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Dec 12, 2011
Dear friends and partners,
Today the weather is beautiful. Crisp, cool air and 23 degrees C - we are all wearing sweaters and looking forward to perhaps a day of wearing socks. It puts me in the mood for the holiday season. Several people these past few days have wished me Peace on Earth. It's a lovely sentiment - but it's a sentiment that starts me thinking.
Peace on earth. For so many people in Cambodia there is no peace - not because there is war or insecurity - not because there are riots or general discontent - there is no peace because life is too hard.
Peace comes when you have enough to eat - food that fills your belly and nourishes your body - food that makes your hair silky and your skin glow. Peace comes when you have enough water to grow your crops year round and can bathe daily. Peace is when children can spend their youth in the search of knowledge by going to school rather than spending their days scouring the countryside for edible foods such as frogs, snails and crickets.
Peace is when you can sleep safely at night in a home that is secure - a home that no longer keeps people awake when it rains - a home that allows each and every person to have some space and yet keeps everyone together in safety - a home where friends can come and chat - a home where children lie down knowing that mum and dad are near and they don't have to fear.
Peace is when a father stays home year round because he can grow enough food to feed his family and pay the bills. Peace comes when a mother no longer aches with the pain of untreated illnesses. Peace comes when a healthy child is born and there is enough mothers' milk to nourish the little one. Peace is about children reciting what they have learned to their parents and all wonder about the miracles of God's world.
Peace is celebrating all the traditional holidays - being able to buy new clothes, being able to share their food, being able to travel and meet other family members. Peace means that if a problem occurs that the problem will not result in renewed poverty. Peace is about being able to celebrate getting married - peace is about laying your loved ones to rest when they pass on without fear on renewed hardships.
All of you have brought peace to over a million Cambodians through your gifts of partnerships, water sources, house building, schools and buying silk products. Yet there are literally millions more who are in process of achieving peace or waiting for peace to come.
I thank my God for allowing me to bring some peace to this troubled country. I thank my God that He has enabled all of you to bring peace to so many. I pray to my God that you will never get tired of bringing peace to so many more people and families who are still waiting.
From all our families, our staff, my family and myself - we wish each and every one of you the peace you have given to so many.
Janne
November 29, 2011
Dear friends and partners,
It’s a very busy month for us - a very good month. This week we have seven house building teams in country out of 13 teams in the month of November. 250 families are getting a new starter home this month. Someone asked me how long the houses last. It’s a difficult question to answer because the houses we build are starter homes. This is the beginning of a sturdy permanent home. Our task is not to build a finished permanent home but to begin the process of a family moving in the direction of dreaming for and completing their own dream home - Cambodian style.
The Tabitha houses are the beginning of a process. Cambodians have a cultural norm that dictates that a person should die in their own home. For our families, one of their greatest fears is to die without a permanent home. Tabitha houses are the beginning - over the years our families expand and build up their starter home. One of the mums who received such a home stated simply: “You will forget us when you leave - but on the day that I die, it is your face that I will see.” How long does a Tabitha house last - they last a very long time but not in their original form as families build up and change what is started
Last month I wrote to you about the floods affecting so many of our families. I wrote and shared about Prey Veng and our area in Prek Komdieng. The floods have subsided in this area and the farmers are busy. They plowed their field while the waters were still knee deep - today over 300 hectares are growing rice again - another 400 hectares are in process as the floods keep receding - knee deep and the plowing begins and the wells take over - we are so very thankful.
Someone asked if people sell their land. They used to - when life was very tough - land was sold for $150 per plot - now this land is not for sale. The farmers tell us that their earnings are better than going away to the city for work - their earnings pay their bills, they get their children back, they eat well, they can achieve their dreams - no, the land with wells or ponds are no longer for sale.
Despite all this we have hundreds of families still waiting for a well - so many of you have helped this past month but we are in need of so many more as the floods begin to recede from Pursat, Banteay Meanchaey and Kompong Thom.
We have started 9 new schools - we thought we had completed several of them. As the funders came to visit the finished schools - I was saddened by the sight. The 6 room schools were full to the brim - on average 45 students per room - two sessions a day with different students. As we arrived at the schools we were met with hundreds more children for whom there was no room. One young child cried in the arms of one of my staff - why don’t you have room for me, she sobbed. These schools are getting more rooms from the same funders - people who are touched by the need.
