Russel and Sandra Bowyer

Russel Bowyer

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With a mixture of sadness and thanksgiving, we announce the death of Russel Bowyer, trustee and Chairman of the Council of Cambodian Communities out of Crisis. Russel passed peacefully into the presence of his Lord after a short illness. We offer our condolences to his wife, Sandra, also a member of the CCC Council (pictured with Russel above at a Council meeting in their home).

Russel spent many years in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, including undertaking many trips into communist countries to take Bibles to believers there. He accompanied other Council members on a visit to Cambodia in 2014 and almost lost his life through illness.

Russel contributed much wisdom to the deliberations of the Council and always enlivened the meetings with his quirky brand of humour.

‘Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master.’

A New Home

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CCC’s Country Director in Cambodia, Chanthoeun, encountered a woman collecting recyclable materials along the streets of her community. Chanthoeun talked to her and found out that she was a widow and was managing to salvage and sell sufficient items to feed herself, but had no money left to pay for accommodation. As a result, she was sleeping on the street.

Chanthoeun then got to work trying to find a room that CCC could rent for this lady to provide her with shelter, sanitation and security. She was successful, and now for just $20 a month, the lady has a home she can call her own.

Chanthoeun hands a gift to the needy widow
The new home

Children with gifts

‘Let the Children Come to Me’

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Members of the church that meets in the home of CCC’s Cambodia Country Director, Chanthoeun, are keen to share the gospel with the inhabitants of a village in Tbong Khmum Province. They are planning a mission trip there later in 2025, but meanwhile, they decided to send some gifts to encourage the children who gather together to worship and learn about the Lord Jesus Christ.

CCC made a contribution to pay for some food to be distributed to the children (including cakes!).

Lightning

Good News in Figures

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Recent reports have quoted statistics that provide some good news about improvements in health, sanitation, safety and the tourism industry.

  • Malaria cases fell from 1,384 in 2023 to just 355 in 2024, a drop of 74%. Before the National Malaria Eradication Strategy 2011-2025, there were nearly 200,000 reported malaria cases per year (an average of 130,000 cases per year) and 700–800 deaths annually.
  • 87 percent of Cambodia’s population now have access to basic drinking water, while 21 percent have access to safely managed drinking water. Approximately 92 percent of the population have access to basic sanitation, while 51 percent have access to safely managed sanitation.
  • Lightning strikes killed 68 people in Cambodia in 2024, down 19 percent from 84 deaths a year earlier. In addition, 55 people were injured.
  • Cambodia attracted 6.7 million foreign visitors in 2024, up 22.9 percent from the previous year. Cambodia’s three international airports handled a combined 5.65 million air passengers in 2024, up 39.8 percent from 4.04 million a year before.

Wedding ceremony

Congratulations to Phearun

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Members of the CCC family were honoured to be present on 7 January 2025 at the wedding of our friend and partner, Pov Phearun, director of Cambodia for Christ sports ministry and Timothy School.

Both Phearun and his bride are Christians, so the wedding ceremony included traditional Cambodian elements but was unmistakeably Christian in content.

We send our congratulations to Phearun and his wife and pray for God’s richest blessing on their family.

The wedding ceremony and guests
CCC guests with Phearun’s father