Khan Mean Chey Situation

TASK have been working in one of the poorest area calls Mean Chey district which has population up to 200,000.These people majority is Khmer, some are Vietnamese and Charm. They are speaking their own languages. Mean Chey district located south urban area of Phnom Penh. It is 70% lower land divided in two parts by BASAC river. Many people settling their houses along river bank and living with very low hygiene such as using unclean water, low quality of food & lack of access to heath care..etc..

TASK (Formerly Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor) in now continuing to implement 8 projects in aiming to respond to the needs of people suffering poverty & diseases. our work is to serve these people and change their lives following our vision and mission statements.

The royal government of Cambodia is planning to expand the capital city by another 20km by the year 2010. As part of this plan, a big lake in Niroth has been filled up to build a new stadium. It affects people living around the lake because it used to provide them with income from fishing and farming. The land price is dramatically increasing; much new building is taking place. The poor people have to pay more money for accommodation as the rent price is going up as well.

TASK Management reports

TASK has become localized for almost two years since 01 Oct 2004. All management structure is 100% led by Cambodian staff. There are more and more blessings from God project have expanded, funding has increased more staff since TASK has become localize.

The management is now led by two Co-directors & one Deputy director and supported by the management team. At least one representative was chosen from each project to be a member of the management committee. All these position are elected not appointed or nominated.

By The constitution states that every three years one of the Co-directors has to step down automatically and remain one. This situation a new one must be chosen from the team by election to replace the one who step down.

The management committee also has rotating roles. There will be a new election taking place every two years to select new members of the management committee.

TASK now is preparing the election for new management committee which will be scheduling in late Oct 2006. and the Co-directors & deputy director will also be re-elected in Oct 2007.

The reasons TASK formed structure this is to mobilize and encourage young staff to gain experience area learn how to lead TASK Organization, and allow them to share their leadership within TASK.

Overall Objective

Our Vision (The CSD Project):

1. We want to see the poor and their communities in Khan Mean Chey having good health through improved personal and community hygiene.
2. We want to see every family and every child have knowledge about and access to decent sanitation, and every school providing safe, clean space for children to play.
3. We want to see the poor and their communities transformed by experiencing the best possible health (physical, social, mental, spiritual).

Our Mission (The CSD Project):

1. We will build latrines in cooperation with poor communities.
2. We will provide good health education, especially about latrine use (cleaning and maintenance) and hand washing (with soap).
3. We will help communities develop themselves by providing the health knowledge and skills that address the causes of poverty.
4. We will assist the children of Khan Main Chey to grow and develop by assuring that every school in the district has adequately drained land and a children’s playground.
5. We will build good relationships with the poor, the community, and all stakeholders.
6. We will network and partner with all groups that can help provide training, skills or resources to help improve the health and sanitation of the poor.

Our work is an integrated approach to health and development, and includes work in

• Child Health: Community nutrition; children with disability; immunization; children and youth at risk from HIV/AIDS and from drug abuse; health education, sanitation and playgrounds in schools.
• Women’s Health: Savings cooperatives; birth spacing and antenatal care; commercial sex worker outreach; traditional birth attendant training.
• Public Health: grass roots community sanitation and drainage; HIV/AIDS education and home care; support to government TB program; cooperation with Health centre and District authorities for special campaigns - e.g. Dengue Fever, emergency relief.

Throughout the community SERVANTS-TASK has built up an extensive network of community relationships (e.g. Women’s Association members, Group Leaders etc) and is committed to mobilizing and nurturing community volunteers and community workers to assist in the development of their own localities (presently over 100 such community workers work alongside us).

It should be emphasized that all of the health and development projects are interrelated, work in cooperation with one another and cross-refer to one another. This allows an integrated approach to addressing the communities health and development needs.

C S D Project Background

Community Sanitation and Development Background (C S D)

a - CSD Project had its origins in May, 2000, Under Servants to Asia Urban Poor following research in Prek Pra Commune, Meanchey District. The majority of these people were poor families not able to build toilets to use. So they passed stool near theirs houses or in ponds and in rivers. The majority were Khmer people with significant minority population of Viet Names and Cham (or Moslem) whose houses were along side the river, ponds or swampy area.

b - CSD made the plan to reduce disease and poverty in the Community by helping to build family toilets for poor families and give health education teaching and providing skill training about how to build and maintain. These toilets poor people to help and support themselves. This enables growing in dignity and better health.

c - before building of a family latrine, C S D meets with UNCHS (United Nation Community Heath Sanitation Organization based Phnom Penh, adopting their toilet model.

d- The Community participates in the planning and contraction of their toilets and contribute $ 10 per toilet, as well as their labor.