It is a very good month - a month of hope and dreams - a month where my God has brought so many of you to stand with those who cannot stand alone. I am so very privileged to be a part of this and a part of you. It is a very good month.
Janne
October 12, 2011
Dear Friends and partners,
It’s been a hard week for all of us. Last week we were rejoicing how our families in Prey Veng were hoping to have a bumper crop of rice. The floods had hit Kompong Thom project a month ago and our families had lost all their rice but for some reason Prey Veng wasn’t flooded. This weekend the floods arrived – within hours everything was under water.
And yet – last year the fields were so very barren – year after year the fields turned into hard dry ground. Famine was always just a day’s meal away. The men were never home – a number of children had been sold in order to meet just daily needs – it was such a hard place to work.
Then we started putting in field wells – so much excitement – the men came home and planted and harvested – they earned enough to buy their children back – they were so very excited - life had so much promise. 2 weeks ago it looked like one of the best rice crops they ever had. It stretched as far as the eye can see – life was good. We were all praying that the floods wouldn’t come – it would have meant the first year of food security and income in remembered history.
The last Friday the floods arrived – there wasn’t much that anyone could do. The water rose chest high – roads disappeared – and then the houses that were just grass – houses built by volunteers became a refuge for a number of families - they hold not just people but pigs and chickens as well. The water buffaloes wallow in the mud and children wade through chest high water. Life is hard.
And yet – there is hope – for once so many of our families know that the floods will recede and when they do – they will plant again. They know the hot summer months are coming and the flood will be hard, dusty earth – this year their fields will not lie fallow but grow life giving food.
A friend said to me – these people just never get a break, do they? It would be easy to agree but that would be a lie – so many in Prey Veng, Kompong Thom, Banteay Meanchaey, Siem Reap, Pursat – they do have a break – they have a field well or pond that will bring renewal back to their lives when the floods recede. For our families who have not yet received that break – for them – we will work even harder to make ensure that their breaks will be in place for the next set of floods.
Thank you to so many of you who have given a “Break” – a well or a pond – to so very many who have had none. Help us to ensure that all our families get a break – so that the next set of floods – although harsh – do not result in famine and despair.
I thank my God for the privilege of standing with these people – I thank Him for all of you who enable us to do so.
Janne
August 30, 2011
Dear friends and partners,
Today is the last day of our program year and what a year it has been. We had so many goals – so much we wanted to do. We had so many dreams we wanted to achieve – dreams that each of you made happen. Let me share some of our highlights.
This year our goal was to work with and reach out to 42,456 families with 340,228 dependents – we ended the year with 43,546 families with 348,368 dependents –we worked with another 358 families in cottage industry. It is a remarkable achievement. Our goal for our New Year starting this week is to reach out to 59,140 families with 473,120 dependents. Together we can do it.
The core of our program is savings: 90% of acute poverty is attitudinal – a mindset created by any number of factors – for our families it has been 40 years of war and genocide. It results in despair – an inability to think ahead – to plan for the future – what is the use – I will lose all anyway. It results in an often heard slogan from our families – we are bad – a statement that reflects their inability to grasp the loss of so much in their lives.
Savings breaks down the attitude for savings involves people starting dreams – achievable dreams – it involves saying they are worth something – no matter how insignificant we think that something is. It involves action, for the people must give of their own money – it involves people standing with them, cheering them on – it involves achieving those dreams and making new ones.
From this…. To this – 3 years
Their initial savings isn’t much – usually .25 cents a week – but those little bits of money grow into big money – our families saved $2,037,313.90 this year but what is the miracle is the purchase and life changes brought about – they purchased $10,919,450.00 worth of goods and services. Savings works – for families pull together all their resources to make a positive change in their lives – we as Tabitha staff are cheerleaders, encouraging and celebrating each achievement. The families say to us – you helped us to think again. The attitude has changed. It is so very good.
