Stepping off the plane in Cambodia, the humidity greeted me first. Even the plane windows fogged with condensation. It stayed with me the entire trip, keeping my camera lens damp, my normally straight hair frizzy, and my skin sticky. But somehow, the discomfort felt fitting—a reminder that I wasn’t here to feel comfortable.

It was my first time in Cambodia and my first time visiting FH partner communities. The streets in Siem Reap buzzed with life as Tuk Tuks whirred by past markets bursting with colour, fragrances, and art. The smell of lemongrass, lime leaf, and fish oil wafted from food stalls and open-concept restaurants. I fell in love with the traditional Khmer (pronounced ka-mai)curry, and mustered the courage to try fried grasshoppers and silk moths—my colleague Rachelle ate them with a much braver face than I.

While my senses were full of flavour, heat, and humidity, the most lasting memories went beyond meals and markets. I was left imprinted by the people who welcome strangers like old friends, and who meet harsh realities with resilience.

Meeting Vanthib

My role as the Creative Communications Coordinator at FH Canada is to review impact stories from each of our partner communities, and share them with our donors. My familiarity with these stories, along with a partially photographic memory, led me to this moment in Chong Kal.

We had just arrived at the Chong Kal FH Cambodia office when I noticed a young woman, only a few years younger than me. She felt familiar, but having never been to Cambodia before, I knew we hadn’t met. We took our seats at a table as Vanthib, the young woman, and one of the community leaders showed us a map of their community’s struggles and strengths.

Vanthib explained how immigration was a root cause of poverty in her community. They had identified this major cause through a process called, "Systems Mapping."

I listened as Vanthib confidently showed us—a group of strangers—her work. She told us that she was one of the few youth who stayed behind in her community, rather than immigrating to Thailand for work. Immigration, she told us, was a root cause of poverty in Chong Kal.

As she spoke, confidently and without hesitation, it hit me. I had seen her before—I had received her impact story just a few weeks ago. 

In an interview, she had shared how she used to be shy and afraid to speak in front of others. She felt like she had no voice. "I have experienced significant personal growth since participating in FH programs, "she shared in the interview I had read just weeks before. 

“I now can improve my knowledge, and good communication with family and with my community. Now I have confidence for preparing and training local leaders and villagers. Right now, I am experiencing an unprecedented level of confidence in my interactions with others… Each day brings me joy and a sense of personal growth as I strive for self-betterment.”

And there Vanthib was in front of me. I could see her confidence before my own eyes. She had the courage to stand side by side with an elder of her community, three times her age. She spoke to us, a group of foreigners, with the authority that she knew her community and was ready to be a leader on the journey out of poverty.

Here I am with Vanthib!

To be honest, I felt a bit star struck! She allowed me to take a selfie with her and it felt like a full circle moment—meeting one of the community members who inspired me every day sitting at my desk back at home.

Books and a smile bridged our worlds

Later that day, we went on to visit the Chong Kal Primary School, walking through classrooms where we heard children sing the ABCs and recite numbers.

We carefully took off our shoes to enter a library, paved with tiles and lined with shelves of books. I was surrounded by sixth grade students sitting crosslegged with books in their hands when I caught the gaze of a young girl eagerly looking at me. Her beaming smile was asking me to come over and say hello.

“Chum reap sua! Kyom chimor, Tatum. Kyom obi Canada!” (Hello! My name is Tatum. I’m from Canada!), I clumsily said, walking over to greet her. 

She smiled, clearly my North American accent was entertaining. Spotting a world map pinned to the wall of the library, I pointed out where I had come from—Vancouver, Canada.

“How long did it take you to get here?” She asked with the help of a translator. 

“Over forty hours!” I replied. Her eyebrows raised, struggling to comprehend the distance. She continued to show me the books in her school library and even let me take a few photos of her displaying the books. 

One of our team members, Jim, using the handwashing station behind the Svay Leu 1 Primary School.

Water was a life line

One of the first things I saw in the communities was a tiled handwashing station at Svay Leu Primary School. A few shy, giggling young girls ran past us to wash their hands. They carefully scrubbed their palms and between their fingers with water from the tap fed by gravity from a bright blue water storage tank perched above that read “FH Cambodia”. With their now clean hands, they could eat their lunch without getting sick from waterborne disease.

