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Updates from Cambodia 2002

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Wednesday, January 30. 2002

Dear friends,

We just got back in from a week up country building 6 houses with the team from Australia - another team arrives friday for 3 houses in Siem Reap

We got notice that we have a booth at the airport in Siem Reap to sell our crafts. And the Cambodian government wants us to be their rep for gift wares in Thailand in April, - plus our first order for an Internet company is going out tomorrow - in short - life is brimming with blessings, but not much time to enjoy them

Miss Miriam got her first real bicycle with training wheels last weekend - she thinks she is a big stuff - our house is a runway -each day she learns better how to manoeuvre around doors - first day, many bumps -

Love and hugs,

Janne

Wednesday,February 6. 2002

Dear friends and partners,

The office is still in a bit of an uproar - we are cleaning house. This January has been a month of blessings - almost too many to count. We began the month with a few days of holidays - much needed and much enjoyed. We returned to a shop that still looked like Christmas - time to clean up - the process went relatively smoothly - all the decorations and our 10 trees were quickly dismantled and put away. Then to set up again.

Last June we began talking with airport authorities about getting space at the domestic airport in Siem Reap and here in Phnom Penh. They seemed very positive so we had ordered special shelves and signs ready to set up when the authorities said yes. As each month passed and the answer was not forthcoming, I became discouraged. As we started to reset up our store, I said to Nari, "we'll never get the airport, go get our shelves for the office." Nari was properly horrified - "don't give up," she said. But I did and the new shelves looked very nice. So we made big changes and bought enough shelves to give us a professional look. This morning, staff and workers took home the old shelves - much happiness and mayhem greeted this news.

In the midst of all this change, our volunteer house builders from Australia arrived - 9 children under the age of 10 plus 19 adults - we travelled down to Kompong Som beside the ocean and in 4 days, we built six houses. Vonn, my manager in Kompong Som, showed me a small building for a Tabitha office - it was new and clean and perfect with a perfect price so we signed the contract. The day we arrived back in Phnom Penh, the airport authorities phoned - "you can have a space in Siem Reap domestic airport but you have 2 weeks in which to make it ready."

Nari just grinned and grinned - I, on the other hand went into overdrive. Our second volunteer team arrived in Siem Reap to build 2 more houses - we had to wait until they were finished before we began to set up shop. Last Thursday was our opening day.

Our space is just wall space - total size is the size of a small bathroom. As we were setting up, passengers started opening boxes and pulling things from our hands. It was a good omen. There are three, one hour time slots each day, when passengers are present. Our space is so small that only 4 people at one time can shop comfortably but that does not deter the customers and these 3 hours, are hours of mayhem and excitement. We have already hired 12 more workers - a prayer answered. The authorities tell us that if we do well, they will give us space here in Phnom Penh airport - this would be very good.

In late December, we finished a very special project. Last year when Dara died, some of our partners from Singapore held a collection - this was to be used as a memorial for Dara - Ani said, "lets use it for the people - they desperately need water - can we dig wells?" At Christmas time I visited to see for myself these wells - we saw 23 families - people who suffer destitution - many of the families live is grass huts, several meters square, the poverty stark and painful - and near their shack is a new well with a cement patio - each family was already growing vegetables beside their homes - it was wonderful to see. I shared this with other partners and in January, these partners came forth with money for another 25 wells.

As I said, this month is a month of blessings almost too many too count. I am on my way to the airport to pick up the first of 2 volunteer teams arriving this week-end. They will build 6 houses in Prey Veng and 2 houses in Siem Reap. The staff continue to work with new families - 150 new families in January - they want to do so much more. My sisters and brother in law arrive in 2 weeks - first time for family to see and be with us all. It looks like February will be another month of blessings to great to count. I am so very grateful.

Thank you for being a part of our blessings.

Janne

Wednesday, February 6. 2002

Wells in Memory of Deth Dara.

