Helping families plant gardens in Cambodia
Samaritan’s Purse, in close partnership with local churches, is spearheading community development including gardens, crop diversification, composting, breeding livestock, and operating fish ponds.
Like many desperately poor farmers in southern Cambodia, Kim
Pheap and her husband were once so dependent on their small rice
crop that if the annual yields fell below average, they and their
four children would be forced to go two or three days without
eating.
That was before Samaritan's Purse, in close partnership with local
churches, began spearheading community development including crop
diversification, composting, breeding livestock, and operating fish
ponds.
Samaritan's Purse began by suggesting farmers begin by planting a
small garden, where Samaritan's Purse would cover a majority of the
start up costs, and the farmer also contributed. Pheap and her
husband - along with several other families in their village -
planted a garden and have started growing a variety of produce.
They have also begun composting and creating inexpensive,
chemical-free fertilizers. Some have even purchased
livestock.
"All the things Samaritan's Purse and my church are teaching me -
they are helping, and I can help my family with them," said a
smiling Pheap.
Ouch Rotha, a local church pastor working with a Samaritan's Purse
community development program, says hundreds of families
participate because of Samaritan's Purse' culturally sensitive
approach.
At the program's earliest stages Samaritan's Purse engages local
pastors in partnership and equips them as knowledgeable teachers.
Together, Samaritan's Purse and these local pastors approach the
community's recognized political leaders and explain the community
development plans. "We are empowering the Christians to help their
communities," Rotha said.
By first seeking permission to engage in its work, Samaritan's
Purse has been winning support from many community leaders, said
community leader Sat Chit. "They started doing exactly what they
said they would," said Chit. "I realized they were sincere. I was
glad to work with them. They were offering to help my
community."
The work of Samaritan's Purse and our partners in Cambodian is done
in the name of Jesus Christ, and this has a profound effect on
community members. Chit became a Christian, and so did his wife and
children. Today, he is a church elder. "Because the Christians and
the church helped us here, that impressed me," Chit said. "Their
hearts were good and they were faithful."
"When people see the community development benefits, and when they
know the benefits come from a Christian organization, they are
willing to hear the word of God," a local pastor concluded.
"Samaritan's Purse is showing that Christians are caring
people."
Read how
churches are helping families grow food all across Asia.
Gardening help from Samarian's Purse allows people in Mongolia to
farm sustainably, providing food and income for their
families.
Ways you can help
Pray
Please pray for those who are suffering from hunger and living in extreme poverty. Pray that as they receive training and resources from Samaritan's Purse they will experience the love of Christ in a practical way.
Give
A gift of $50 provides training for one Cambodian family on agriculture, soil preparation, crop care, harmful insects & diseases and how to prepare the foods for maximum nutrition. Donate Here
.