Rural poverty in Cambodia is hard to ignore. Decades of war, genocide, internal conflict and its aftermath have left her as one of the world’s poorest countries. The lack of security, the loss of family members and their original homes over so many years has resulted in a severe poverty that has become both physical and psychological.

Amongst many challenges for Cambodians today is the key issue of property ownership. Where demand greatly outweighs supply, land and houses are inadequate and unaffordable to low income households. Securing safe and strong housing is a struggle for most, and this problem is present not only in densely populated urban areas but rural Cambodia as well. In addition to this, the lack of an effective banking system in Cambodia discourages saving among most population, further perpetuating the poverty cycle.

The house building program that I support goes beyond providing families a physical house. It equips these families to be better prepared for the future by encouraging them to commit towards a habit of everyday saving, from which a small portion is taken out to fund the home they will eventually live in, and from there have the means to fund other new goals and milestones they set for themselves.

Find out more about the house building program here.