Background of family toilet project area

Description in Thnot Chrum Village

Thnot Chrum was the poorest Village and was located in the lowest areas BoeungTumpun Commune, Mean Chey District. In the raining season, flood water flowed heavily and flooded the area for 2-3 days at a time. The population was living this water was very unsanitary.

TASK Community Sanitation Development project found that people had many needs for health assistant such as rainage, toilet, pure water and hygiene knowledge .

During the observation and discussion with the head of the village, they request to TASK to help develop their area with drainage and family toilets as well.

Statistics

Thnot Thrum has population 9942 persons, 1721 families, 1533 houses and 18 groups.

Community request family toilets amounting to 30 toilets for poor families, there had following this, TASK contacted the local authority and checked for other places with similar needs and made a Baseline and follow-up questionnaire in surrounding villages.

Situation and Activity Family Toilet

Currently we help to provide families toilets to poor families amounting to 12 toilets in month October, 2006 to March, 2007.

After we build the families toilet, we chose one family to interview such: Chan Rom, a female ages 65 years old, She is head of the family of 12 persons living in Thnot Chrum village . She told us last year, that her family lacked toilet, some times passing stools near her house or in plastic bags thrown into ponds and rivers. but now they told us that they can easy use her toilets and are experiencing less Diarrhea, Dysentery, worms and other diseases, when saves money their not buying medicines, they have good health in their families and experience greater happiness.

Number of poor families receiving toilets

Available for download:

Budget of a family toilet and a financial report of the project.

Picture of completed toilets

TASK have been working in one of the poorest area calls Mean Chey district which has population up to 200,000.These people majority is Khmer, some are Vietnamese and Charm. They are speaking their own languages. Mean Chey district located South urban area of Phnom Penh. It is 70% lower land divided in two parts by BASAC river. Many people settling their houses along river bank and living with very low hygiene such as using unclean water, low quality of food & lack of access to get medicines,… ect.

TASK (Former Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor) in now continue implemented 8 projects in aiming to respond to the needs of people suffering of poverty & diseases. our work is to serve these suffer people and changing their lives following our vision and mission statements.

The royal government of Cambodia is planning to expand the capital city by another 20km by the year 2010. As part of this plan, a big lake in Niroth has been filled up to build a new stadium. It affects people living around the lake because it used to provide them with income from fishing and farming. The land price is dramatically increasing, many flats are building up. The homeless people have to pay more money for their accommodation as the rent price is going up as well.

Latrines built with monies raised by the community clinics:

TASK Management reports:

TASK has become localize for almost two years since 01 Oct 2004. ALL management structure is 100% led by Cambodian staff. There are more and more blessed from God. more funding, more staff since TASK has become localize.

The management is now led by two Co-directors & one deputy director and supported by management team. At least one representative was chosen from each project to be a member of the management committee. All these position was elected NOT appointed or nominated.

by the constitution stated that every three years one of the Co-directors has to step down automatically and remain one. This situation a new one must be chosen from the team by election to replace the one who step down.

The management committee also rotating roles. There will be new election is taking place very two years to select a new members of the management committee.

TASK now is preparing the election for new management committee which will be scheduling in late Oct 2006. and the Co-directors & deputy director will also be re-elected in Oct 2007.

The reasons TASK formed this is to mobilize and encourage young experiences staff learn how lead TASK Organization. Also open way for them to share their leadership within TASK.

General Activities:

School works: ( Pre school & Primary Scholl) Assist Red soil, playgrounds, rubbish bins, block toilets, food for student for International children day, drainage system, water tanks, wells, clean water …ect.

Community works: Build drainage, family latrines, basic health teaching, Clean water system, , building road… ect.

