FCOP, A Light in The Darkness!
Cambodia is enduring its first strict CV-19 lockdown. On April 15th, the capital city of Phnom Penh was put in lockdown which has been extended until May 5th. From February 2020 through February 2021, Cambodia had about 400 cases and zero deaths from CV-19. On February 20th of this year, the numbers started climbing; expecting to hit 13,000 cases, with deaths soon approaching 100.
The Cambodian government is attempting to curb the outbreak with a fervor that has not previously been seen; dispatching the military to enforce the shutdown and requiring mandatory vaccinations. A zoning system has been instituted, with red, orange, and yellow zones depending upon the infection level. The FCOP office and Training Center, along with various other areas around the country, including the vital supply city for rice farm supplies have been, 'red zoned'. Residents are not supposed to leave their home, most markets have been closed, with no work or business related activities allowed. Prices for common food items are up 30 to 50%, if available.
FCOP, as one of the larger NGO's (non-government-organization) in Cambodia, warehouses supplies at the National Training Center for distribution to our 106 refuge centers around the nation. FCOP infrastructure has provision to store about a 30-day supply of food locally. Not to be misunderstood, as of this moment some regions are already running short on supplies and we don’t know how to make ends meet. Somehow God seems to pull off a "loaves and fishes" miracle at the right moment. We have 20 tons of supplies tied up at the port. Fortunately, all of our FCOP centers have land which allows staff and children to raise gardens, some livestock and fish. An additional benefit being that they get out in the daylight for work and exercise. With lockdown extending past its original expiration date, our leaders at the Chom Chao Refuge Center decided that we had better stock up on additional firewood in order to cook meals for the 100+ mouths we feed each day. Since all of our cooking is done over a wood fire, it takes a lot of fuel to keep our kitchen stocked. Our leaders left at 4am to travel to Kampong Speu province to pick up a 10-ton truckload of wood. With God’s favor, they were able to make it through the checkpoints without any problem.
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