HOPE 10 Year - Three Ambassadors

Mrs. Toek Oeun – Cambodia

Toek Oeun and her two children live in Cambodia.
She is now a happy woman.

Six years ago the Oeun family was landless, penniless and hopeless. She and her children worked for others and barely had enough to eat.
 
In 2004, they joined a well-user group and received access to a well. Two years later they borrowed a cow from the HOPE-JP Cow Bank. Since then change has been remarkable: from producing only five baskets of food a month, not even enough to feed her family, she now produces over 40 baskets of vegetables a month, with a surplus that she sells in the local market. She is currently a landowner, an employer, and her children are able to go to school.

Access to clean water was her initial lift that gave her three important things. 

HEALTH ... she and her family were no longer drinking contaminated water. 
TIME ... She no longer had to walk hours daily to fetch water. 
OPPORTUNITY ... to irrigate the land, where the cow was needed. With more land to grow on, she used the cow for cultivation and fertilizer.
 
Mrs. Oeun's story is not unique. So far over 3,000 people in Cambodia have become self-reliant through participation in HOPE-JP's programs. She now has power over her own life. Her children can now go to school and have a brighter future.

Helping Others

Today, Mrs. Toek Oeun is a happy and giving woman.
She employs others and belongs to a self-help group with ladies like her who have benefited from a HOPE-JP well.
 

Silkoya Cora - Ethiopia

Silkoya Cora...life before access to clean water...

Silkoya is a young girl who lives in a remote village in the state of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. Before HOPE-JP came to her village, the women and girls walked long distances to the nearest river to fetch dirty water. Thus, the village children could not attend school; they had to accompany their mothers on the four hour round trip walk down and up a steep and slippery mountain slope. "In the dry season, we had to dig in the dry riverbed for water, the same water that cows would walk in and drink from."
 
Silkoya's mother could only carry 2 jerry cans (40L) of water per trip while Silkoya was able to carry about 20L strapped to her back. The daily task was not only exhausting, but didn’t even provide enough water for the family.
 
In addition, drinking the dirty water often made them ill, sometimes resulting in stomach parasites. Often villagers would die easily because they could not afford to go to the clinic.

A new life begins with a HOPE well and hygiene education

Thanks to HOPE-JP and a new water system that pipes in clean, fresh spring water to the village, Silkoya and her family can have quick and easy access to healthy and sufficient water. According to Silkoya, the villagers are now "happy and healthy!"
 
HOPE-JP also sent a nurse to teach better hygiene. House by house she taught them how to use the water system.
 
But HOPE-JP went a step further and provided a nurse who went house by house to teach better hygiene and how to properly get the most out of their new water system. Now, Silkoya lives just a few meters away from the water taps. She says, "It's like a miracle to have water next door to us! The water is very good! I can shower, drink, wash, and give my cattle water, and no one gets sick."
 

Laila Macasampay – The Philippines

Laila and her family…new hopes thanks to water and education.

Laila is the 40-year-old wife of her husband Jenny and hard working mother to their eight daughters, ranging from their oldest who is 23 to their youngest who is just 1 year old. Laila and her community have benefitted from the provision of clean water through HOPE-JP's water projects and the ripple effect it has had. One effect is the impact on schooling, where once out of grasp, has suddenly become a possibility for Laila’s family.

Clean water, a ticket to food production and self-reliance

Since Laila received access to clean water she has used the land owned by her parents to grow vegetables for her family. Surplus produce is usually bartered for other items making life much easier for her family.

Dreams and the key to end poverty

Laila has big dreams for her daughters. They are part of the HOPE Reach program, which sponsors primary education for children in remote tribal areas. Laila believes that education will help them escape the poverty trap. In a recent conversation with a HOPE-JP volunteer, it was with tearful gratitude that Laila expressed her thanks. Her children now go to school, giving here an optimistic outlook on the future.