Food crisis in West Africa
Millions of children and their families in West and Central Africa face a growing humanitarian disaster as a food crisis intensifies across the region.
Find out moreFlash floods continue to batter Cambodia
21-October-2011
Plan distributes survival kits to families in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
"It is the worst flooding I have ever experienced in more than 20 years… It's been raining so much and makes me very worried," says 49-year-old Khim Sokheng, a deputy-village chief in Khun Ream community, in the Banteay Srei district of Siem Reap province.
"Recently, only Plan was helping here and gave out water filters, water containers, soap and mosquito nets to my villagers."
Those villagers were among the flood-affected 1845 families who received relief kits from Plan Cambodia during the initial response to flooding, which has now reemerged thanks to on-going downpours.
An agricultural nightmare
"I have no hope that my rice can survive this flooding and heavy rainfall. If it continues for another three days all the rice paddies in my villages will be inundated and ruined," says Roeun Ean, 43, a rice farmer and father of three from the badly hit Prey community in the Srei Snam district of Siem Reap, where Plan is responding.
Because of the flooding that destroyed roads in his area, Mr Ean has to accompany his kids back and forth to school by boat. The whole community now depends on one Plan-supported clean water well as the rest have been contaminated.
The return of flooding in Cambodia has claimed at least 247 lives, the majority of them children.
Sizing up the impact
The flooding now covers more than two-thirds of the country, affecting 10 percent of the population and displacing 30,000 families.
Plan is planning to dispatch mosquito nets to 2500 families and survival kits to another 1130 in areas affected by the flooding.
The flooding has damaged at least 590,000 hectares of agricultural land, mainly rice paddies, as well as 2500 kilometres of roads and 2000 kilometres of irrigation facilities.
The annual national celebration of Cambodia's Water Festival in November has been cancelled due to the crisis.
No causalities have been reported in regards to sponsored children and their families from flood affected area in Siem Reap and Kampong Cham district in Cambodia. We will contact sponsors directly if we receive any news about the individual sponsored children.