We talked about our impacts on families – we always start with basic necessities of which eating better food is a key marker – in our newest expansion areas people eat only once a day – rice and whatever insect’s people can scavenge from the fields. This year – 27,907 families were able to achieve better food. I asked the managers what that meant – it means people are eating two to three meals a day which are balanced with vegetables and fruit daily and meat and fish at least twice a week. As we were talking, I asked how much do you think that costs a day say for a family of 8 – the universal answer was $5.00 a day – we started multiplying the numbers – families times days times cost in a year and the end figure boggled our minds – over 50 million dollars worth – it is teaching all of us about the micro economics of food.
13,129 families are moving towards food security with their ability to purchase 3 months supply of rice. All of our families were able to purchase basics such as clothing, sleeping mats, beds, tables and chairs, pots and pans, mosquito nets and much more.
Water and its life giving strength – we were enabled to install 2015 sources of water – with over 1000 hectares of land put under year round cultivation – earning our families and average of $500.00 Us per month – or $6,000.00 per year – up from the low of $300.00 per year.
In Income generation, especially in agriculture and fishing – 18,728 families were able to raise animals such as pigs, chickens, ducks, cows, etc. Another 18,893 families were able to grow crops such as rice and vegetables year round – it is so very good.
We talked about the number of school aged children in our program- in the communes where we work – and how many got to attend school this year. We had a dream to build 7 schools and we ended up building 14 schools. We talked about the impact it has on the children in our program. In our new areas – an average of one child per family is able to go to school – in areas where we are in mid – program – the average is 3 out of the five – in the areas where we built our schools – it is 4 out of the 5 children. This year we enabled 120,878 children to attend school for the first time.
Our dream this past year was to have 55 teams come and build 950 houses – we had 97 teams come with 2,425 volunteers come and help build 1,182 houses for our families. It is so very good – The volunteers become friends and supporters – people who have a deeper understanding of poverty and its impact on people.
It has been an amazing year – a year of being blessed and giving blessings. I thank my God for this privilege. I thank my God for the staff and for each of you who have made so much happen this year. I pray that our dreams for the next year will bear much fruit for those whom we serve.
Janne
July 21, 2011
Dear friends and partners,
I received a report today – it’s from one of my managers and a family she works with. People are always asking me how this all works. This report tells how it works but it’s in their words – not mine. The English is not terrific and the grammar not the best but I do believe that they express themselves better than I ever could. Let me share this with you.
“At Choung Tieng Village, Tebthi Commune, Kors Kralor Distrcit, Battambang Province, there are many poor people who live there. They are living in miserable conditions. Most families have a lot of children so they have high responsibility in their family. They meet many problems because of hard to find money and earn less than spending.
I am Meurn Teurm and my wife is Paeth Ry. I live in Choung Tieng Village. I have 7 children; there are 4 boys and 3 girls. I am a farmer and my wife is seller of Khmer noodles at home. It is very difficult to support a big family but we still try hard to work more and more – but my food is not enough because we are a lot of children. Before, my house is very small. Fortunately, there is an organization called Tabitha Cambodia who come into my village. The population here was very happy, including my family also.
Small house with 7 children
Tabitha Cambodia taught the villagers to know how to save money. I had to join saving money with Tabitha too. In one week, I putted money 3000 riels until 11 weeks pass by to get 10% interest. Every eleven weeks, I got enough money from Tabitha to buy things like:
First ducks and chickens
Second a pig
Third a sewing machine
Fourth Water storage jars
Fifth Table and chairs
Sixth Tabitha team built us a house
Seventh bought bricks to connect new house
Finally Tabitha Cambodia helped people to build house and also my family. I had contribution 100,000 riel to Tabitha for the house ($25.00 US dollars). Now I still continue saving money. All the people in my village and my family are living here with pleasure. I joy and gratitude to Tabitha Cambodia so much.”
I love the expression “all of us are living here with pleasure”. I thank my God for the pleasure He gives my staff and myself for the privilege of working alongside these families. I am humbled and thankful for all of you who enable this to happen. May you all also live with pleasure.
Janne
June 15, 2011
Dear friends and partners,
It is the time of year when we begin our detailed planning and budgets for our next program year beginning in September. The planning process always begins with the development staff spending 4 days together in several of our project areas followed by two days of meetings in Phnom Penh. This year the staff went to Banteay Meanchaey, Battambang and Pursat projects. The purpose is to see the innovations taking place, to discuss better ways of doing our work and to discuss expansion for the upcoming program year. As usual, the time spent together is very much enjoyed.
