December 2009 was a hard and disheartening month for MaD. After the situation with APSARA reached exploding point, we finally came to realisation that we would not be able to carry out much of the work that we had promised to do in Bakong: no drilling and installing water pumps, no building improved sanitation units, no constructing new houses or refurbishing old ones. We weren’t even allowed to construct a chicken coop! If relationships were to deteriorate further, it appeared that we would also run the very real risk of having work that we had already done for the people of Bakong destroyed. Needless to say, the whole team were feeling somewhat dismayed, especially as so many of our Khmer team are from Bakong Commune and were now told that we would have to move locations away from their family and friends all because APSARA wouldn’t let us help their own people.
As we approached 2010, we therefore concluded that the only component of our Rural Development Program that we would be able to carry out in Bakong was our Pump Repairs and Refurbishment project. Not to say that this project isn’t important or worthwhile, quite the contrary. In Bakong Commune alone, out of a total of just over 800 pumps that have been installed, around 640 were not functioning before we started our project. Most of these pumps had only been installed within the last few years, and so it quickly became apparent from our meetings with community members that the situation would only continue to deteriorate as one pump after another ceases to function, until only the wealthy members of the Commune are left with working pumps. The majority of the remainder of the community go back to obtaining their water from open wells and ponds, completely defeating the point of installing a pump in the first place. It was the same old story as with so much of NGO work in Cambodia: people and organizations swoop in, donate a pump, house or whatever, put up a fancy sign to show how generous they have been and then leave with little regard as to what happens afterwards. Within a few years, communities are often left off worse than they started.
MaD’s approach has always been different: working in partnership with rural communities, we refuse to simply do work for them, only with them; thereby allowing them to take control over the processes that impact upon their lives. With pump repairs this means making sure that families receiving assistance contribute to and involve themselves in the repairs in any way they can, enabling them to learn about the process whilst it is being carried out. At the community level it means making sure that the community as a whole takes responsibility for their pumps after we have done our work, by electing pump monitors who are trained in pump repairs and are responsible for repairing the community’s pumps in the future.
The arrival of our first set of volunteers for 2010 was just what we needed to inject a renewed sense of optimism into our Rural Development Program in Bakong, proving that, despite everything that had occurred with APSARA, we could still make a hugely positive impact upon the lives of the people of Bakong. ‘Superman’ Dave and Kristy approached our pump repairs project with all of the qualities that we look for in good volunteers: enthusiasm, patience, initiative, open-mindedness and the drive to make a difference. Working alongside our Khmer team, by the end of one week they had repaired and refurbished a record-breaking 7 pumps and had helped to (somewhat secretly) drill and install a new one on top of that. By the end of the week the whole team were feeling confident and optimistic about our work, and so we decided to set ourselves the target of repairing 20 pumps by the end of January, with the aim of improving our work and our project as much as possible during the process. This would be nearly double the amount that we had repaired so far since we set the project in full swing around September 2009. A tough challenge indeed…
To our delight (relief?!) the next three volunteers that were to work on the project, Lisa, Marnie & Nicole, approached the work with an equal degree of passion and energy to their predecessors. They set to work repairing and refurbishing pump after pump in the sweltering heat, gaining more and more momentum as they progressed and inspiring and motivating our Khmer team in the process. By February 5th, their combined efforts had led to a further 16 pumps being repaired, bringing our total for the month up to 24!! So a huge congratulations and a massive thank you to our volunteers for their tremendous achievement!
24 out of 600 may not seem like a huge amount, and certainly we do still have a long way to go with this project (we will continuing with pump repairs after we have moved from Bakong as our Khmer RDP team are all from this commune), but starting with such momentum has put us in perfect stead for this project for the rest of the year. Lisa and Nicole have now left, but Marnie is still going strong and is continuing to make amazing progress. In fact, as this entry was being written she just came back to the MaD House with the news that she and Sol had managed to complete 3 refurbishments today alone!!
Below you can read what Marnie had to say about her work on the project and you can check photos of all their work. Those who would like to read a more formal evaluation of our work this month can do so here.
'Fixing the water pumps was so rewarding. Some of the families had a pump installed, but they not been working for many months - valves were broken and parts required, but they were costly and usually out of reach for the Cambodian families. Working with the Khmer employee, Sol, was great fun - we taught each other the names of the tools and parts in Khmer and English, and even though we couldn't chat to each other very much, we worked together really well and had many laughs. It was especially good when a family member joined in on their pump repair and learned how to fix a pump correctly. Coming home on the work trailer at the end of a long hot day and seeing the red MaD pumps being used always brought a huge smile to face.'
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