Some years ago there was severe flooding in Kandas-Vihear in the Kampong Cham Province of Cambodia. This village is so remote that the Khmer government sent no aid. What was the community to do? There was no choice at the time but for the community to take refuge and wait for help.
At the highest point in the village there is a one-room school house, and it was here that the community gathered. Completely unfit for the over 100 families in the village. But there was nothing else to do but wait. In response, we sent boats loaded with food, tarps, water, and medical supplies to provide emergency flood relief to the families. The people were waiting for the boats at the edge of the water, and rice and tarps were distributed.
Floods are extremely destructive. Life cannot simply go back to normal, even after the waters recede. Homes and other buildings are destroyed or damaged, agriculture is swept away, the earth is soggy. Floods are messy. For this reason we have continued to send aid to this village. We established ongoing care for these people which includes visits from medical workers twice a month.
The work is this village with these people is ongoing. And it is our joy and our duty as the Church of Christ to continually reach out and care for them.