In late December, we finished a very special project. Last year when Dara died, some of our partners from Singapore held a collection - this was to be used as a memorial for Dara - Ani said, "lets use it for the people - they desperately need water - can we dig wells?" At Christmas time I visited to see for myself these wells - we saw 23 families - people who suffer destitution - many of the families live in grass huts, several meters square, the poverty stark and painful - and near their shack is a new well with a cement patio - each family was already growing vegetables beside their homes - it was wonderful to see. I shared this with other partners and in January, these partners came forth with money for another 25 wells.

Janne

LInk to: Wells for Clean Water

Monday March 18. 2002

Dear friends and partners,
It has been a good month - my family came for a rather short 2 and half weeks - once again I saw things the way others see them and yet I saw more - I saw where people were and how they are now and where they want to go in their development process.

What did my family see - my family saw poverty that was appalling - grass shacks with a cooking fire and a pot; undersized children with runny noses and spartan clothing; old people bent double with the strain of living. They saw glorious smiles and shy laughter; they saw families in newly built houses; they saw pride in the silk produced and in the shrimps being cleaned. They felt the heat of the day and were covered with the endless dust found in every nook and crannie. They rode the pot holed roads and side tracks; they went on the river and wallowed in the mud of the Mekong; they ate the food of the rich and the food of the poor; they saw the pain of AIDS and saw the joy of a young prostitute making her way out. No matter where they went - they saw the strain of poverty in the faces of those around them. No matter where they went; they saw the pride of those making their long, slow process out of poverty. It was so very good that they were here. I miss them.

Its been a month of expansion in ways that are marvellous. Vonn started working with a small ethnic tribal minority called the Saoit. They are considered to be less than human by most Cambodians - prejudice is alive and well in this country just as it is in all countries. Why are they considered less than human - the reasons given to my question were as follows: they are hunters and gatherers, they don't wear normal clothes, they don't live in houses but rather the tribe sleeps around the fire at night; they don't understand money or the power of education; they hide in the bushes when we come to visit. These are all the reasons for the fear of these people.

I asked Vonn, why work with them if they are not the same. Vonn's answer came boldly, "They want to change - they want to have houses and clothing and put their kids in school - they want to do this step by step and we can help them without hurting them. They are just like us - they just say it different." Such confidence.

I met these people - by our standards - the destitution is appalling - 20 people sharing a grass hut 2 meters by 2 meters - their spartan belongings strewn around the houses - they are malnourished and shy - yet, speak with boldness about what their
dreams are. It is hard to distinguish who belongs to what family - it is just one homogenous group of people. What impressed me most is that they know what they want - they know their dreams - Vonn is right - they are no different from all of us - their dreams are the same but they use different words to say them. It is very good.

Then Srei and Tharry took me to Kandalstung. Three times I visited in the past few weeks. The district is only 7 kilometers from town - I have driven past it many times but I never saw the people - I only saw the endless rice paddies and the floods - in the back - in less than 10 square miles, live more than a 1000 families. Their lifestyle is so very hard - small, dilapidated shacks strewn along dusty, pot holed tracks - subsistence farmers who struggle daily with the vagaries of life. They are very excited to join with us - they have visions and dreams of simple things like clothes and blankets and bigger dreams of a safe home and a boat for the floods. Srei and Tharry cannot wait to reach each and everyone - remarkable staff working with remarkable people.

I am humbled by these people - by my staff - by my visitors. They help keep my perspective in life to what it should be. A deep and abiding thankfulness to God for all that I have been given; for the privilege and honour of being allowed to touch these people; for the gift of my God who has led me down this path. It is so very good.

I want to thank each of you for helping me to keep my perspective in life - you, too, are remarkable people.

Janne

April 18. 2002

Dear friends and partners,

Happy Khmer New Years to everyone! One of the benefits of living in Cambodia is that we get to celebrate New Years several times each year - but Khmer New years is the one where we close for a week and all of our staff and families get together and celebrate with their families. My little family went native - yes, we spent several days on a small farm close to the city - it was very hot - in the 40s or low 100s for those of you in the Fahrenheit scale. Going native meant that I swayed under a tree in a hammock, lazily fishing with a bamboo pole dangling from my hands -surrounded by 20 children from one year to 13 years of age - each one seriously contemplating my efforts - screaming with delight when I caught a fish - a novelty that did not wear out all afternoon. Cambodians fish with nets - not with a pole like the silly foreigner.

