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Our Approach: Rescuing a village
Our approach to rescuing a village starts with selecting those villages that have been devastated most by landmines to participate in the project. AVCLM will survey numerous villages to determine the extent of their needs and resources, and will prioritize each village based on its urgency of assistance and rescue. The list of rescue tasks that follow will be used as a framework to document the needs and solutions of each village. AVCLM negotiates an approach for each of the rescue tasks with the village elders, and then works closely with them to identify unresolved local issues or impacts on the environment. The rescue tasks are suited to represent the needs of 435 people.
Initial efforts will focus on increasing the village’s food production, by providing rice seed and supplying cows for the villagers to use in rice farming. Rescue Cambodia will continue to ensure that the families of mine victims in each village receive a basic level of nutrition until they achieve self-sufficiency in food production.
AVCLM will also work to upgrade water supply and waste handling facilities: wells will be dug, and dams will be repaired or replaced in order to control the inundation of rice fields. To ensure future sustainability and self-sufficiency, each village rescue will be carried out with sensitivity to the environment by emphasizing reuse of materials, focusing on indigenous crops and farming techniques, and minimizing industrialization practices.
Once food and water supplies are stable, the act of rebuilding the infrastructure of the existing village site can take place. AVCLM will provide the materials and plans for new housing, or replace existing houses that are unsanitary or simply dangerous. Home construction will be conducted communally in order to involve local skilled workers, and materials will be sourced locally as much as possible.
The next step will be to build facilities that benefit rural communities, including a community storage facility, a small village office and a community meeting space. The meeting space could include features that benefit other aid organizations, such as providing additional sources of nutrition for mothers, orphans and young babies.
When villages begin to meet their physical needs, AVCLM can take the final step towards village rescue—building a clinic and a school, each of which can provide critical services to numerous nearby villages. The whole community will then be encouraged to participate in micro-financing opportunities or self-managed sources of credit and insurance for small-scale entrepreneurial activities.
The ultimate objective of this village rescue program is to eliminate the need for AVCLM involvement within ten years. At the end of this ten-year period, the model village will be capable of functioning on its own.
