A new hope for the Pratit villagers

Only a few years ago the living conditions in one of the poorest spots in Cambodia were simply deplorable. One visitor put it this way: "In a country where 85% of its population barely survives under the poverty belt at almost one dollar a day, the village of Pratit, Ku Tim, Kindal Province, is a striking evidence of absolute impoverishment!"…

To survive the villagers, who couldn't afford the high land rent rates, opted to abandon agrarian life and go fishing in the nearby river. Deprived of all 'basic' life provisions, the villagers had to become 'river dwellers'. Boats and rundown hay shacks have become their new abode. With an 85% illiteracy rate and only 10% of young population attend a school distanced at 10 kilometers, all hope to affect a future transition is lost.

To provide for this Muslim village Bodoor's aid strategy has necessitated an entire life-overhaul. Building a new village, hence a promise of a new life, meant laying out a well-structured integrated project. A new area nearby the river was acquired by Bodoor and allocated for the new village…a compound that included modern housing facilities with clean water, electrical wiring and a sewage system. Few shops were built to help cater for the villager's needs. And of course a school was opened to provide for an education to eradicate illiteracy. Moreover in order to assist the village's fishermen in their ways of earning income, hatcheries were built. A small mango plantation has also been offered. On top of all of this, a spacious mosque has been built to replace the make-shift one that preceded it.

This project has been named after Abdullah and Nora Yusuf Budai. Called the 'integrated village', this contribution stands out as one striking example of the 'productive aid' concept that Bodoor Foundation has adopted since its inception more than a decade ago.

A new hope for Yemen

Another approach to rebuilding lives is seen in Hudayeda, Yemen where the establishment of the Bodoor Center for Interconnectedness & Development is foreseen for completion in a couple of years. It is expected to be the biggest Bodoor cultural undertaking so far.

Combining the support for a Training Center in Soctory Island, Yemen with an agricultural project in Crimea, Ukraine only affirms Bodoor's implementation of its strategy of human development as a basic means to approach an all-giving charitable work.