Resource Development International – Cambodia (RDIC) was founded in 1998 in Prek Thom, Cambodia by Mickey Sampson. Sampson’s goal, as chemical engineer, was to provide all of Cambodia, and surrounding areas, with arsenic free, clean water to drink in order to live healthier, longer lives. Sampson’s invention – a simple ceramic water filter made of clay and corn husk – caught on quickly in Cambodia and throughout the international engineering community.
RDIC, since 1998, has been able to provide water filters to thousands of Cambodians and several nearby countries, donated rain gathering tanks and classroom filters to about 40 schools, and tested countless more water sources for arsenic safety. Despite Sampson’s sudden death in 2009, RDIC has gained more staff members and a greater influence on the Khmer community around them.
RDIC also educates the Khmer community about basic hygiene issues, herbal remedies to medical aliments, provided scabby soap, and taken many return visits to check on their wells, filters, and tanks to provide necessary maintenance. Overall, all RDIC staff, American and Khmer, shares a vision of a healthier Cambodia. A Cambodia that can live fuller, longer lives in order to enjoy such beautiful Khmer culture and landscape.
