Saang Area Program

The Saang (pronounced saw-ung) community is located in a rural area near Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital city. The community is home to nearly 4,000 families. Some people live along the Basac River, where they fish and grow vegetables, while others live in the lowlands and grow rice. Temperatures are always hot, and there are dry and wet seasons.

Houses in Saang are constructed of wood, with straw, tile, or zinc roofs. Gravel roads are accessible by car, bicycle, and motorbike. Many villagers migrate seasonally to Phnom Penh to seek work in construction and thereby increase their family income. There is a strong sense of community in Saang, but communication with the outside world is a challenge because of the local lack of technology.

Livelihoods
People living in the Saang community regularly experience food shortages, particularly between the months of September and November. This is due to decreasing crop yields, caused in turn by depleted soil, outdated farming techniques, insect infestations, unstable weather, and changes in market prices.

Education
There are schools in the Saang community, but teachers have limited resources and training. It is difficult for some parents to understand the value of an education for their children or to afford the school fees. As a result, many children attend school sporadically or leave altogether because they are required to work to support their families.

Early marriage for Cambodian girls is common, which contributes further to the high dropout rate in the community. In fact, only half of the youth in Saang attend secondary school.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Although many families have access to wells, arsenic from groundwater sometimes seeps into these sources, making the water undrinkable. If consumed, the contamination in the water can lead to skin disease and cancer. Few families have been trained in proper hygiene techniques, and even fewer have access to adequate sanitation facilities. Just 17% of households have proper latrines.