Several innovations caused a lot of interest – the first one was the unique field wells being installed in Banteay Meanchaey. It’s an area where the water table is unclear, rather widely dispersed, there is no stream to tap into – instead water seeps up through the soil. Our normal process in such an area is to dig a pond – another innovation where we have discovered that ponds must be at least 10 meters, by 7 meters by 4 meters deep – then the farmers will have year round water – but in Banteay Meanchaey where land is at a premium – using so much space for a pond is not possible – instead a well 2.5 meters square – 10 meters deep and lined with wood and bricks is the best answer. These wells are open pit and seem to be large enough to raise fish as well.
We also talked about communities where ground water is not accessible – these communities remain very poor for much longer than those with access to water. What do we do? How do we get water to those who have none? It was decided that we should try an innovation of developing a rainwater system whereby using cement rings to store water was discussed - a few trial communities were selected to see if this would work
But having water doesn’t alleviate poverty unless this same water can be used to create an income. We discussed raising rabbits – something none of the staff have eaten although they remember their parents and grandparents having talked about eating them. The next suggestion was to raise field rats – these rats are eaten in various communities and are considered to be quite a delicacy because they eat rice and taste sweet. I am personally not enamored with the idea of eating any rat but custom is custom. The discussions on rats revolved around cages – normal bamboo or wood cages would not be efficient as the rats are known to eat through these materials – so we need to research what cages would work – the materials and the costs involved. Discussions continued - to raise various insects such as tarantulas and crickets – another delicacy that I personally cannot get past my lips. Waterless communities are our biggest challenge – finding solutions requires thinking outside the normal parameters – a process that takes time and energy and definitely perseverance.
Schools was the next topic – this year we will have completed 13 schools in various project areas – the needs for schools are great and continues to escalate as 50% of the population is under the age of 15. Parents believe that having many children is their answer to social security in their old age – a mindset that will not change for a generation or two. Less than 40% of the children receive any primary education – less than 14% complete a primary education – less than 4% receive and complete a middle school education. A secondary aspect is that schools built 40 years ago are now in desperate need of repair and many are being closed as it’s too dangerous to have children in a classroom that can collapse at any time. At the end of the week – the staff have requested 26 schools for the upcoming year.
Then we talked of expansion to new project areas. 3 areas were approved – Kep, which is already started, Siem Reap along the border with Kompong Thom and Preah Vihear – where the governor has requested our program for the past 4 years. The poverty is these areas are very stark – very harsh – 90% of the population is desperately poor- less than 50 cents a day, one meal a day of rice and what insects or frogs can be found – very few children attend school – even if there is a school present. Despair is the mindset – suffering the result of physical deprivation – superstition the result of no stimulation – of no hope. 
We are currently in process of making our final plans and budgets – it is a time of reflection, a time of renewal, a time of dreams and aspirations. We are all so very thankful to be able to do so. I thank my God for our staffs, volunteers, workers and families – they teach me so very much – they teach me of the hunger for life itself, for dignity and decent work – they teach me that giving of myself is the way that I grow in so many ways – that learning is part of the process of giving – I am so humbled by all of them and humbled by all of you who stand with us as we make this journey together.
Janne
May 12, 2011
Dear friends and partners,
It has been a rather hot few weeks – the weather patterns have changed yet again – for me, I have relief – I have air-conditioning and I have water – both very vital in providing some relief from the relentless heat. For so many of our families, neither option is available so life can be difficult. For others, water is a new resource. One of our strengths in Tabitha is that we are not constrained by conformity where everybody has to do exactly the same thing or have exactly the same type of well.
In Banteay Meanchaey the field wells are very different from our other project areas. In this project, water seeps up through the soil – there is lots of water – it’s how to channel the water. Banteay Meanchaey has a unique answer – they have an open well that is 2 meters square and lined with wood and bricks. The water is plentiful. The families are so excited to show me their crops. Their crops are unique. Unbelievably they grow Spanish onions. One young lad of 8 takes watering his family crops seriously – 2 times day he is in the fields watering – I do believe it’s his relief from the heat. Another farmer shows me his well – he has put tilapia fish in his well – I am amazed at their ingenuity and work.
