Cambodia & Health: « O-we », clean water in schools programme expands

Since it began working with the Ministry of Rural Development in 2005, the NGO Teuk Saat 1001 has built 332 water treatment facilities in 18 target provinces.

These now provide affordable O-we brand drinking water to nearly 700,000 people, with an additional 370,000 primary school students receiving free access to water. Photo supplied

These now provide affordable O-we brand drinking water to nearly 700,000 people, with an additional 370,000 primary school students receiving free access to water. Photo supplied

The NGO plans to work with the Ministry to build a further 68 water treatment stations, which will provide water that meets French international standards to many more people in need, the Environment Ministry said.

The NGO has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Development and is working with provincial rural development departments and local authorities to select sites for water production, usually near primary schools.

The NGO uses two sources for O-we brand drinking water. The first is surface sources such as ponds and rivers, and the second is groundwater from wells. The organisation then selects local entrepreneurs to produce the water, while monitoring the quality to ensure that the water produced meets international standards.

The NGO’s work supports the government’s policy and vision, as well as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which call for 90 per cent of rural people to have access to clean water by 2023 and 100 per cent by 2025.

Teuk Saat 1001 called for support for its efforts to improve the lives and education of children in rural communities, saying, "Together we can make a difference".

The Ministry of Rural Development is implementing a national action plan for water supply and sanitation across the Kingdom. The Ministry has set a target of 100 % nationwide coverage of water and sanitation by 2030. Currently, the coverage rate is 86.6 %.