Flooding is a yearly reality along Cambodia’s Mekong River. In Kratie Province, rising water interrupts work, damages homes, and forces families to prepare quickly as the rainy season returns. In earlier years, preparations often started once flooding was already underway.

For Commune Council Member Ven Savin, preparation now begins earlier.

Most days, she moves through her commune speaking with villagers about the coming rains — checking who lives closest to the river, which families may need help moving belongings, and how neighbors can support one another if flooding occurs. When water levels rise, she helps coordinate local response efforts, ensuring older residents and vulnerable households are checked on and assisted during evacuations.

Savin did not begin as an elected leader. After leaving her job in community engagement years ago, she remained in the village as a volunteer, visiting households and helping families during difficult times. Over the years, villagers came to trust her consistent presence. She later became Deputy Village Chief and, in 2022, a Commune Council Member.

Living in a flood-prone area, she saw how disasters affected people unequally. Women managing households often struggled to recover, older residents found rebuilding difficult, and poorer families needed longer to regain stability after each flood.

In 2023, Savin joined training under a climate resilience project implemented by Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with support from the Republic of Korea. The training introduced practical ways to organize preparedness, coordinate local responses, and support vulnerable families before and during emergencies.

“Before the training, I didn’t feel confident about how to help during floods,” Savin said. “Now I know how to prepare the community before the water arrives.”