Progress & Future plans:

• Provided red soil 6 trucks & sand 2 trucks to Chack Angre Krom Primary school.
• Provided red soil 6 trucks & sand 2 trucks to Chack Angre Krom Primary school.
• Provided 4 trucks of red soil to Rusey primary school.
• Provided 3 truck of red soil to Rusey Sros Peimary School.
• Provided 3 trucks of red soil to Chbar Ampouv 2 Primary school.
• Provided 2 trucks of red soil to Chbar Ampouv 1 Primary school.
• Provided 2 trucks of red soil & 1 trucks of sand to Chamreun Phall Primary school.
• Provided 7 trucks of dirt & 1 truck of sand to Tombok Khpors Primary school.
• Provided 2 trucks of red soil & 1 truck of sand to Sansom Kosal Primary school.
• Provided 2 trucks of red soil to Steung Mean Chey Primary school.
• Provided 3 trucks of red soil to Prachhom Vong Primary school.
• Provided 1 truck of red soil & 1 truck to Preah Ponlear Primary school.
• Provided 1 trucks of red soil to Prek Pra Krom Primary school.
• Provided 1 trucks of red soil to Prek Pra Leu Primary school.
• Provided 2 trucks of red soil to Chack Angre krom Phhom 2 Primary school.
• Provided 1 trucks of sand to Chack Angreleu Pre school.
• Provided 75 rubbish bins to Primary school & pre-school. 5 rubbish bins for each school.
• Equipped one set of playground to Sansom Kosal Primary school, 1 set of see-saw & one swing.
• Equipped one set of playground to Wat Kamsan Primary school, 1 set of see-saw, one swing & one slide.
• Equipped one set of playground to at TASK Children Centre, Prek Pra for Sunrise student play, 1 set of see-saw, one slide & low rotation.
• Equipped one set of playground to Chack Angre Leu Phom1 Pre School, 1 set of see-saw, one swing& one slide.
• Provided 15 boxes of instant noodle to 225 students at Chbar Ampouv2 Primary school at International Children day 01st June, 2006.
• Repaired one block old toilet at Chbar Ampouv2 Primary school for student use & for people moved from flooding places.
• Contacted with school directors discussed about general hygiene with schools, how to maintain, rubbish bins, block toilets, playgrounds, provided by TASK.
• Negotiated with school directors to intergrades student back to school.

• From October 2006 to December 2006, built 7 family latrines to 12 poor families at Group 5 & 4 Thnot Chhrom village, Beung Tompon Commune, Mean Chey District. These 7 toilets can serve 84 people.
• From June 2006 to September 2006, built one line of drainage 775m at Preah Ponlea. This drainage flows wasted from 500 houses.
• Educated community people at Thnot Chhrom about General Hygiene, how to maintain drainage, how to keep toilets clean, and 100 people joined.
• Gathered people in community & village leaders discussing about future plan for connecting clean water, build more drainages, more family latrines.
• Communicated with Commune leaders & district leader discussing how to identify the need of communities.
• Continue to negotiate school directors to identify the of student in school, as playgrounds, block toilets, red soil, rubbish bins.
• Continue to have good cooperation with school directors to intergrades more students back to school. These students quit school for some reasons.
• Continue to educate general hygiene and basic health to all primary & pre schools.
• Seek a need of poor student in order to support them as school supplies, food, cloths.
• Mobilize & advocate school teachers to stop taking money from poor students.
• Encourage & mobilize student mothers to sent their children to school.
• Engage other organizations to gather more supports for poor student in school.
• Visited Rain Water Project run by the Organization in June 2006 to learn from them how to keep rain water to use in the family.
• Continue to research the need of Communities, as family latrines, drainage, and clean water.
• Continue to negotiate with local authority to involve building drainages, water system.
• Encourage community people to share their contribution, as labor, some money in building more latrines, more drainage.
• Continue to communicate with Commune leaders, district leaders & municipality to discuss of future community development projects.
• Continue to search about building big water jar for poor community use rain water.
• Will visit Rain Water Organization in order to learn how make big water jar for people in community.

Staff Activities:

• Mr. Chea Lin, Project coordinator, attended 1day workshop with Maryknol & World Vision about project implementing in the same locations to avoid double services.
• Attended half day workshop at Municipality hall about supporting poor community development & poverty reduction plan.
• Attended 40 hours course of Computer training at ICS (International Computer School) from 10th July to 10 August 2006.
• Continue to attend English training.
• Will visit other Sheila Organization project about how to work better in building drainage.