Then as dusk began to settle around us - we moved to the road and threw water and baby powder - a new years ritual that is good fun but very messy - our little band of 20 grew to 50 with young people of all ages joining in the fun and laughter. Older people looked on benevolently and were amused by the antics of this old lady. They surrounded me with towels and mopped my hair - an opportunity not be missed - is white hair real? is the hair on my arms real? can blue eyes really see?

This fun with water became so meaningful last week as I travelled to Prey Veng and to Siem Reap projects - 19 families had received wells - its been so very hot and dusty - most of the families had no access to any water - the children bathed only once a week - when I arrived the throwing of water took on new meaning as scores of children sat near each well - carefully filling buckets with water and then giving each other a shower - the showers were done so that the water could be collected and used to water the newly sown vegetables and to wash clothes - what a joy on the faces - what a celebration we had. I was liberally showered at several homes but I didn't mind - the water was a miracle of life - something to be revelled in and enjoyed.

In the midst of all this celebration, Tabitha had its first International Gift Show appearance in Thailand. This was sponsored by the Thai and Cambodian governments. It was for 6 nights - too long for me to be away so my staff, Nari and Chanthou went several days before I went. What an experience they had - the first night they went to bed without dinner - they were afraid to go out and the hotel we were at did not have a restaurant. The second day, they spent an hour on the elevator - without knowing it they kept pushing the seventh floor button, instead of the 1st floor. As Nari says, "the door kept closing and we waited and then it would open, and we would get out and realize we were still on the seventh floor. We laughed a lot - we were pretty silly don't you think?" No, I didn't think they were silly at all - I thought they were very courageous.

The traffic was terrible, the shopping too expensive and too much; the food different. "No one speaks English or Khmer," said Nari, "my head feels like its full of air and I can't think. Now I know how people feel when they first come to my country," she added.

The show itself was very good. Our products were well received although it became annoying to have to assure people that Cambodians can and do make wonderful products. We made many new friends, several new customers and sold a lot. We learned that we shouldn't take as many products as we did; that standing and talking is one of the hardest jobs there is; that we make an excellent team but the best thing we learned is that Cambodia is a very good place to be and to live.

To culminate this eventful month, we celebrated my birthday last Saturday. We went to the farm and I taught them how to fish with a pole - they taught me how to dance under a full moon; we laughed; we sang; we got chased by geese; we made hot-dogs and they tasted toasted marshmallows for the first time. At the end of the evening, Nari spoke for them all - "this is the best birthday you ever had, we had so much fun; it is so very good and we thank the God for all of it." So do I Nari, so do I.

Janne

Tuesday, May 28. 2002

Dear friends and partners,

What a month this has been - so full of blessings. I ask that you all rejoice with me for last week Canada granted my daughter full citizenship - Miriam Rose Ritskes now has dual citizenship - Cambodian and Canadian. For me, I finally feel that she is safe. If anything should happen to me, it is my sisters in Canada who will look after her - with her citizenship, this has removed any obstacles. Thank you God.

June 26.2002

The arrival of our latest team keeps me hopping - they left for Siem Reap to build 4 houses and then return Wednesday for closure -this team brought $4,000.00 over and above their house costs -
very good for us.

Tabitha Australia is incorporated and almost ready to issue tax receipts - plus Quantas Airlines has an 8 page spread on Australian kids house building with Tabitha in their in-flight magazine for July -  there is so very much going on, so many ways that God is working

Hugs all around

Janne

July 15.2002

SAVINGS MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE -

Dear friends and partners,

One of our privileges in Tabitha is a constant flow of volunteers and visitors that pass through our doors each month. The questions most asked are: why savings? why not loans? why do you pay interest? These questions deserve an answer especially for those of our friends and partners who are unable to come and visit with us.

To understand why, we must start with the problem we are trying to solve or to at least have an impact on. In Cambodia, 36% of the population earns less than 50 cents per day; these are considered the poorest. Of the total population, 80% earn less than $1.00 per day - an amount unable to provide a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world.

