Cambodian Village Provided with Clean Water

PerkinElmer (USA), focused on improving the health and safety of people and the environment, today announced that it has sponsored the successful building and repair of over 40 water wells to provide clean water for the more than 1,000 people living in Doun Keo village in the Siem Reap Province of Cambodia.

The well building and repair program, facilitated by the nonprofit organisation Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC), provides a comprehensive solution for providing safe water and improved hygiene. Villagers receive training to ensure safe drinking water, including demonstrations on well maintenance and how to use water filters which were provided by PerkinElmer. This training ensures that the villagers have the means to safeguard their own health in the future.

PerkinElmer employees travelled to the village to assist with the location mapping for new well locations. During an eight month period, employees participated in hygiene training for children with JWOC ambassadors as the wells were repaired and/or constructed.

“JWOC’s approach to clean water is to go beyond building wells to provide a holistic solution to the provision of water and improved hygiene,” said Nicola Ball, managing director for JWOC. “With support from organisations like PerkinElmer, we are able to build long-term solutions for villages throughout the region. Members of the Doun Keo village faced difficulties obtaining potable water in the dry season, therefore the project provides a much needed water source year-round. In addition, the water in this area has high levels of iron, making the water filters PerkinElmer funded much appreciated.”

“This inaugural program means a lot to our employees and the members of the Doun Keo village as we helped to provide the villagers with the skills and tools necessary to ensure clean water for drinking and farming for a long time to come,” said Nam- Hoon Kim, PerkinElmer’s vice president and general manager for the Asia Pacific region. “This program aligns with our corporate citizenship objectives to implement sustainable solutions that help to ensure a better environment for the health and safety of people around the world. In addition, given the direct linkage between clean water to human health, and our commitment to both human and environmental health, it has been our privilege to make this possible.”

PerkinElmer works with customers around the world to ensure a safe environment, providing expertise and advanced measurement and data analysis technologies to identify organic and radioactive contaminants, trace and toxic metals, chemicals and other impurities in food, air and water. In 2011, over two billion environmental samples were analysed with the Company’s detection capabilities.