Home » News & Events » Current News » News Archive |2007
2007 Updates from Cambodia
December 14. 2007
Dear friends and partners,
All of us at Tabitha Cambodia want to wish each and
every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It is the
season of hope and faith for many – for us – our faith in
a child born so long ago – brings the message of understanding
and life – a child born into the meanness of poverty – despised
by many – eventually killed by those who found Him too different – a
man who lives again so that we can all live. Christmas – our foundation.
We have our house decorated this year – lights twinkle in the night
sky – it is fun to watch people drive by and turn around and drive
by again – just to enjoy the lights – the children of the
neighborhood come each evening to sit and look at our tree – they
eat the candy canes and marvel at our snow village waiting in anticipation
of the great day.
In the office – there are smiles and laughter – practicing
individual skills for our up coming Christmas party is at its height – we
open with a contest on who can sing or act the best – there is
thankfulness for all the work we are able to do – the workers have
earned so much the last few months – its all so very good.
Our community development staff is content – 331 families have
received new homes in the past 4 months – a record for us – plans
are in process for opening in 2 new provinces in January – now
that the rains have stopped – they are beginning to work on ways
to irrigate fields for vegetables – all so very good.
Nary, Srie and I are excited – this is our first year when we will
be able to give everyone a present of an extra cash bonus for Christmas – this
is our first year when we are not afraid to say thank you to everyone
who works so hard to make lives for so many so good. Usually only the
staff receives this gift – this year all our workers will also
receive.
I look back on this year that is almost finished – its been a
year of immeasurable richness – Miriam and I have a permanent home – we
have been able to incorporate our ladies living with AIDS into a permanent
work force – our projects have gone from strength to strength – our
families move from miracle to miracle. Each week I meet our supporters – people
who come and share their strength and encouragement with our families
who need such help.
I think of each of you – all so different – your willingness
to share your strengths and your gifts with us – your willingness
to stand beside us and make us strong. And I know that each of you is
my Christmas in reality. How very good that is.
On behalf of all of us – may this season be one of hope and faith
for you and your loved ones – one full of the blessings that you
have brought to so many here. Janne
PS. Picture taken by Audrey Davidson, Toronto, during Janne's "holiday " in
Canada in April 2007
November 14. 2007
Dear friends and partners,
Someone asked me last month – do you realize the impact that you
have. I am rather humble about that – yes, I do know. I went to
Singapore in the beginning of the month. I went to talk with several
schools who give us phenomenal support and the week ended with a Tabitha
Silk Fair – it was an amazing week in so many ways – we sold
94k in 3 days – children would walk up to me at the schools and
want to shake my hand – a number of parents shared the change in
their children who had come housebuilding. As the week progressed I began
to understand that perhaps all of you do not understand the impact that
you have. Today I would like to try and express that impact.
For each of you who support the cottage industry – either by selling
or by buying – tonight before you lay down on your beds – look
in the mirror – when you see your self – look behind your
eyes and see the women and men – your sisters and brothers here – and
know that tonight they will lay themselves down – physically tired – but
satisfied – tonight they will sleep well because their work has
been sold – their children are well fed and are in school – tonight
it is good because you stood with them – tomorrow is exciting because
there is more work.
When you kiss your children goodnight this evening – see your other
children here who are safe because mom or dad has work – whose
bellies don’t ache with the pain of hunger – who have mom
and dad beside them because they earned enough to be able to stay home
with them in the evening.
When you see yourself in the mirror tonight – see your brothers
here – who are tired but content because today they had enough
work to feed their families – today they planted their crops which
have begun to sprout – the pigs they fed and washed – the
chickens that scratch beneath their homes - tonight the men - your brothers
here - can rest in peace.
For each of you who have built a house or paid for
a house to be built – tonight when you look around your home – think
of the many families here who look around their homes – families
who take the time each evening to say a prayer for you – their
angels – of the families who are safe from rain and from danger
because of you.
For each of you who have given the gift of water through
the donation of a well – tonight when you take a shower – feel
the joy of thousands of you brothers and sisters here – thousands
of your children here – feel their sense of contentment as they
wash the dust of their bodies before they lay down to sleep – feel
their thirst slaked with the cup of cold water you gave to them – feel
the stir of hope, of dreams as they have water for their crops and their
animals – hear the laughter of your children here – as they
splash each other with the gift of life.
For each of you who stand beside us in so many different
ways – see your children here as they have a new set of clothes,
or a bicycle to go to school with, or a battery and a small TV to end
the day with – see the food on the tables – food in abundance
after so many years of hunger – see the parents sit with each other
and talk quietly about dreams fulfilled and dreams to come.