The second problem, one that magnifies and exacerbates the poverty, is the impact of the environment on the people. 6 months of the year, Cambodia has good weather, 6 months out of the year - Cambodians suffer either drought or floods - both conditions which dramatically impact a family's ability to have a sustainable lifestyle. During the floods, families are forced from their homes - (80% have houses made from grass thatch on bamboo poles) - they lose their food savings, their animals, their clothing - they are reduced to absolute poverty. During seasons of drought, the crops planted fail to thrive, their draught animals fail to thrive and people are reduced to inadequate food supplies; in severe droughts and floods, resorting to a one meal per day of a handful of rice and roots.

Whether the situation is one of flood or of drought, families need to borrow to restart but still have debt from previous seasons. It is a cycle that is vicious and demoralizing. In Cambodia, the reality is that much poverty is caused by families unable to repay their loans and losing their homes and lands in the process.

Why then savings? Every family in Cambodia has some money - not much, but some. The ability to buy such basic needs as a three month rice supply for the family seems impossible; to be able to purchase clothing and pots and pans insurmountable. Why? because the money within the household is so small and so fluid, that families are unable to save even the smallest amounts in their homes due to family pressures. Basic items such as food or clothing are relatively inexpensive - to buy an outfit of clothing for a 5 year old costs 1000 riels or 25 cents - yet to save that 25 cents from an income of less than 50 cents per day - seems impossible. Yet, when Tabitha staff come and take the little spare money to put into savings for them- it quickly adds up to "dreams fulfilled" even if that dream is the ability to drink water from one's own glass.

The reality is that families have endured this severe poverty for the past 27 years - the beginning of the Pol Pot era - an era where everything was destroyed - family, faith, social structures, everything. Security is a relatively new phenomena with the past 2 years free of armed conflict. It has resulted in a nation of people deeply traumatized - but with unbelievable courage to get up each day and live another day.

Savings encourages hope in a country where hope is at a premium; it encourages faith in a country bereft of faith; it encourages people to take small steps in their own path of recovery. The ten per cent interest we pay every ten weeks says, "well done" - for savings means a giant leap forward in breaking their own cycle of despair and fear. Savings recognizes the dignity and courage of the people of Cambodia - it reflects their ability to make their own choices - to control their own destiny - even be it in a small and minuscule way - at first. To see these dreams slowly change over the years, to transportation and secure housing; to schooling for children and clean water for washing; to a sustainable business and an increased income - achieved by their own hands and encouraged by our standing beside them as they walk this long road to a better life - to do so in a way that is non threatening; that enhances dignity and courage; that recognizes their worth as human beings capable of making choices - is what savings and Tabitha is all about.

 You, my friends have made this possible for thousands of people - people like Pisa - a young 18 year old, sold into prostitution at the age of 15, so that her family could have funds for a few months. Pisa has paid off her indenture and has saved enough to buy her own land -   or like Saman, our 11 year old street lad who saved for 2 years by collecting and selling scrap - to pay for a bicycle and his school fees and a room to live in - or for Ye Khom, a 33 year old widow to help her six children go to school by being able to save enough to start a small family run shop -  or of our 83 fisherman who like us to meet them at the port at the end of each day to help them keep their earnings safe - so when the bad weather that keeps them home from fishing for weeks on end will not result in hunger and despair - there are thousands of stories of people who are making these courageous steps - without fear of losing all because of debt - with courage to decide what each step forward should be.

God is merciful and enabled me to save enough to start Tabitha and I thank Him that He has enabled each and everyone of you to enable these people in Cambodia to do the same. It is the gift of life.

Janne

August 2.2002

It's early Friday morning and the office is full of chatter and laughter - every Friday is delivery day - about 300 people come through with their finished goods - they get paid - do savings and pick up their work for the next week.

Thank you for your continued support.  

Janne

August 20.2002

Dear friends and partners,

As the time of year draws near to planning for our next program year which begins in October – we begin the process of evaluating our past work. It is a time of renewal and thanksgiving, a time for recognizing our weaknesses and celebrating our strengths. It has been and continues to be an extraordinary year. A year of consolidation and understanding; a year of forming long term sustainable programs; a year of growth. So how best can I begin to describe what is accomplished?

