animals. It also makes it easier for him to use the water for cooking in his kitchen. He and his family live in a hatch-roof house with wooden walls. The family owns one bicycle, 6 hens, 2 pigs, 2 cows and one cart. This year his family harvested 400kg of rice to feed his family. His family is very happy with this bio-sand water filter. Thank you for your support Daniel!
This donation:
| Jun 15 |
Valerie
gave 45 for a water filter |
Moving toward a healthier life
Khlok Vann is a single mother of four living in Puok district, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. She has two daughters and two sons.
Khlok’s two daughters provide a good portion of their family income by harvesting rattan and weaving baskets. Each day they earn from 3000 Riel (0.72 USD) to 4000 Riel (0.96 USD).
Not long ago, the girls fell ill after drinking polluted water. They were unable to work during this extended period and their family suffered tremendously.
The family was thrilled to get a bio-sand water filter that promises healthy and safe drinking water to them, protecting them from diarrhea and other waterborne diseases.
Thank you, Valerie for improving their lives!!
This donation:
| Jun 1 |
Rob view profile
Rob
gave 300 for a full drinking well |
Making Boy’s life more productive with a well
Pull pump and home garden
Boy Buon is the household head, who lives in Romduol village, Reul commune, Puok district, Siem Reap Province. He uses his new pull pump well for watering his gardens, for cooking and for washing. His family of four include one son and one daughter. He has a hatch-roof house with hatch wall, one bicycle, 6 hens and 2 pigs. This year his family harvested 500kg of rice. He said that he’ll use the water to irrigate his gardens and he’ll try to grow more vegetables for eating and selling in his villages. Thank you, Robert, for making Boy’s life more productive. Previously he had to walk 1 mile to a water hole and carry the water to his garden and home in buckets.
(Boy was too shy to have his picture taken and asked that only the well and garden be recorded.)
This donation:
| Jun 1 |
Rob view profile
Rob
gave 300 for a full drinking well |
One Happy Boy
Dib is pulling the pump
Dear Rob,
Dib Doeuy is one of the sons of Mr. Dib, who lives in Romduol village, Reul commune, Puok district, Siem Reap Province. He is drawing water from his new well with a smiling face as he’s very happy with his brand new pull pump. He provides for his 2 sisters, 3 brothers and his parents. He has a wooden house with zinc roof, one bicycle, 10 hens and one buffalo which pulls the cart he uses to go to the paddy field. Also, his parents just successfully bought one other female buffalo for this coming rainy season to start increasing productivity in the paddy field. This year his family harvested 900kg of rice to feed his family. He and his family are very happy to use this pull pump for cooking and washing as well as taking baths. You’ve opened Dib’s life to possibility! Thank you, Robert.
This donation:
| Apr 3 |
Brandon view profile
Brandon
gave 4160 for a share of a drinking well |
| Jun 6 |
Nicole view profile
Nicole
gave 10 for a share of a drinking well |
| Jun 1 |
Rachana view profile
Rachana
gave 1440 for a share of a drinking well |
|
Hardik view profile
Hardik
gave 640 for a share of a drinking well |
Water for three families
Young girl and her grand mum
Than Chruk and his family live in Romduol village, Reul commune, Puok district, Siem Reap Province. Before receiving this well, he shared two pull pumps with 12 other people. He lives in a humble hatch-roof house with hatch walls. He has one bicycle, 4 hens and two buffalos which pull the cart he uses in the paddy field. This year his family harvested 800kg of rice.
The new well will provide substantially more water for his family, and his daughter and mother are happy to use the new pull pump. Now their lives will be much easier and their crops will grow better. Thank you Hardik (8 parts), Rachana (6 parts), and Nicole (1 part) for your generous support of Than and the Trailblazer Foundation!
This donation:
| May 11 |
Ashley view profile
Ashley
gave 45 for a water filter |
Clean Water for a Family
Beng's Family is thrilled with their filter
Ashley, your donation has made such a difference in the lives of Beng and his family members. This water filter will provide clean water to Beng, his wife, his three children and a niece and her family. Now they will no longer suffer from dysentery and will be able to lead normal lives. Beng’s son looks forward to being able to continue his education at a nearby middle school where he will ride the family bike 10 miles and no longer suffer from weekly bouts of illness. Thank you for your kindness.
Biosand Water Filters
A new biosand filter!
The availability of potable water is decreasing as the world’s population increases. In Cambodia, 1 in 7 children die before the age of five from preventable diseases such as typhoid, malnutrition, malaria, dengue. The common denominator in many of these is waterborne illness.
To address this issue Trailblazer is constructing and providing bio-sand water filters. They are a low cost way to provide potable water to impoverished areas from any water source (i.e.: pump wells, pit wells, rivers, ponds).
Our bio-sand water filter project is a relatively new technology to Cambodia. The bio-sand filtration systems are easy to construct with locally available materials, install and maintain. They are an excellent alternative or compliment to pump wells. One glass of bad water impacts an entire family through lost wages, transport, medical treatment, medicine, and possible even death. A bio-sand water filter effectively removes the dangers of bad water and its effects.
The filter consists of a layer of gravel, a layer of course sand, and a layer of fine sand. There is a plastic diffuser plate above the water level to avoid disturbing the naturally occurring bio-layer. It is the bio-layer which holds the key bacteria essential to removing biological pathogens and parasites. Water travels through the layer of biologically active sand and gravel which traps and degrades sediment, parasites and 98% of bacteria.
Operation and maintenance is simple and within the capabilities of any user. Water poured through the filter processes at a rate of .6 liters per minute, which provides water fast enough to keep up with a family’s demand for clean water. Each filter can optimally filter 50 to 80 liters of water per day.
The bio-sand water filter is made of cement at a total construction cost of approximately $50 USD per filter, including the bio-sand media and a proper storage container. The Trailblazer foundation charges the family who receives the filter $2 to ensure that they are committed to using the purification system.
Community stewards are selected to maintain bio-sand water filters in each village. These stewards are instructed on proper set-up, maintenance and water sanitation education, and pass this knowledge on to village residents using the water filters. It is exciting to see this technology successfully spreading out to the rural areas with the greatest need.
Pump Wells
Using a pump well!
The cost of drilling and constructing a pump well is $170 USD. Wells are greatly needed in the Cambodian countryside. Until more are constructed, villagers must transport their water over long distances and, generally, from deep unsanitary holes in the ground.
In areas new to the Trailblazer Foundation, wells are drilled in April, May and June. These are the months when the dry season is at its peak and wells can be drilled to depths of aproximately 30 meters, sufficient enough for guaranteeing year-round water supplies.
Having a pump well remedies the initial problem: access to water. Once villagers have a convenient and ample water supply they can begin to think beyond the basics.
When a water supply is guaranteed, greater life-sustaining capabilities are possible including the ability to irrigate gardens and create fish ponds. With just that, villagers are able to improve their food supply, their diet, their health, and, ultimately, the opportunity to generate new income from the sale of excess provisions.
It is the goal of the Trailblazer Foundation that one in every 3 to 5 rural families be provided a well as a consistent source of water and a bio-sand water filter to ensure that it is potable. To accomplish this goal, the Trailblazer Foundation has been drilling and installing wells since 2005 in strategic locations throughout Siem Reap Province in Cambodia.
As of January 2008, Trailblazers own well-drilling crew, trained by the Sras well-drilling team and an experienced local well driller—have been hard at work. Between the Sras and Trailblazer well drilling teams, nearly 200 wells have successfully been installed, and there is a steady schedule for more!