Other TASK projects:

TASK
As a local NGO, TASK is experiencing great favor and blessing. In general, funding seems to be quite forthcoming and this year a major donor has funded the building of a children’s centre which will house all the children’s projects in TASK, such as Project HALO, Sunrise School, The Little Conquerors, Kids Plus, and the Nutrition Project. This gives them room to expand their programs and reach more children, more effectively.

The TASK co-leaders have risen to a number of challenges, including uncovering a case of fraud and subsequently implementing a new, tighter financial system to avoid problems in the future. There are currently over 30 full time staff.

Servants relationship with TASK

Expatriate Servants team members continue to work alongside TASK staff in some of the projects and provide advice and encouragement where needed. Kristin helps with the new drug users initiative and the AIDS education, Additionally, they are all board members, along with four Cambodians.

Here is a summary of progress in the various projects: Please note that although these are described as separate programs, there is a lot of liaison and networking between the programs. In particular for the Nutrition Program, they work very closely with Project HALO with the Kids Plus program (same staff as Nutrition) and now with the Women’s Health program. The local Government Health Centre sends staff each Tuesday morning to the Nutrition clinic to do immunizations.

Nutrition

Half of all children are malnourished in Cambodia. We treat the most severely malnourished fewer than 5 year olds in our district. A clinic is held in the community once a week, followed up by home visiting. Community workers help us locate children and carry out health and nutrition education.

“Kids Plus” - HIV positive children

The mushrooming AIDS epidemic in Cambodia has meant that increasing numbers of children are being born with the HIV virus. TASK works passionately to keep these kids as healthy and happy as possible for as long as possible.

Project HALO (Hope, Assistance & Love for Orphans)

TASK has helped Cambodian communities care for over 900 children affected by AIDS, through extended families, teen-headed households and foster families. We also mobilise Christian young people to take on the role of “big brother or sister” to one orphan each, visiting and encouraging.

Childhood Immunization

While much of our work is treatment for diseases and disabilities we must also attend to the fence at the top of the cliff. By carrying out the unglamorous task of extensive immunization for babies and children we prevent thousands of future cases of disease, disability and death.

Women’s Health

Lack of access to reproductive knowledge is one of the key factors keeping women and their families poor, sick and in danger of early death. Working alongside village midwives, we hold regular clinics in the community providing health check-ups, education and family planning.

The Little Conquerors - disabled kids

In a karma based society like Cambodia, disability is often a shameful and hidden problem. TASK treats disabilities and trains the families to carry on the therapy at home, we try to bring families together for mutual support. TASK also mainstreams as many kids as possible into local schools.

HIV/AIDS Homecare

TASK has mobilized an extensive network of community workers (mainly from local churches) to visit people living with AIDS and offer a helping hand a listening ear and an encouraging prayer. TASK medical staffs follow up with compassionate counseling, pain-relieving medication and support.

Brothel Clinic

TASK runs a clinic in the heart of one of the slum brothels in our district. We supply condoms, AIDS prevention education and treat STD’s. During the clinic the sex workers are encouraged to attempt escape from the brothel lifestyle and go to a Christian safe house where they are cared for and learn new skills.

AIDS Education

The answer to halting the onward march of the AIDS epidemic is not cure but prevention. And the best hope for prevention lies in changing human behaviour. TASK reaches out to the most vulnerable groups in Cambodian society with straightforward facts and education about HIV/AIDS.

Emergency Relief

At times, the only Christian response to an urgent need is to provide emergency relief. Cambodia suffers from flooding on a yearly basis and several slums have been wiped out by major fires. People who are already struggling, lose everything and TASK is often called on to provide emergency supplies.

Teenage Drug User Rehabilitation (TDUR)

This new initiative is progressing well with cooperation from local authorities who are keen to help us make a difference. They have donated a number of locations to TASK to use for training and agriculture with the boys. It is early days yet in this ministry and the main focus is on building relationships and research.

And this is how it looks on the Thai language plans.

The Impact of Latrine Provision on an Urban Poor Neighbourhood November 2001
K.R.Jack/Chea Linn

In 1999 Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor began a small scale Community Sanitation and Development (CSD) program, in recognition of the role sanitation and stool disposal plays in illness, health spending and ongoing poverty.