When we begin to plan our next year’s work, we do a baseline survey of our communities. It is the baseline that shows the progress. Let me share one community with you. The community is Choum Pouk Eyke, a commune we have worked in for four years.

I let the numbers speak for themselves:   

These are just a few samples of what we evaluate each month and year - the progress is astounding. What is not measured is the psychological impact on the people - when we start; the families are defeated and so very tired. To see us coming was difficult for them - it is so very hard to listen to hope when one feels none; it is so very hard to believe in oneself when experience says that achievement can be removed at a moment’s notice. It is so very hard to measure the courage they need to believe in oneself and in one’s family.

How do we measure the smiles and enjoyment at our visits now? How do we measure what it feels like to be welcomed as family - how do we measure the sharing of every aspect of their lives? In one way, it is easy - for it is a joy and a privilege to visit. It is easy to measure the lessening of physical and emotional abuse within the families - drops from 83% to less than 5% over several years in all our communities. It is a privilege to see them walk with head held high, with mischief and life in their eyes, with banter and snacks at each visit. No staff takes lunch to the area - the families take pleasure in feeding them.

Choum Pouk Eyke doesn’t want us to leave - a couple more years they plead - we would like wells and kitchens, we would like toilets and sturdy houses - we can do it if you stand with us - and the new families that want to join - what about them - the ones not easily accessible - the ones living in the back of the fields - they too, need your help. And so we stay for a couple of more years.

How do we measure you? You who stand with us in this work? You, who are our friends and our partners? How do we evaluate your help, year after year? Your financial support, your volunteering, your prayers and concerns for us. How do we measure it? We measure this through the thousands of faces that greet us - that show us what they have done - that share what they want to do - that care for us as we care for them.

We measure it in the new communities we enter each month - we measure it in being able to stand with them year after year. We evaluate all of you in the innumerable blessings and accomplishments of so very many.

I thank God that He has enabled all of us to do so very much and I am filled with thanksgiving and privilege at what He will enable all of us, families, staff, friends and partners, to do in the coming year.

Janne Ritskes

September 23.2002

Dear friends and partners,

It's Monday morning, the beginning of a new week - it is a week that promises to be full of blessings - a week of reaching out and being touched in return. The last month has been so very full of blessings. I would like to share just a couple of these with you.

From August 12 - 18, seven of our Cambodia House children returned with their parents to Cambodia. What a joy that was - the children have grown into wonderful young men and women - each one a unique individual - each with their own charm and foibles - each one taught us and their parents so much about love and wonderment and courage and strength - they built 2 houses while they were here but they built much more - they built renewed relationships with each other; they built a love for their country of birth and a deeper appreciation for their adopted countries; they put us adults to shame with their energy and zest for life; they reminded us that relationships are the most important thing in life. I thank each of the children and their parents for that gift. They made me proud and humble at the same time.

From September 1-12, Miriam and I travelled to Australia as guests of one of these parents. I must confess that Australians do understate the beauty of their own country. What made it so good was to be with friends who treated us as family.

This family is becoming bigger each day as we celebrated the founding of Tabitha Australia - their web site is http://www.tabithafoundationaustralia.com Now we rejoice having 2 foundations, with our mother foundation in Canada - it is so very good.

We came home to Cambodia in time to finalize our plans and budgets for the coming year - and what plans we have. The staff want to reach out to 14,662 families or 117,286 people in five provinces. We are planning to build 72 houses with 24 house building teams. Our dream is that we can dig 216 wells to give the gift of life - water - to 1080 families with 8,640 people. We hope to sell $50,000.00 of products each month for a total of $600,000.00 - unbelievable.It sounds so much, but as this program year comes to a close and we begin to see all that you have enabled us to do - then, it looks possible.

Yesterday was the beginning of Phum Ban - the annual month of remembering those loved ones who have passed away. For my staff and the people we work with - it is a difficult time of the year for they remember all their relatives they have lost in the past 30 years. Sleep becomes difficult as memories crowd their minds. For many, they are the sole survivor of their family and do not know where their loved ones died.