This past week I had the privilege of witnessing another miracle. I went to Svay Rieng to see the opening of a 3 room school for early primary year’s children. The school itself was needed but it wasn’t the school so much as who raised the money for the school. Tabitha has been built by so many individuals, people who give generously – I don’t often pick out an individual donor because each donation is of equal value – yet in this case, this school was built by a young lady of 10. She decided with her parents, that this something she wanted to do. It is not an easy task to raise so much money but every weekend since school started last August, she has been baking and selling what she baked. At special events at school, she did extra tasks to raise more money. Last January she came with a team to house build. We talked – I told her about this school and showed her the pictures. Children who were going to school in a small thatched room – they needed a real school. She listened and said, this was the school she wanted to build -a three room school for the smallest children.
I asked her if she didn’t get tired of working every weekend – she nodded yes – then said – but my parents encouraged me and I didn’t mind. Now I can work even harder. An amazing young lady – I am humbled by her gift – by her strength. I am humbled by so many others like her – young people who stand with us and with so many of our families we work with.
This month is also a month when many of our schools prepare to close for a summer break. These are schools whose young people work hard to raise funds and then come and help finish building houses for so many of our families. These young people step out of their comfort zone to come to a country which is challenging yet wonderful – who come and work amongst the poorest of the poor. They come with respect and courtesy, they come with humor and strength – they leave with a sense of humility and gratefulness. In preparation for the next school year – could I ask all the teams to send me in their dates for their next year’s builds.
My life is so very full of privileges. One of those gifts is the gift of the young – a gift of curiosity and wonder, a gift of learning to serve – a gift of seeing life through their eyes. I thank my God for each and every one of them; I thank my God for each and every one of you. Tabitha’s strength is because of all of you.
Janne
April 5, 2011
Dear friends and partners,
Happy Khmer New Years. Yes, we are fortunate here in Cambodia, we get to celebrate several New Years but for us, this is the best one. Next week, we close for a whole week; everyone goes home to celebrate with family and friends the year that was and the year that is just beginning.
Of course with New Year approaching it is also traditional to clean your house in preparation for the celebrations at hand. Tabitha cleaned its house metaphorically. We changed to a new and better system of handling our finances – we went cashless. Now for those of you living in developed countries, this may sound rather ho hum but in a third world country – a cashless system brings about all kinds of emotions - from great fear to happiness.
Over the past two years, The ACELEDA Bank in Cambodia has opened branches in almost every district of the country. When we talked, they assured us that they can handle all our cash transactions. That was the easy part. Over a period two weeks, we opened almost five hundred accounts. It started at the office with staff and workers. My explanation of what was happening was met with disbelief until I explained that they no longer had to be afraid of where they kept their money. The next two days were filled with questions like; can my children get my money? Will the bank give my money to someone else by accident? Lots of assurances and explanations later, the banks arrived to enroll everyone – staff arrived from up country, workers milled around the office, weavers filled the corridors. Then the inevitable happened – the electricity went out – the generators went on but not with enough power to keep everyone cool. The bank employees sat in two different rooms, each group handling three people at a time. Of course, those awaiting their turn, crowded in to see what those who were being enrolled were doing. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself with all the mayhem but when I saw what was happening to the bank workers, my pity for myself got displaced very quickly to those who were handling the applications.
I restored a bit of order but mayhem quickly developed again as it became clear that most of our folks had an identity with a completely different name by which we knew them. This is a throwback to the Khmer Rouge regime where being known by your own name was never safe. Suddenly, none of us knew whom we are talking about. This took several days to clarify and make good.
The bank returned several days later with passbooks in hand but not all was well. We had several basically illiterate staff and workers – people who never signed their name before – people who didn’t understand that your signature had to be the same each time. One poor fellow had to return 4 days in a row to give his signature before everyone was happy. I just shuddered!
Once the immediate Tabitha people were taken care of – it was time to work with those who dug our wells, constructed our house frames, built our schools, merchants from who we purchased building supplies, etc. Mayhem reigned yet again – how these people kept such large sums of money safe before was a mystery to me – banks were a mystery to them.
Finally it was all in place and we tested the system. We did our first electronic payroll! The next day several hundred workers and staff descended on a small bank branch near the office. What a morning that was – thankfully, the bank staff were used to first time account holders – the noise decibels crept higher and higher and the laughter started. I looked at more bank books, laughed with more people and received more hugs in those few hours than I have in the past ten years together. Happiness reigns and I am ready to take a holiday!
