CAMBODIA CLEAN WATER PROJECT - A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!
As you know, Rotary Club of Chadstone-East Malvern and Port Phillip Rotary together were successful in a grant application through District 9800, which altogether allowed $18,000 for the improvement of squat toilets to incorporate a washroom as well for safety and privacy by extending the footprint of the existing toilet. The combined contribution from the clubs was $12,000 and the grant added another $6,000.
Darrel Steer is the hero on the ground in Cambodia, who has extensive plumbing knowledge and is training villagers to complete works so that the program becomes sustainable. The upgrades and restoration of the toilet / washrooms in Kok Tnoth Village in the Siem Reap District of Cambodia, make a world of difference.
Also, a thank you to World of Difference (WOD) for their vision and generosity in contributing to this restoration project.
As discussed, they upgraded and restored six toilets/washrooms at a time. The cost of each upgrade and restoration is US$285 which equates to AU$420 as the current exchange rate is US$1.00 = AU$0.68. The cost in AUDollars of the initial six upgrades and restorations (A1 - A6) would be AU$2,520.
Sanitation issues in Cambodia affect women more than they affect men. The toilets are designed to also be a washroom for women as often they have no privacy when washing themselves or their children.
Sanitation, more than many other human rights issues, evokes the concept of human dignity; consider the vulnerability and shame that so many people experience every day when, again, they are forced to defecate in the open.
Washrooms are a place of safety when women are most vulnerable.
The earlier design of sanitary toilets had not taken this into account. The brickwork was at floor level and the walls became continually wet which damaged the timber structure.
Also, the earlier toilets had thatched walls to comply with requirements of the archaeological park authority. Kok Tnoth Village is in the Angkor archaeological park area. This requirement has been relaxed and for the last four years we have used colorbond steel for the walls and roof. Darrel and his team had also added the steel framed door.
The actual underground septic tank system did not need any changes. Hence renovations only involved removing the original above-ground structure and rebuilding the toilet to incorporate a washroom.
