Cambodia in Motion

At Health Poverty Action and Find Your Feet we are working alongside communities in Cambodia to ensure individuals and families can lead healthier, more prosperous lives.  

Whether working with rural families to install solar-powered household electrical systems, creating a social enterprise that produces affordable mosquito repellent and funds anti-malarial projects, or developing a groundbreaking programme to help families overcome addiction – the team in Cambodia are finding innovative ways to support people’s health and livelihoods.

Everything you donate will contribute to vital and innovative projects like these, helping people, families and communities in Cambodia to address the root causes and symptoms of poor health and poverty.

Affordable energy for all

Electricity is often denied to marginalised populations. This is the case for many rural communities in Cambodia. Despite these communities’ demands, national grid power is often too expensive. 

We are now working with Empower Cambodia to provide solar power systems to rural communities. This initiative enables families to access clean water, refrigerate food and power appliances. Having access to electricity at home greatly relieves the burden on women, reducing the frequency of long trips to collect water and allowing more time to spend with their families.

Community members also undertake training on maintenance, so they can continue to use these resources long after we have left their community. And families are able to sell excess power generated back to the national grid, providing an additional source of income.

Support don’t punish

The so called “war on drugs” has failed. Despite its stated intentions, it has failed to reduce drug abuse and crime. In response, many organisations, health workers and community leaders are supporting approaches that prioritise health – providing medical or mental health support to help people address problematic drug use.

We are involved in a project dedicated to harm reduction, and we’re going further. Rather than focusing on one area, for example providing healthcare support to help people overcome addictions, our facility provides holistic support. 

At every stage, we promote harm reduction over criminalisation. We work alongside the police to test street drugs for accurate dosage and contaminants to prevent overdosing or poisoning. We provide medical and mental health support as people address drug addiction, and when people have contracted HIV through drug use. Meanwhile, we fund a childcare service so parents receiving treatment can have their children looked after until the family is ready to be reunited.

Effective policies and programmes must look at the bigger picture, including the wider causes and consequences of drug addiction, and ensure that people get the support they need and deserve!

Holy Fire: tackling malaria impactfully

According to the World Health Organisation, over 600,000 people are estimated to have died from malaria in 2021. This is a preventable disease, yet essential medicine and preventative measures are often denied to some of the most vulnerable communities.

Affordable mosquito repellent is a key component in preventing the spread of malaria. However, all too often, profit is put before people – and this essential product is denied to those on low incomes.

We are working alongside community leaders to secure affordable mosquito repellent. By establishing a not-for-profit social enterprise to produce ‘Holy Fire’ mosquito repellent, we are creating a sustainable model which will enable the community to benefit from affordable repellent in the long-term.