Rural Assistance Program Prey Veng (RAP), Cambodia

Our program updates over these past 2 years have   described the impact of COVID 19 on our Rural Assistance program. Severe travel restrictions for Mark have been  a huge impediment to getting our program back to normal.  Our close personal involvement in this program, now spanning nearly 20 years, has always been a  key to its success.

Our personal knowledge of  our  participants family backgrounds, their needs and aspirations have been  pivotal to the success of the program. We  know how resources are being utilized and because were speaking directly with our participants, we knew  what was working well and what changes were needed.  It is virtually impossible  to run this program without the assurances and safeguards  that  our  personal  supervision  provides  because   unlike our programs in  Phnom Penh , we do not have locally placed staff in the countryside  who would be able  to oversee the the day to day  operations of the entire program. Mark’s frequent  on-site visits to review  our projects  and speak with participants were essential to monitor and maintain  efficient use of our limited  resources.

Cambodia  is now substantially open.   We had hoped for increasing normalization not only in  Cambodia but also in Thailand and Japan, countries that  Mark must transit through to get to Cambodia.  Japan remains closed to most foreigners.   Now with the rise of   the new Omicron variant of COVID, particularly in China, a  significant source of tourism for Cambodia, everything is once again uncertain and so  we must  reluctantly  continue the “ pause” of  our   current operations of our Rural Assistance.  

We are deeply grateful to you for your understanding during these challenging times. We are hopeful that this will soon , finally be put behind us.

Barbara & Mark Rosasco