Over 450 houses burning during Khmer New Year

That was the subject title of the email we received from Sophon, Director of RKF Cambodia on the 23rd of April.

I first heard about the incident from a RK volunteer a day after the incident but didn't think much about it, without realising the devastation the fire left. It's hard to imagine scenes of stretches of homes being utterly destroyed, much less when it's so close to the New Year. Harder still to imagine when you're safe in sunny ol' Singapore where the biggest complaint these few days is the unyielding sun.

I haven't got much updates but here's some pictures and bite-sized facts for all to get a grasp of the magnitude of the disaster.

1. Over 450 houses had been burned and over 1000 people including children are homeless.

2. The fire victims are temporarily living in the plastic tents on the land of a businessman. Living conditions are poor with no drainage system or a proprer bathroom.

3. With the rainy season approaching, health problems will surface with the cramped and unhygienic conditions.

4. So far most of the aid is provided by NGOs (more details once received).

5. With official plans to build roads in that area, we are not certain if the fire victims will be allowed to return to the site in future.

6. Riverkids has been in contact with NGOs working directly with the victims to contribute donations from the Riverkids Foundation store.

I'm not too sure yet how much the international community can help out and who to approach to help. But more details will be posted once we hear more.

Meanwhile, do google about to find out more about the fire. Share it in this blog (comments) , your own blog/ website or groupswim. A thread has been opened under 'General'. Just a note, if you wish to post something, you will need to first sign up with Groupswim. It's pretty fuss-free so please do join and contribute.