Emergency Appeal: Siem Reap Flooding

As you may have heard on the news Southeast Asia is experiencing worse than normal flooding, with the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia suffering particularly badly.

Siem Reap Province, where the majority of JWOC’s work takes place, has been hit with a wave of flooding- damaging homes, ruining crops and destroying roads and other infrastructure.

In the town many businesses are closed along with one of the major universities. For those living off the main roads just getting out of the house means wading through dirty water that in places is well above knee height. In the rural parts of the province villages are becoming cut off as roads are washed away.

Due to its proximity to the river the university has been under water for three weeks.

Despite the floods people try to get on the best they can with normal life.

Many businesses have been forced to close.


The pictures below were taken in our closest community, an urban squatters' village where many of our students and microloan borrowers live. This will be one of the first villages to receive our help.

The village paths are already under water and the rain continues to fall. Heavy rain is expected until the 18th.

Getting around Siem Reap is getting difficult. Some rural roads have disappeared altogether.

For now people can still access the wells, but it is going to become more difficult.

JWOC Founders, Brandon and Andrea, and Office Manager Vantha assess conditions in the village.

People in the communities JWOC works with are so far surviving but it’s an anxious time - water levels are expected to rise again, the risk of water and mosquito borne disease is high and then there’s the clean up and repair to consider once the water does eventually go down.

Although homes are spared the worst for now, it will not take much of a rise in water levels before the flood water enters the living areas. If this happens JWOC will provide shelter at the our school.

The increased disease risk, caused by dirty water and extra mosquitoes, will affect young children particularly.

During this difficult period we are asking you to donate towards our Relief Fund to allow us to help with current emergencies, reduce risk of disease and to give us the ability to contribute to the recovery of the communities that mean so much to us.

To donate please go here. Mark your donation Flood Relief