Sok and her family live in a village outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Their home, made of a corrugated steel roof and straw walls, sits on stilts for a few reasons, including the need to protect the family and their belongings from the floods that come with Cambodia’s monsoon season. Ironically, though Sok’s village sees plenty of water from those rains and is located along several rivers, safe water is hard to come by here.

Across the country of Cambodia more than 11 million people in lack access to safe water. Like millions of other women, to get water for her family, Sok had no choice but to collect it from a nearby river. Click here to learn more about why mostly women are responsible for finding a resource their families need to survive.

At the river, Sok and her neighbors gathered water to wash dishes, to do their laundry, to bathe, and they used the water for cooking.

Understanding it was not safe water, Sok knew that for the health of her grandchildren she needed a better source of water. This is why a small loan from Water.org’s in-country partner, LOLC, was so important to Sok.

With the small loan, Sok was able to connect her home to the municipal water utility line. Now rather than walk to retrieve unsafe water from the river, Sok has access to safe water on her property. And, she now has time to cook and sell more traditional Cambodian foods at the local market.

The improved health, time savings, and livelihood of the people we serve are why we do what we do at Water.org. Learn more about why financing for water and sanitation has changed more than 66 million lives, including Sok’s life, for good.