It’s not hard to imagine, standing in the heat, how sick kids can get here when they don’t have water. On the trip, my water bottle became a life line. Growing up in cooler West Coast summers, I couldn’t believe that what felt like 41 Celsius with humidity was their rainy winter season. I was losing fluids and kept my electrolyte tablets close.

Bong Channalen, FH Cambodia staff, made sure we always had water bottles since there was no potable water from taps in the city of Siem Reap. We were even warned against brushing our teeth with the water from the tap.

But it felt like a stark contrast, standing in the communities with freshly cold water bottles. It struck me that I couldn’t see where the women and children around us would get the water they needed in this heat.

A Night Without Water

On Thursday of our trip, Romono, the Tropeang Prasat Area Program Manager with FH Cambodia, told me the story of a pregnant woman who had travelled to the local health centre to give birth in the evening. While in labour, the electricity had cut out. And, there was no clean water for the doctors to wash their hands or safely deliver her child.

With no light, no water, and no safe way to proceed, they had to wait until morning to deliver the child.

After experiencing the sweltering heat and humidity myself, I could only imagine how uncomfortable and afraid the mother must have felt. 

“Clean water saves lives and brings healthy babies,” Romono explained. If the health centre had been equipped with clean water then the doctors could have provided safe care.

WATCH ROMONO

He explained how right now, his team is working to build latrines, water taps, handwashing stations, and hygiene training for families in the community. It will mean kids won’t miss school from waterborne diseases, more mothers will survive childbirth, and the community will access better healthcare.

A Grandmother’s Triumph

Bi, a grandmother from our partner community in Svay Leu, is proof of how clean water transforms the present and future generations. 

Every morning, Bi would scoop water from a nearby pond—brown, stagnant, and the source of recurring sickness in her grandchildren. Her grandchildren constantly missed school due to diarrhea from the pond water. So, Bi and her husband, Yut, woke up at 4:00 AM just to wait hours for a turn at a clean water source.

But Bi decided enough was enough. She attended FH training on handwashing, water filters, and hygiene. Then, in 2024, thanks to Canadian donors, FH Cambodia built a clean water system right near her home.

Today, her grandkids are healthy. They go to school. She and her husband can work. With a proud smile, Bi told us:

“FH has positively impacted my family, especially our health through safe water and education. We now prioritize clean drinking water and handwashing. We are extremely pleased to have a clean water source near our home.”

A water tower supplying clean water to families.

The Health Centres We’re Fighting For

In communities like Tropeang Prasat, health centres are more than buildings. They’re the foundation of a community’s health. 

Health centres are where mothers bring their children when they’re riddled with diarrhea from unsafe water. They’re where husbands bring their pregnant wives, expecting their first—or second, or third—child. Where children receive routine checkups and vaccines. Where the community comes together to learn about how to stay healthy, use safe water, and wash their hands.

Clean water in a health centre is the difference between healthy kids and the risk of disease. It means health workers can wash their hands, sterilize equipment, and teach the next generation how to stay healthy and dignified.

Right now, Romono and his team are working to equip three health centres with clean water resources: water taps, sanitation, toilets, handwashing stations, and training for staff and families.

Why I Believe In This Work

There were signs of transformation in every school and home we visited. Kids at the handwashing station scrubbed their hands with water flowing from a well above. A healthy, young girl showed off her favourite books at the school library. Savings groups shared stories of how they were lifting their community. A farmer proudly walked us through his solar-powered chicken coop, with water tanks providing irrigation to the fields.

The silver thread between it all—clean water.

Clean water is the cornerstone for a thriving community: watering fields, filling cups, washing hands, and flowing with hope.

After meeting Cambodian families and communities, I’m convinced of this. Your support is a catalyst. These families have the strength and motivation to transform their communities. And we have the privilege of emboldening them on their path to a better future. 

We get to be a part of their story of resilience and hope.

This is Soklai, an FH Cambodia staff member, and I. The staff at FH Cambodia took such great care of us and welcomed us to the communities!

Will You Help Bring Clean Water to Cambodia?

Families in Tropeang Prasat are still waiting. Mothers are still giving birth without clean water and children are still missing school from unsafe water.

Let’s change that.

Donate today to help build clean water systems in Cambodia’s health centres. Together, we can turn resilience into hope, and hope into health.

Akun. Thank you.

GIVE CLEAN WATER TODAY