 | Author's Name: Paul Rake Date: Sun 15 Jan 2023 |
Dignity & Safety for Women in Cambodia
- NOW A MAJOR PROJECT
Rotary Chadstone/East Malvern is heavily involved in driving change for women in Cambodia.
We are about to take a massive step by leading 14 Rotary Clubs from 7 different Rotary Districts around the globe (including USA, Thailand, Ireland and Australia) to change the lives of two whole villages in Cambodia.
The project will involve construction of about 350 Washroom Toilets at a cost of about $US220k.
A Washroom Toilet is an engineer designed septic tank toilet but is built wider so there is extra space for women to bath themselves and their children in a safe and dignified space. Violence against women when bathing in the open or using the “bush toilet” is an issue.
As a test run for this major project we worked as a member of a Rotary Team led by Rotary Port Phillip and supported by the Rotary Foundation and District 9800 World of Difference team to complete the restoration of over forty standard toilets to become Washroom Toilets.
As part of this major project, we will:
- Work with a partner Rotary Club in Cambodia – Rotary Sangke Battambang.
- Engage two Cambodian not for profit organisations as the prime links with the villages
- Cambodia Clean Water and Toilets Project for Phase 1; and
- Build Your Future Today for phase 2.
- For Phase 1 utilise an existing trained team of Cambodian villagers to build Washroom Toilets in the village of Kok Benh.
- For Phase 2 create a new trained team of Cambodian villagers to build Washroom Toilets in the village of Tampour by cross skilling people from the existing team engaged in Phase1.
A critical part of our Project is that it is approved for financial support by the Rotary Foundation and rightly so that approval process required a significant amount of detail, rigour and justification based on an assessment of what the villagers see as a priority.
We are about to lodge our draft application for review so watch this space for our next update
If you would like to donate or volunteer at one of our fund raising events so that we can do build more Washroom Toilets please contact Paul Rake 0409 937 080. Email: paul.rake@bigpond.com