Previously latrines, wells and water filters had been built in cooperation with several local schools, but demand indicated it was time to expand this to the wider community. Therefore several more community based sanitation projects were investigated, including drainage and walkways. Initially much time was spent by Mr Chea Linn (in charge of the CSD program) surveying community needs and motivation amongst urban poor neighbourhoods within our health district (Khan Mein Chey, Phnom Penh). This involved discussions with local chiefs and residents to assess their sanitation needs and what they were willing to contribute to improving their own situation. In some cases the approach to the community was initiated by Mr Linn, in some cases by the community approaching Servants.

In September 2000, work began in cooperation with one urban poor neighbourhood in Prak Pra commune to provide latrines to a cluster of poor families who had expressed a willingness to contribute towards their construction and maintenance. It was agreed that the community residents would contribute 10% of the finances plus the labor required to dig the pits. Servants would raise the rest of the finances required (which was done with kind assistance from the U.N Community Health and Sanitation program) and arrange for a contractor to implement the more technical aspects of the latrine construction.

The cost of each toilet was approximately $134 US and $1.50 for each poster and cake of soap. Eventually 12 latrines were provided for 24 families (one toilet for two families), in total serving nearly 150 people.

A baseline survey was carried out by Mr Linn in September 2000 (at which stage residents had had toilets less than a month) looking at household health and health spending. At this time Mr Linn also provided basic health education (hand washing, toilet cleaning etc) to each family. A follow-up survey was the carried out six months later (February 2001) to assess the impact toilet provision had had on these families. This six-month follow up indicated a marked improvement in heath status and commensurate drop in health spending. A year (13 months) after the baseline survey we conducted a further follow-up survey (October 2001) with this community in order to see if health gains were sustained. In particular we wanted to check that the earlier improvement hadn’t simply been as a result of seasonal variation between wet (September-October) and dry (February) seasons. At this time each family was provided with a scrubbing brush, a cake of soap and a poster reinforcing the initial information.

The results are very encouraging, indicating that after one year, health gains were largely maintained (especially when measured either as gross spending on health care or as percentage of household income spent on health care). There probably was a seasonal health variation, but the positive impacts of the latrines appear to have been greater than that. Below the results are presented comparatively, in tabular form.

Table 1: Number of households, individuals and toilets. (Note – prior to Sept. 2000 there were no toilets in this area).
Sept. 2000 6 month f/up 1 year f/up
No. of households 20 23 24
No. of individuals 108 140 148
people per household 5.7 6 6.2
people per toilet 9 11.6 12

Comment: Over the year, an extra 40 individuals were added to the numbers living in this cluster of houses, either through birth or migration. One would have expected this to put increased pressure on the latrines, hygiene and health in general. However the following data indicates this was not the case.

Table 2: “would you describe your families health over these past 3 months as generally healthy or unhealthy?”
Sept 2000 6 month f/up 1 year f/up
Healthy 0 19 (83%) 21 (87%)
Unhealthy 20 (100%) 4 (17%) 3 (13%)

Comment: At the 6 month follow up there was a dramatic increase in those who described themselves as having been healthy. This increase was maintained (in fact increased slightly) over the year.

Table 3: “About how much would your family have spent on health treatment over the past 3 months?”
(Note $1.00 US = about 3900 riel). Expressed as % of respondents in each spending band.
Sept 2000 6 month f/up 1 year f/up
less than 10,000 riel 5.5% 78% 75%
10 – 20,000 riel 11% 17% 25%
20 – 30,000 riel 28% 5% 0
30 – 50,000 riel 44% 0 0
> than 50,000 riel 11% 0 0

Comment: There is a very sharp drop in spending on health treatment after 6 months. This drop is maintained after 1 year.

Table 4: “What have been your families main illnesses these past 3 months?
Illness Sept 2000 6 months f/up 1 year f/up
diarrhea 14 5 5
fever 19 7 12
sore stomach 5 2 4
headache 18 9 23
cold, flu 16 5 16
dengue fever 7 1 3
skin disease 0 0 0
TOTAL 79 29 63

Comment: The number of reported illnesses plummeted by more than 60% between Sept 2000 and the 6-month follow-up. By the 1-year mark, the figure had risen noticeably again (although still well short of the baseline figure of 79). It is quite likely there is a seasonal figure at work here, with people often experiencing increased viral infections (such as flu’s) during the wet season (June to October). Indeed most of the illnesses reported at the 1 year follow up consist of headaches, colds and flu’s (39 out of 63 cases). However, although the number of cases of illness had risen, it appears their severity had decreased given that 87% of people regarded themselves as “generally healthy” over the proceeding 3 months, & that overall health spending had continued to be very low.

