RADIO programs that aim to educate Cambodia's rural residents about the dangers of unsafe drinking water can now be heard in Battambang province, Suam Rassy, the project coordinator of the Well of Life program on Far East Broadcasting Cambodia (FEBC), told the Post.

In Cambodia, where 50 percent to 60 percent of people do not have safe drinking water, most people do not know that contaminated water can lead to diarrhoea or waterborne illnesses, Suam Rassy said.

"I created the Well of Life program because I saw that many people in rural areas don't know how to use clean water," he said.

"We have made this program for two years and we worked in two provinces, Prey Veng and Kampong Chhnang. Now, we also work with Battambang province," he said.

Educational aims

The goal of FEBC programs is to help people learn about hygiene, irrigation, the science of wells and the importance of providing clean water for livestock.

"We have two programs. One is called the Well of Life, a 15-minute drama that runs once a day for a week, and the other is a 30-minute spot that is simply informative that runs two days a week," Suam Rassy said.

"We travel around to villages and tell people about the importance of clean water. We give them filters when they can answer our questions related to clean water," he said.

Ministry of Rural Development figures show that 85 percent of rural residents do not have access to safe drinking water and many suffer from waterborne diseases as a result.