Yesterday, I went back to Prey Veng – back to see the results of the challenge of the field wells. What a magic day it was. I arrived in time to see the last of the harvest watermelons. 36 farmers had harvested in the past week – their average earnings was over a $1000.00 US dollars for two months work. It was the men – the men who were all there – men who normally had to work far from home – their pride, their joy was indescribable. And the children, the children were home. They all wanted to give us watermelons and more melons – and then there were the cows and water buffalo – it was a big day for them as well – they got to eat the leftover greenery – what a celebration! What a way to start the New Year.
We visited so many families, all with pride, and lots of children. The food sustainability – the income earned – none had made such money before. It is so good! Did they meet the challenge of 200 hectares – oh yes and a bit more. Then Pat and Cheoun turned to me and said, but we would like another 100 field wells – why not – 3 more villages waiting – let’s do it.
I am so privileged – I thank my God for the lives that touch mine and the lives that I touch – I am humbled by all of you who make this possible. Happy New years to each of you – thank you for making this New Year a happy one for so very many for whom New Years was formally a time of sadness. It is so very good!
Janne
March 5, 2011
Dear friends and partners,
A few weeks ago I was asked a question – are you sure there are 8 people in a family that Tabitha serves? It’s a fair question and one that I thought deserved a fair answer. Over the past two weeks I have made project visit to our projects in Kep/Kampot – Kampong Channang, Pursat and Battambang. It has been an education in so many ways.
As with all project visits, I get to see the latest and the newest. Field ponds and wells are having a huge impact on our families, house building, schools and savings – are all very strong with high impacts. In Pursat, I met with 30 families who are about to receive houses – I asked how many children there were in the families – giggles started – this lady has 12 – she has had 4 sets of twins , said one mother, I have 10 children and on it went. In village after village, it was the same. We visited a school in process – the director and teachers were so excited – more than 900 children will attend as I looked at an 80 pupil grade 1 class. How can they learn? Then the big question – how many kids in a family – again the laughter broke out – 9 said, the director – and then he indicted from small to tallest – a universal answer I was getting.
In Banaan, Battambang – I visited with 50 plus families – there is no road into their community – walking through uneven fields, looking at plots and plots of vegetables and fruit trees – these people had been waiting a long time for my visit. It was a good community – with young married couples and middle aged families. Size of families was consistent – those just married had 2- 4 children, those between 30-45 years were more varied – on average – 30% of families had 10 or more children, 30% had 8-9 children, 25% had 6-8 children – 15% had less than 6 children. In all our areas, 70% of the families were raising an additional child or two that were not their own – usually from relatives who had died and left orphans or from relatives who needed to be away from home to work.
We had a wonderful time just chatting. A young married man of 27 said that every year he had to leave his home to find work. With the field well he no longer had to leave – in fact he said, I don’t have to buy food, I can pay my expenses and I have money left in my pocket – he was so delighted. The parents of 7 children re-iterated how good this all was – the only thing we buy now is a bit of meat or fish. Everyone said, they felt much better physically. I, of course ended up with cabbages that weighed 2 kilos, spring onions and long beans – all very delicious.
So I came back to number of children and the reasons for this. I asked the women how they felt – all of them had a similar compliant – all of them had an infection that resulted in a vaginal discharge, that smelt bad, left them with sore bellies and caused them to be hot inside. Some had gone for medicine but it was too expensive and didn’t clear up the infection. I asked about family planning – medicine to stop having babies – the women were unanimous in their answers – we tried the medicine they said, but it didn’t work. We bled heavily, our bellies really hurt and we were hot inside. In my mind, I thought perhaps the infections were the cause of some of the aftereffects but - I don’t know. Whatever the reason, none of the women were interested in this medicine any longer.
In discussion in all these project areas it became clear that 90% of all rural women over the age of 16 have some form of infection that cause vaginal discharge and pain – sometimes this would clear up when the husbands were away for work but would return when the husbands came home. I can’t imagine spending my entire adult life with a sore belly – I am a wuss and not very pleasant when I don’t feel well – it is no wonder the women say they are tired much of the time and not strong enough to do heavy labor.
