wfn.org | Adventist Aid Agency Provides Temporary Shelter for Flood Victims in

["Beckett, John" <BeckettJ@gc.adventist.org>]

Cambodia

ANN Bulletin
Adventist News Network
Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters
November 30, 1999
Adventist Aid Agency Provides Temporary Shelter for Flood Victims in
Cambodia
Phnom Penh, Cambodia ... [ANN]  

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is responding to recent
torrential rains and flash floods that are affecting the lives of thousands
in five southern provinces of Cambodia. ADRA joined forces with several
other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian agencies in
Cambodia on Monday, November 22, to provide relief to those affected.

ADRA staff and volunteers were able to distribute 1,000 tarpaulin sheets in
four affected districts. 

"We hope that the temporary shelters will provide a bit more comfort to the
thousands of people displaced from their homes," says Christine Hwang, M.D.,
an ADRA Cambodia volunteer from Canada who helped deliver the tarps.
"Unfortunately, the effects of this flood will not subside with the water
level."

Relief workers were forced to go by boat into many of the affected areas. 

"We had to go by boat to deliver tarps in the Kandieng District," explains
Hwang. "Normally there is a road to the area. Now, there are only patches of
dirt alternating with turbulent water channels. I saw people sleeping in
beds along the roadside. One family was sitting inside their handmade canoe
going through the daily rituals of brushing teeth and repairing fishing
nets."

Earlier reports by the government of Cambodia estimate the floods affected
more than 21,000 families, and more than 3,500 houses were damaged or
destroyed. The deputy governor estimates that at least 30 percent of the
rice crop was destroyed, according to Hwang. 

Because relief efforts are still hampered by high water levels, collapsed
bridges and blocked highways, hunger and water-borne diseases are major
concerns.  [Beth Schaefer]

----------------------
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