FLOOD RELIEF

PROJECT | HOME 1 | HOME 2 | FULL REPORT

The Family Case for Flood Proof Housing Project Funded by the US based

Khmer Institute and the Khmer Connection

 Case History of Chan Sao Family

The household headed Chan Sao consisting of eight family members situated in Krapum Chhouk village, Krapum Chhouk Commune, Koh Andeth District of Takeo province.  Of the eight family members, five are female.

Mr Ses Vong Sambath, staff of Chamreon Chiet Khmer (CCK) has been given the opportunity to have an hour and haft interview with Sao, 34 of age and his 35 years old wife, Sim Sorn.

With sadly face, Soa said that his house with weaker rotten bamboo pillars has collapse due the 2000 flood, and another collapse by 2001 flood, as the flood water level went up the roof of the house. 

The impact of these successive flooding has forces the family members of Soa, the children and his wife to seek shelter with neighbouring villager house for period of three months when the flood water level reached half way in the interior of the house, each year of the flood season. 

When the flood water has receding, Sao family was given by their neighbour in the village with palm leaf, bamboo, and one kind of tree to re-construct that small cottage as possible as they can.   Psychologically, they have been so much in the worries and concerns to think about their shelter.  Of the four children, Sao family has a deaf child and only an elder daughter, age of 12, is able to attend school at class 1 in the Primary School of Krapum Chhouk.  The elderly mother and his sister-in-law are also Soa’s dependent.  Sao and the sister-in-law is the main person with full energy to sell their labor out in such activities as rice transplant and harvesting, stand by to control the water pump at the paddy field.  The most income they made was 2000 riel per day to support and feed this poorest family for their living, as they do not have or own lands for rice production, except the family land given by the Village Chief while his family has resettlement in this village in 1992.

Both during the dry and rainy seasons, this poorest family consist of 8 family members could only afford to be fed with 2 meals a day of 2 kg of rice.  The children and their mother have been observed to be so pale and skinny due to the lack of food supplementary and nutrition.

During the pre-flood disaster, Sao had lot of opportunities to do many jobs to earn money, but failed to making the saving or to properly repair their house, with the exception to pay back the debt and to survive the family with food even less from hand to mouth and if any family member should have been in sickness that is their biggest concerns. While the rainy season arrives, their work is to fishing by using fishing net or hooks; the loan was taken to buy this important fishing equipment with the interest rate of 10% per month.  Till today, Soa is still indebt in the amount of approximately USD100.00.

Before the interview comes to an end, Sao has sorrowfully expressed that he is so hopeless in their everyday livings, particularly when there is rain my children, wife and sister-in-law are sitting in the rain under tarpaulin and went to sleep with fully wet cloth until the rain has gone.  This kind of such a very bad situation has been in experience by this poorest family during past five years and Sao will have never, ever expect to recover from this bad situation.