In memorial to their loved ones, they go to the wats in the poorest areas where they work and my staff give generously of food and money to those who have so little. For Ani and Vonn it is especially poignant as Ani's father and Vonn's grandmother both passed away last week.

As we talk of the memories and we grieve with Ani and Vonn - they speak of the year that lies ahead - it is their gift of life given in memorial of their past and those that they loved that makes Tabitha so successful. It is you, our partners and friends who make it possible. I praise my God who has brought us all together in memorial of all that is past and what we bring in life for the future.

Thank you all.

Janne

September 30.2002

 REPORT ON WELLS, by Janne Ritskes

In our program year of 2001-2002, one of our staff, Deth Dara died of an illness often aggrevated by dirty water - he died of Hepatitis B. Dara, like all of our staff, was known and loved by those volunteer house builders who had come to build houses in his area. In response to his death, they sent monetary contributions- to be used in his memory in a meaningful way. That way was to help provide wells to our families; 99% of whom have no access to clean, potable water near their homes. 23 wells were dug in his memory - news of the wells travelled abroad and others began to buy a well for families here. In the past program year, over 80 wells were dug. Each well serves five families.

The impact of these wells on our families was immediate and significant. The first, very noticeable impact was the decrease in the incidence of diarrhoea and skin infections in the families. Within weeks, children and adults had gained weight; their skin tones and eyes lost that haunted, dry look and their ability to work increased by several hours a day.

The second, very noticeable impact was the increase in income and improvement in diet. Every family began a small vegetable garden for family consumption and the sale of excess vegetables provided much needed daily income. Each family used the well to further increase their income. One group of 5 families were able to raise and sell 5 pigs each - cost them $50.00 for the piglets and they were sold for $375.00 - 4 months later - a very welcome income. Other families used the water to irrigate fields to grow vegetables - in this current drought, a number of families have been able to flood their fields for the growing of rice. One of the goals of the water well project is to increase the incomes of the families from an average of 60 cents per day to an average of $1.50 per day, through income generated by water supported income sources and through the decrease of illnesses such as diarrhoea and skin disease by 70%.

Our dream is that we can dig 216 wells to give the gift of life -water - to 1080 families with 8,640 people.

These impacts have been extraordinary for their immediate and long term impacts on our families. In direct response to this and in support of our ongoing community development programs, Tabitha-Cambodia has made specific plans and budgets for wells in the coming program year.

(For more information on wells go to www.tabithawells.org or contact the Tabitha Foundation in a country nearest you. )

November 8.2002

Dear friends and partners,

The first month of our new program year has passed. And what a month it has been. Each new program year, I am invited to Singapore by several of our partner schools to share the results of the year past and to talk about our dreams for the future. I would like to acknowledge these partners for they have stood beside us since 1995 and have enabled Tabitha to grow in so many ways. These are our main partner schools: United World College (UWC); Singapore American School (SAS); Canadian International School (CIS); Australian International School (AIS); Chatsworth International School; Overseas Family School (OFS) and our newest partner school Tanglin Trust.Over the years, the teachers and students of these schools have enabled Tabitha to reach out to thousands of people; they send many volunteer house builders and they help sell our products. It is a good way to start the year.

Our first month also saw the start of our third foundation in support of our work here. In addition to our mother foundation in Canada; (www.tabitha.ca) and our sister foundation in Australia (www.tabithafoundationaustralia.com); our new fledgeling foundation is Tabitha UK (uktabitha@yahoo.co.uk). We are so very grateful for each one of our foundations and our partners, for it means that our dreams and desires to reach out to all Cambodians in need is a dream that may become reality.

During our first program month, it is also time to begin survey work in our new areas. In Kompong Som, Vonn and her staff have started work in Chong Ouk Commune - in a rural community, nestled beside a river - this community has 1000 families; 800 live in destitution. The average home is 1 x 2 meters square - mud floors and palm branches for walls. It is a difficult community to reach - but the families are very excited.

