“We won't only eat papaya today!”

In a wooden house no bigger than 16 square metres, lives over 15 people. Constructed on 2 concrete pillars sits the wooden floor, barely above the water sloshing underneath. 10 of the 15 are young children from 4 different families. They squeeze together in the small house, surviving the flood.

 8 year old Nin Neung, with his 3 brothers and grandmother, moved to this house 10 days ago.

 “My house is completely submerged,” Nin’s grandmother says.

 With no dry ground to kick a ball around and no schooling during the flooding, Nin Neung and all his other temporary housemates have only two options to play in the house or in the water beneath.

“The rice ran out 10 days ago. We eat green papaya with salt instead of rice,” Nin’s grandmother says.

The scars on Nin’s feet are evidence that he has had water-bourne infections. “They play in the water which causes itchiness on their legs,” grandmother of Nin says. 

Normally the family of five eats 2.5 kilograms of rice per day. The severe flooding during the past two weeks has prevented his grandmother from earning any money. Nin and the rest of the household have little to eat. “The rice ran out 10 days ago. We eat green papaya with salt instead of rice,” Nin’s grandmother says.

World Vision supplied the family with 25 kilograms of rice, canned fish and soya sauce. Nin exclaimed to his older brother, “We won't only eat papaya today!”

Receiving the canned fish, Nin and his brothers rush to open them to eat with the cold rice.

“What we are most concerned about is the security of children and if they can access nutritious food,” Rithy Chum, World Vision's Operation Manager based in Banteay Meanchey province, says. “In floods like this, children are easily bitten by snakes and poisonous insects and are in danger of drowning. What we can do is to raise awareness with the adults and children,” Rithy explains.

Snakes and poisonous insects are swept with the water from the jungle to the villages. Yesterday a man in the same village died from a snake bite.

The adults know it is risky to live over the water like this but they don’t have option to move.

“We don’t have high hill around here,” the grandmother says.

“We are working with local authorities to find out solution for the villagers,” Rithy says.

World Vision has distributed emergency food items to 694 families who are severely affected by the floods in Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia. World Vision also provides water filters and water purification sachets, rubbish bins, installs latrines and set up and operates child friendly spaces in designated evacuation areas.