CAFOD’s Connect2 project offers your parish the unique opportunity to come on a journey with one of our partner communities in either Brazil, El Salvador, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Bangladesh or Cambodia so that you can find out how people live their lives on a daily basis and the difference that your generosity makes. This month, we focus on the lives of our sisters and brothers in the tiny Cambodian settlement of Samrong Mean Chey, on the edge of the capital, Phnom Penh.

CAFOD was one of the first organisations to start working in Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 when the country faced starvation. We provided emergency food rations and later, support for farming, irrigation and healthcare. CAFOD continues to help. Samrong Mean Chey is a tiny settlement built from nothing in 2001 when many families relocated here when their homes were destroyed in a fire. Some believe the fire was set deliberately so the land could be redeveloped. The houses, built from any pieces of wood and metal that people could find, are raised up on stilts and stand over a canal which irrigates the paddy fields surrounding the village. At any moment, the 64 families living here could be told to pack their bags, as future plans for the land they’re living on are uncertain.

Father of two, Samol, 44, tells us ‘My house burned down in front of my eyes. Three days later, I moved to this area with my family. There were no houses, only paddy fields, so we pitched a tent in the school yard. I have three simple wishes: I want people to have a secure place to live; I want more opportunities for people to earn a living and I want this area to become a place for natural tourism’. Just down the street, widow and mother of three, Savoeun, lives in a ramshackle structure on stilts said ‘My fifteen year old daughter, Sarin, wants to leave school to work in a salon so she can help me with the bills. But I am determined that she finishes her education so she can get a good job. I moved to the area in 2001 with my husband but he died in 2007 because of AIDS. Just before he died, I was tested too and I found out that I was HIV positive’.

CAFOD supports the community of Samrong Mean Chey through our partner, the Salvation Centre Cambodia (SCC), that works with Buddhist monks to help people earn a better income and educate them about HIV and AIDS. CAFOD spends around £500,000 a year in Cambodia.

Thoeun, 44, says ‘I started the SCC in 1994. Now I can hardly believe that I am the director and have 70 staff working around the country. I remember the first time I went to Samrong Mean Chey in 2008. The bridge was broken and the road was flooded. All the houses were full of water and I was afraid that the children would drown or get sick. That was when I made my mind up to work there and I asked CAFOD for help. Three months later, I could see the difference. The people had repaired the road and rebuilt the bridge and there was a lot less rubbish because we gave people bins and taught them how to keep their houses clean. Having ongoing support from CAFOD is really important to us. They are different from other donors because they share our values of compassion and solidarity’.

• Two thirds of the families in Samrong Mean Chey rely on food aid to survive
• A third of families do not have regular work
• All 64 families are at risk of relocation

With your help our partner, the Salvation Centre Cambodia will:

• Provide training and loans so that people can start their own businesses and look after their families
• Help people to write letters and negotiate with local government to ensure they have safe and secure housing
• Run group sessions and give counselling to change people’s attitudes towards HIV and AIDS

Seventy one year old Van told us how she came to be in Samrong Mean Chey; ‘I used to live with my children, but they had to sell their house and I had nowhere to live, so I moved here in 2004. I joined a group set up by SCC and they gave me a loan of £50.00, which I used to buy pots and pans and ingredients to make my sticky rice cakes. I don’t have to pay interest on the loan, and this means I can save some money each month for the future. I hope the people who support CAFOD have a long life. May God bless you.’

A special invitation

The people of Samrong Mean Chey invite you to learn more about their lives. Extend a hand of friendship and solidarity to the people of Samrong Mean Chey and hear from local people including Savoeun, Samol and Van as they work to take care of their families and create a better life. Your parish or group can sign up to any one of the six Connect2 countries by visiting www.cafod.org.uk/connect2 or by contacting David or Carol at the CAFOD Middlesbrough Office on (01904) 671767 or e-mail middlesbrough@cafod.org.uk