Hello from Cambodia where we are finally enjoying the cool season. It’s 11:15 am and 31°C (87.8°F). Today started out at a lovely 24°C (75°F) and there’s a cool breeze blowing from the North, so it’s very pleasant except for a few hours in the middle of each day.

The highlight of January was a visit from my parents and youngest sister. We had such a wonderful time together, and Lukas and I felt encouraged and supported by family. They especially loved seeing the Water Project in action, and of course, spending time with Benjamin. Lukas and I took some vacation days while they were here so that we could fully enjoy the time together. We rented a few more small motorcycles so that we could take some off-road adventures around Kampot. We also took a one week trip north to Siem Reap where we visited the famous Angkor Wat.

We installed two water filters in January, and my parents enjoyed the experience of going out with us.  As soon as you leave the city, life in Cambodia becomes simpler. The average annual income in Cambodia is currently around $145 per month (data.worldbank.org (http://data.worldbank.org)).  Since families usually consist of several generations living together, a better perspective is the average household income, which is around $385 a month (www.khmertimeskh.com (http://www.khmertimeskh.com)). In the last 20 yers of working here, we’ve seen huge improvements, including electricity to nearly all villages, excellent internet accessibility, and roads that you can actually drive on! But some things are still the same, especially once you leave the city. In the villages and countryside, people still farm rice, and their children walk or ride to the public school where the teacher doesn’t always show up.  People still draw water from open wells, and collect water from the river in the dry season. The filters that we install are a huge blessing to so many people, and we’re excited about how the project is growing.

My parents brought Lukas some more water testing supplies for the laboratory, one of our goals for 2024 is to get the lab fully functioning, so that we can test water for harmful elements. At the moment we can analyse water for e.coli, arsenic, pH, ORP and hardness. We have some simple tests for chlorine, bromine, total alkalinity, nitrate, copper, iron, lead, nickel, sulfite and a few more, but it isn’t complete.  :-). We have some donated equipment in Switzerland that we hope to get over here soon so that we can offer water testing on a more professional, competitive level.

Well, that sums up January, here’s the photo link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/GKUXxBGAbcHx2J5X6

Love,

Jenny, Lukas and Benjamin

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