Table 5: “Estimate how many people in your family have had diarrhea over these past 3 months”.
No. of individuals Sept 2000 6 month f/up 1 year f/up
0 0 9 (39%) 3 (13%)
1 – 2 8 (40%) 14 (61%) 20 (83%)
about 4 10 (50%) 0 1 (4%)
about 6 1 (5%) 0 0
about 8 0 0 0
about 10 0 0 0
more than 10 0 0

Comment: The reported cases of diarrhea plummeted substantially after 6 months, and this decrease was largely maintained at the 1-year mark. A decrease in incidents of diarrhea is a positive outcome one would hope to result from latrine provision and hygiene instruction - and this indeed is borne out by the data.

Table 6: “Estimate what your families income has been over these past 3 months.”
Income Sept 2000 6 months f/up 1 year f/up
less than 50,000 riel 0 2 (9%) 0
50 – 100,000 riel 4 (21%) 17 (74%) 0
100 – 150,000 riel 11 (58%) 2 (9%) 7
150 – 200,000 riel 2 (11%) 2 (9%) 13 (29%)
200 – 250,000 riel 1 (5%) 0 5 (54%)
more than 300,000 riel 1 (5%) 0 0 (21%)

Comment: Generally, family income dropped from baseline to 6 months, and further research would have been required to understand the macro and micro-economic reason behind this. Then, by the 1-year mark, overall incomes had risen substantially above either of the two previous figures. Undoubtedly there is a complex web of factors behind this, well beyond the scope of this simple questionnaire to ascertain. However, it is quite probable that improved family health and therefore productive energy was one of those economic factors at work here.

Table 7: Approximate spending on health treatment as a percentage of family income
Sept 2000 6 month f/up 1 year f/up
% income spent on health treatment 31% 23% 6%

Comment: As can be seen, the percentage of income spent on health care dropped noticeably between the baseline and 6 month survey. Although only a drop of 8%, this represents an important saving for an urban poor family – extra money than can be spent on schooling, clothes, food, housing and so on – investments that will further improve family health (and financial wellbeing) in the both the short and long-term. However, by the 1-year mark, family incomes have risen quite dramatically, and this combined with decreased health spending represents a really big boost to the household coffers for these families. Again, without undertaking in-depth research, it is impossible to comment on all the factors that may have lead to such an economic improvement in this community; but almost certainly improved health status has been one. This figure of only 6% health spending is far lower than that seen in other survey conducted amongst poor households in Cambodia (where percentages usually vary between a third and more than half of all disposable income). Furthermore, three families made a point of stating in their questionnaire that they had spent absolutely nothing on health care over the previous 3 months – another very unusual result in the Cambodian context.

Conclusion: Though very encouraging, these results need to be seen within the limitations of this small study. The numbers surveyed are not large (statistically significant); nor have we attempted to examine the myriad of other factors (in addition to latrines and health status) that may have changed over the year and effected this community’s economic well being.

With that said though, there are many indications here that confirm the strongly positive impact of latrine provision on a community - especially when that provision is accompanied by education, follow-up (reinforcement), and when carried out in a participatory way. Basic health infrastructure provision (like immunization and clean water supply) is demonstrably one of the highest impact and most cost-effective interventions that can be made, improving both the health status and economic well being of the families involved.

We are encouraged to continue our efforts at working together with urban poor communities to improve their health through the provision of latrines, hygiene and health education.

What I have learnt about community development.

“You ask me ‘what is the most important thing?’ And I will tell you. It is People… People… People…” Maori Proverb

After more than ten years living with Servants among the urban poor in Cambodia, and praying and working to see the lives of the poor and their communities transformed, I believe I have learnt some key lessons about ‘development’, the most important of which is this:

Good plans follow good people, and good money follows good people with good plans.