I have learned to present some sensitive questions in the form of a joke – so I said to the ladies, perhaps the next time your husband wants sex, you should just close your legs? Pandemonium broke out – the women said, no way but now the men spoke up for the first time. No, they said, we want lots and lots of children. When we are old, our children will take care of us. Our brightest children we will put into school, the rest will help us with the farming. The vehemence was there – I was straying close to a sensitive area – for the women, sex with their husband would hopefully ensure that the husband would not leave for another woman – for the men, children were seen as a form of social security in their old age. It was the one clear incident of thinking ahead. It was not the time or place to start talking of cost of raising children – perhaps the next generation – it was also clear that family planning had been talked about and tried and failed.
So to answer the question how many people in our families – our answer remains the same – 6 children and 2 adults – that is what we think is a fair average. I thank my God for the privilege of working with these families, of sharing a small part in our respective lives; I thank God that I am not a Cambodian woman with a lifelong infection. I thank my God for each of you, who make this possible.
Janne
February 2011 - HOSPITAL UPDATE
Dear friends and partners,
I want to share with you the beginning of our latest outreach. It’s Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital. I know there are many of you who ask, “Now where did this come from?” I would love to say simply from my own journey with breast cancer but that’s not true – the breast cancer is the catalyst of a turning point of the journey – not the beginning.
Over the years of Tabitha a number of people have approached me about preventive health care. I have a problem with prevention because it often teaches people about their problems but in our work, there is often no cure. When the AIDS epidemic took hold in Cambodia back in 1997, those of us working in the field were told to educate people. But education is not enough – at that time - there was no treatment available – and people discovering that they were in the process of dying, really hurt.
I am happy about teaching the simpler ones like clean water, good nutrition, etc but anything more in-depth has always brought me a shudder for there is really no where to send folks who are suffering. It haunts me.
This past year a number of women have died in our program – women who could have been saved or at least comforted in their own life’s journey. Sowanta is a woman who lived in Savy Rieng province. She developed breast cancer – by the time the breast was engorged with disease, it was almost too late. Her and her husband sold their land – the land that fed their seven children. She went to Vietnam and had a mastectomy – her lymph nodes were removed and she returned home. As a woman she was expected to carry out her daily tasks – they lived in a thatched hut – they had a few farm animals and within a few weeks, her surgical sites were infected. She had no money to return to Vietnam – she had borrowed and received help from all those she knew – but there was no more. It took her 2 months to die – 2 months of indescribable pain – 2 months to say good-bye.
Every time I go on a site visit, I am confronted with women who are in pain. Last week, I met Sina – a young mother with four children. She had asked me for help a few months ago and I had told her to go to a hospital for the poor in Phnom Penh. She came and waited for three days – that’s all the money she had. Her number never came up. She went to a local doctor – he said she had a severe vaginal and uterine infection – her womb and her uterine track are full of cysts – he removed three of them – told her not to worry – but the oozing is still there and the number of cysts keep growing. Her younger sister works for us at Tabitha – she too, has an infection and cysts – their mother died a few years ago from this same ailment – they look to me for help but there is little I can do – they are so afraid that they too will die – they are too young – only in their 20’s.
Then, I find a breast lump and with hours everything is prepared for my care. People are distraught – why you? My response, why not me – I, too, am just a person. But my question to myself is different, why do I get all the care that I need? Why am I so special? I am no different – different circumstances, yes, but the same as all the women that I meet. The same desires, hopes and fears. I too, want to live.
In my personal faith, my God says “Love your neighbor as yourself.” To do so means that I either love myself less and take no medical care or I love myself the same and provide medical care for the women that I live amongst – for they are my neighbors!
So I dreamed a dream –I want to have a hospital for my neighbors. I shared my vision with Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi – an extra ordinary woman who happens to be the Minister of Women’s Affairs. Her response was immediate and simple. I have always wanted to do this – this is my dream. Phavy’s life has been anything but easy – like so many here she suffered under the Khmer Rouge, became a refugee, ended up in France where she finished her education, became a medical doctor, and practiced for ten years . In the early 90’s she returned to Cambodia, lived in the forest for 4 years fighting her battles for freedom. She became a staff of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and ten years ago became the Minister. She is a woman of extra ordinary integrity and courage – highly respected by all who know her. Phavy has a daughter, Mony who contracted thyroid cancer a few years back – she was treated and Mony is a survivor. Both of us treated by the best in Singapore. Phavy’s husband, Trac Thai Sieng is an extra ordinary man. He loves his wife, his country, the dream – he stands with us as we move forward to accomplish our dream.
