Had an interesting and successful trip to our villages in northern Siem Reap province on Saturday, February 13. We traveled with 3 of our Cambodian staff from Cup of Hope: Doun, his wife Khuem, and Chan Leap, our Administrator.

Mr. Savet, Village Chief of Khnar Toul, has made and sold 38 filters, and is excited to make this his primary business. He needs more training materials on how to use and maintain the filters, so the villagers will understand their operation. The filter at his house is working well, and he reports that he has been free of illness for the past three months. He told us that he often would be so sick he couldn't work, and he now believes the filtered water is the answer to his health!

Our visit to the second village of Trapeng Krasang was more disappointing. The leaders are not very interested in promoting the filters to their people, and have lots of excuses why they are too hard to use. However, the chief of the first village is willing to try to sell the filters to the second village, and will help promote and train anyone who is wants to try one of them.

We were saddened to see how much smoke was filling the air during our time here. The jungle and forest is being methodically burned off, to make room for fields, and the many 200-ft. trees lay smoldering on the ground. The acrid air gave us all sore thoats.

We took a side trip to the Thai border about 20 kilometers away, and visited the area where the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot and his generals lived their last days. Eerie to be at the site of the actual border crossing where Thai soldiers took Cambodians from the refugee camps in Thailand back across the border and shot them. Now the little town is back to normal, and people seem to be happy and going about their daily tasks. It is a beautiful mountainous area, similar to the foothills of Colorado.

Cup of Hope will be drilling two additional wells in the villages, since there is little access to water at all during the dry season. The well-drilling rig in Phnom Penh, is still being repaired, and may not be ready while we are here. We assured the chiefs in the villages that they would have the wells soon, and they are patiently waiting.

Donating these wells, through the generosity of Cup of Hope supporters, has been a wonderful tool to build trust and relationship with the chiefs and the villages.

We were very well received, and enjoyed our reunion with the leaders that we met in 2009.