What I mean by that is this: when we come into a situation of great need and want to see deep and abiding change for the better, the first thing we should do is seek good people. A few good men and a few good women. In those few (maybe only one or two) lie the seeds of change and renewal. Maybe this is what Jesus is talking about when he commands the disciples to “search for some worthy person” (Matthew 10:11) as they launch out into mission.

By good people, I don’t mean ‘highly moral’ people. I mean those whose hearts are moved by the things that move God (sickness, hunger, suffering, death, violence, abuse, addictions etc), who love those around them, and who are prepared to get their hands dirty and do something about it. People of compassion and action. People who are already trying to help those in need.

Gather together with those people. Help nurture them and the mustard seeds of goodness and compassion that are within them. Pray together – that God’s kingdom might begin to come in this place too (Matthew 6:10). Encourage them to dream their dreams, for almost certainly those dreams come from God. These will be ‘kingdom dreams’: dreams of healing, new-life, and the overcoming of evil (Matthew 10:8). Start to plan and plot together how you could let God’s compassion flow through you to make a difference in this place. Dream a dream and build a team. Good plans will emerge, plans which are owned by local people and earthed in the local situation.

I think this is what Filipino theologian/activist Melba Maggay means when she urges us to ‘nurture a strategic minority’: “Students of social change tell us that it is better to aim at consensus within a strategic minority rather than to waste time and breath at soliciting the conformity of the majority. Since a movement for change involves vision and sacrifice it is not possible to start with the many. Very few people can see ten steps ahead of them. Most are too enclosed in the realities of the present to be able to imagine an alternative future. It takes a lot of imagination to believe that with the coming of Christ, a new order has come into being.” (Melba Maggay, Survival Strategies, p 7).

Once good people have come together and made good plans – plans that have flowed from the heart of God, moved by the brokenness of people’s pain and need – all the necessary resources will follow. Many will be found within this group itself. They may have been long buried and ignored, but they will be emerging now as people pray, dream, and share about their experiences and previous efforts. But if more resources are needed, these also will come. The community itself will see what is happening, and resources buried in it will start to emerge. If even more resources are required, these too will come. If God is involved in the process, he will provide what is needed, no matter how much that may be. I believe this strategy holds true weather we be trying foster community development, initiate a public health program, plant a church or whatever.

Nothing I’ve said so far here sounds particularly startling does it? In fact, it sounds perfectly reasonable, perhaps even obvious. Yet the majority of ‘Development’ (and even ‘Mission’) Organizations tend to work completely the other way around from the process I’m describing here (and the bigger they are, the more true this is). First they assemble their money – often tons of it – to back up their master plan, their awesome strategy that will ‘blow those communities problems clean away’. Then they come, attract and recruit ‘highly qualified staff’ with their big pay rolls, and train them to implement the master plan. Usually the results are disappointing, and well below what was hoped for given the amount of money spent. Many big organizations try to ‘do development’ (or ‘do mission’) this way:
1. Assemble good money and 2. Come up with a good plan.
3. Attract good people (staff).
But it’s all back to front.

Real community development, and real kingdom mission happens the other way around, from the bottom-up.
1. First we find good people. 2. Then we come up with a good plan together (call it a program if you must). 3. And then whatever resources are needed will follow.
Good money follows good people with good plans. It always does.

For incarnational missions like Servants living and ministering with the poor, this is our natural way of working. By living at the local neighbourhood level, we are in a great position to ‘seek out those worthy people’ that Jesus was talking about, those gems that bigger groups probably won’t ever notice. In fact we may struggle to notice them at first too – they will usually be poor, uneducated and needy themselves (1 Corinthians 1:26-28) – but we must to ask God for the eyes to see them, and for the providential circumstances in which to meet them. It takes time and patience to develop these kind of eyes, eyes that can look beyond broken, rough exteriors and see the treasure buried there. Indeed, it takes years. And this presents a great problem for both ’short term missions’, and for ‘development agencies’ who so often work on three year funding cycles (meaning they will fund a project for up to three years, and then pull the plug if it’s not ’successful’). To use a horticultural metaphor for a moment, three years might be long enough to grow flowers or shrubs, but it’s not long enough to grow trees, and growing trees is what we are after in genuine community development. Flowers look pretty, but its surface level stuff. What the poor need are not cosmetic changes, but deeply rooted local agents of transformation living among them, those who bear the kind of fruit that reproduces over and over (check out the oaks of righteousness mentioned in Isaiah 61:1-4, and where they have come from, and what they can do for their community once established). A ten year time frame would be much more realistic if we want to be a part of genuine community development.