Then Ani phoned me - Kameak, our staff in Siem Reap had disappeared. It was 10 o'clock at night and she was off to find him. Kameak was in Prek Sneing - a 2 hour drive away - once she got there, she found Kameak sitting under a tree; talking with the villagers about the program. The mobile phone system didn't reach that far - his bike was broken. The next morning, Ani and Kameak walked for hours - as he showed her hundreds of families with little more than a leaf roof and broken walls for homes. The poverty is extreme - no water, no roads - little hope. Ani finally phoned me at 4pm the next day - exhausted and hurt by all she had seen - comforted that Kameak is willing to extend himself well beyond his comfort zone to help those who have so little.

This past week, Nari and I went with Srie and Tharry to see several new communities near Phnom Penh. These communities are resettled people devastated by fire and city development from several slum areas in Phnom Penh. Access to these communities is difficult despite their proximity to the city. We walked through waist high water to reach them. The physical community is surrounded by dikes to keep out the flood waters. It is a misnomer for a huge crater has been created which does not let rain water to escape. There is water within and water without. Homes for some are thatch and bamboo houses obtained by taking out a $100 dollar loan at 30% interest compounded by a $10 service charge. The families receive $60.00 of the loan but must pay $100.00 back - an impossible venture. Their land title is being kept as collateral. For many, the cost is too high so they live under rotting tarpaulins with no walls. Their despair is palpable - Nari cried at the injustice of it all. Srie and Tharry were determined to help if the families wanted our help.

Sometimes, we are stunned by the depth and degree of the poverty we see. So much of it is hard to find because of inaccessibility, roads turn to paths and then to nothing. And yet we look back at the year just past - in our new communities -  where insufficient food has become a problem of the past - families have pots and pans; water jars, clothes and sleeping mats - their second year is full of dreams of school for kids and increased incomes and better homes. Can we help all of the new families that we met this first month? With God's grace and each of you standing beside us - we can.

Together - what is tragic can be turned to hope; what is sad and sorrowful can be turned to joy and dignity.

Thank you for that gift.
Janne

Excerpts from the 8th Annual Report: October 1. 2001 until September 30. 2002

Dear friends and partners,

It is the end of the 8th year - a year full of blessings, a year of growth and consolidation. A year of strengthening our vision.

This report is not long, but it contains an extraordinary amount of accomplishment. The staff have increased by 5 - their outreach to families almost doubled - from 3,600 families at the beginning of the year to 7,093 families with 56,744 people. To make changes in their lives, they were encouraged by the staff to use their own resources - meager as they were - they saved a total of $511,099.20 US  Tabitha was able to say "well done" to these families by paying out $51,109.90 US in a ten per cent interest reward on these savings, thanks to your donations.

Our 329 housebuilding volunteers built 54 houses this year and raised an additional $52,000 US to help Tabitha stand with the people as they made their changes.

Our newest program - the digging of wells - was born out of sorrow, but has resulted in blessings for 680 families with 5,440 people. Our desire is to double this in the next program year.

Cottage Industry continues from strength to strength - our sales have increased by $105,000 US over last year - a total sales $356,990 US This is partly due to our new relationship with the Ministry of Commerce who graciously arranged for us to attend two trade shows, one in Thailand and one in Japan.

We have grown in our partnerships: Tabitha Foundation Australia was registered late this program year. We are delighted and very thankful for this. Our mother foundation in Canada continues in faithful support of our work here.

We are indebted to the families we work with  - their indomitable spirit - their courage in taking each step - their resilience in times of sorrow - their joy in times of success - they have taught us so very much. What a privilege it is to be part of their lives.

Our report is a summery what was accomplished this year. As such it only reflects the end results. It does not and cannot share the moments of joy, the pain of loss, the daily work of reaching out and touching so many others. It cannot adequately explain the comfort and the strength that you, my friends and partners, gave us.

God's Grace is ever present and ever felt - without our God none of this would have been possible. Without you, His instruments, we would have failed. We are so grateful to each and everyone of you and to Him, who makes this all possible.

In His Name,

Janne Ritskes, Director Tabitha Cambodia

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