We have 2 hectares of land in the midst of women who work in factories – women from all over the country – who live meanly – 12 to a small room, work 12 hour days – 6 days a week – women who send what they earn, home to their families. They are so young – their youth is eaten away with the burdens they bear – they are our neighbors. Their mums and sisters live poorly – perhaps we can bring some comfort, some meaning to their lives when they are tired and ill.
Our hospital is called Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital. It is a vision, a dream that includes prevention and education, that includes research into the most common of women’s illnesses here. Our vision is not cheap – it will cost 5.5 million to build and another 5.5 million to outfit because women’s cancer is part of this dream – and the machines required are expensive. It sounds impossible but not if the burden is shared by many. To build we only need 120 people to donate $50,000 each or 240 people to donate $25,000.00. each. To outfit we need to do the same.
For our poorest neighbors – treatment will cost very little – perhaps a dollar – for our neighbors who can afford more – we will charge more. For all women, we will have an open door.
I have shared this vision with a few of you. Your response has helped us to clarify our vision – to dream big dreams – to make sure we do it right. To share my personal journey as we do this process – I have created a blog that contains some of my reflections – it's http://www.jannenokortep.blogspot.com/ A friend is working on a formal web page – I am limited in IT skills.
I thank my God for the privilege of dreaming dreams – of showing me the way forward – I thank my God for each of you who share this journey with us. It is so very good.
Janne
January 2011
Dear friends and partners,
Happy New Year’s everyone. May 2011 be filled with the blessings that you have brought to so very many. For myself, the new year has started well. I am back at work with very little restrictions, doing what I am meant to do. That is so very good.
This week I went on two project visits, something I was unable to do the past six months. I thought I would share with you what these visits tend to be like. Usually we leave, the community development driver Da, and the community development supervisor Srie, at six in the morning. It means the sun is not quite up and city traffic is just beginning. As we drive to the projects, the sun comes up and infuses the countryside with a glow – very beautiful. As the day’s heat takes over, the glow disappears into a hot haze and the harsh reality of life takes over.
This week’s visits were very typical – we looked at finished schools, approved new ones to be built and talked with students and teachers about the marvels of education. One young lady of 6 attached herself to my shirt and hung on no matter what. Her mum had died last month and I seemed to be a good replacement. I felt for the little one.
Then we visited families who had received houses from our volunteer house builders. It’s so good to see the improvements being made by each family. We met a family that had put bricks on the bottom and were slowly replacing the tin with wood. They had taken off the Tabitha sign and were protecting it. They will have a ceremony when the house is rebuilt and then proudly hang the sign on the wall.
Some have bought new stairs, others have extended their homes and many have built or are in process of building a latrine to go with the house. Some plant flowers around the borders of the house, others put up curtains – all reflect the pride and joy they have in their new homes. For you house builders that come and build, the starter home you built, is the start of new hopes and dreams.
We visit the many families who have received wells and who are earning incomes. We talked with Hout and his wife – they have eight children- they are middle aged – their faces worn with the cares of life – they are proud and smiling – all eight children are in school – all the time – they are earning enough not to keep their children at school. It is so very good.
We visit vegetable fields – corn that is taller than I, spring onions that I can’t have because they only chop of the green parts for selling – bak choy and cabbages, pumpkins and aubergines, chillie peppers – we look at pigs and see fish – and it’s all so good.
The last item on all site visits is to see the new areas. I sigh – how can people live so meanly? Houses are so small and so inadequate – there is no water, there is so little food, and almost no clothes. We see a number of men drinking under a tree – Srie and Da are disgusted – I say, if I lived like this – I too, would drink. Life can be so sad.
Then we travel home – tired and dusty – but the sun is setting – and the country takes on a warm glow. It is once again stunningly beautiful. I am very tired but I am also at peace. We have done much and there is so much more to do. I thank you for standing with us – I thank my God for the privilege of living this life. Happy New Years everyone.
Janne