This patient, incarnational approach to development requires us to be prayerful and attentive in all that we do, looking to see where God is at work in our communities and in the lives of those around us. As we live our lives for Christ and seek to see his kingdom come in our communities, we will be a watchful people, a listening people, a waiting people. Christ calls us not so much to be leaders as to be followers and joiners – those who hear where the Spirit is already going and follow; those who see what the Spirit is already doing and join in. We are called to be waiters. We are called to be servants.

Mission

Vision: to see God’s compassion and healing transform the lives of the poor and their communities in Phnom Penh.

Our overarching vision is to see Christ’s love become incarnate (flesh and blood) among the urban poor. We want to mobilise local Christians to live-out the gospel wholistically among the poor, and to see urban communities helping each other.

Our dream is to be a catalyst for a social movement amongst the poor.

Mission: we are an intentional Christian community called to live and serve among the poor, seeking to work out our wholistic mandate through our work in health and community development.

To remain dynamic, we as a community will seek to know and follow God’s will; we will celebrate the diversity of gifts that God has placed among us; and we will continue to care for ourselves and each other.

Health and Development Philosophy:

1. Target the neediest and the poorest. Positive discrimination in favour of the poor, women, children, the disabled, the outcast.
2. Non-discrimination on the basis of race or religion. Christians and non-Christians will have equal access to our programs and the benefits of our programs.
3. Network and cooperate - maximise effectiveness by cooperating with national health plans and with other agencies.
4. Mustard Seed approach. We wish to model and seed small scale, low tech. programs at the local level that are potentially replicable by the community and that make use of community resources. We seek to work at the grass roots level, with the “little people” of Khmer society.
5. Mobilisation and use of local resources – especially human resources. We wish to help communities recognise and mobilise their own resources. We believe the greatest resource of a community is its people, and so seek to mobilise community members (particularly Christians and local churches) to show practical compassion to their neighbours and so incarnate the love of Christ. We try to identify people of compassion and seek to work with them. Servants can provide training, encouragement and some resources, they can provide caring hands and local wisdom.
6. Health education. Lack of knowledge contributes to ill-health; therefore we will emphasise health education for empowerment.
7. Poverty is a root cause of ill-health; therefore we will promote income generation and self sufficiency wherever possible (through microcredit, networking etc).
8. A lack of public health infrastructure contributes to ill-health; therefore we will promote access to clean water, latrines and drainage where interest and motivation for this comes from the community. We promote and support government immunisation and Tb services.
9. Wholistic Approach. We regard physical, spiritual, social and emotional well-being as all being important components of “health”.

Strategies for implementing

1. start with the felt and expressed needs of the poorest.
2. address the main causes of ill health and poverty.
3. discipleship, mentoring and envisioning of Khmer staff. Imbuing them with the organisational, and technical skills needed, and the vision for transformative wholistic ministry.
4. they are in turn equipped to identify and equip community members with needed skills and vision.
5. attempt to raise up community leaders/activists, particularly among the poor. Key qualification: compassion.
6. work with and alongside existing local church(es), cell groups and church leaders. We will not plant our own “denomination”.
7. network to create synergy with other groups of like heart – e.g. Maryknoll, Innerchange.
8. in prayer, listen to and be empowered by the Holy Spirit as we fulfill the mandate of Luke 4:18-20

Community sanitation (toilets, wells, filters, drainage, playgrounds). Linn

Research has shown that poor sanitation and access to clean water is one of the biggest causes of ill health and therefore poverty in Cambodia.

Follow up surveys we conducted last year on a small slum community before and after receiving toilets showed a dramatic halving of the number of illnesses reported and along with this significant savings on family expenditure.

Linn has taken a fairly slow, developmental approach. A lot of time is spent talking with the communities involved, checking their enthusiasm and motivation for these shared latrines, while teaching basic health and hygiene messages.

The community is expected to provide at least 10% of the material costs and most of the labour involved. Sometimes communities requesting help are facilitated to meet with other poor communities who have dealt with infrastructure problems, in order to learn from each other.

Well enough from me -what do you all think ??