Thank you to each of you for the impact you have on
so many here. Thank you for your impact on the staff and the impact on
myself. May God’s blessings surround each of you for the blessings
you have given to so many of your brothers and sisters, to your children
here. Janne
October 16.2007
Dear friends,
The new program year has started very well. It’s a peak season
for house building teams – it is also our busy season for orders.
The rains are in full spate – causing havoc for so many of our
families. The staff, as usual, does so much in very difficult circumstances.
October is also the month of Pchum Ban. Pchum Ban is
the holiday week when Cambodians remember those who have passed away.
It is a season when mood swings tend to be a daily occurrence and depression
is just below the surface. Nary is one sufferer. Her face is long and
drawn each morning. Memories of her lost family are all too real. This
past year, so many of Nari’s friends have passed away in their
sleep. People who are in their mid forties – too young really,
to pass on. Often there is no sign of illness, just a quiet passing in
the night.
Nari says her body hurts. She tells me she is too old now – not
the same as when we began working together. Her mind doesn’t always
learn new things very quickly – she is not as physically able as
she was before. Nari’s symptoms are reflected through out the staff
and with our workers. This month of remembering exacts a high price.
We combat all of this with the hope and renewal of
beginning another year. The months of September through December will
mean 323 houses for 323 of our families. As the volunteers come, they
bring a sense of excitement and expectation. The staff reacts to these
expectations and begins to rejoice in so many families getting new homes.
At the end of the day – the aches are gone – replaced with
contentment – other families have begun their long way out of despair.
We have received and continue to receive orders for
our goods. The miracle is that this pressure has brought our ladies living
with AIDS into our regular production of silk products. For these ladies,
death is a constant companion – yet the work brings out hope and
laughter – they did not want to take the holiday – they did
not want to remember – it hurts too much – so we gave them
work to take home – armfuls of work – our regular ladies – they
took home work – what is so good is the laughter and the chatter
I hear ringing through-out the building. Hope and dignity which the work
provides relieves the sorrow of their lives.
For our development staffs – this month brings pain of recently
lost siblings and parents – their sadness is turned into gladness
as they focus on their work. Savings and changes in people’s lives
brings contentment – watching the fruits of the wells being dug
each month – brings them gifts of food and pleasure in peoples
company – the house builders bring renewal – the constant
searching and exchanging of new ways of doing things brings a challenge.
October and Pchum Ban are a good mix. There is a way
out of sadness in these months; there is a way of hope. I thank each
of you for making that happen, for being our inspiration, our hope. I
thank my God, that He always provides sufficient Grace for each of us
to live our lives to the fullest no matter which month it is. It is very
good. Janne
September 19.2007
Dear friends,
This month is the beginning of our new fiscal and program
year. It is also the month of our annual report for what we have done
in the past year. It has been a very good year. We have worked with 33,958
families with 271,664 dependents. 2025 volunteers came from all over
the world and built 611 houses – unbelievable! We were able to
install 997 wells – bringing hope to so very many people.
Our budgets were met through miraculous ways - savings
increased phenomenally this year to $1,290,895.28 – from this our
33,364 families made 124,385 purchases changing their lives for the better.
The value of these purchases was an astonishing $8,910,861.00 worth.
Families that received wells increased their incomes to an average of
$2.50 per day – a remarkable increase.
As I sent this report out to our foundations a question
came back: In your annual it says “total value of items purchased
$8,910,861.00” and “total savings $1,290,895.28”. I
don’t understand why the numbers are different. Don’t people
use their savings to buy items? In other words how are people buying
8 million dollars worth of items if they have only saved 1.2 million?
And I thought now is my chance to explain the miracles
of our work. Yes, people bought much more than they saved because savings
is much more than just saving money. Poverty is something that is at
least 90% attitudinal – for our families in Cambodia it means that
they given up hope – they are despaired when we start working with
them. For the past thirty years they have lived a living hell – bombings
and genocide – armed clashes – floods and droughts – every
time they took a step forward something would happen and they would lose
it all over again. So they quit – they quit on themselves and they
quit on their families – they quit on life itself.
The savings process brings back the hope – it is a moral support
system that asks each person in our program to believe in themselves,
to believe in their families, in their communities and in their country.
It is huge step of faith that these people make – faith that we
won’t steal their money or abandon them when troubles arise – faith
that what they achieve will not be lost yet again, faith that they have
the right to choose what their lives should be. And so they save a small
amount each week and every week, we are there to say well done – and
every ten weeks they get their money plus an extra ten percent – our
recognition of the courage it took to do this. Every 11th week we celebrate
what they have bought and changed with their purchase and the process
is repeated. The people tell us again and again – you have helped
us to think again, to dream.
The dreams are much bigger each cycle – each member of the family
begins to think – to dream - of what is possible – for children
it is school and a bicycle and maybe new clothes - for parents its sources
of income and making sure everyone can eat their fill – for all
the family, it’s the dream of a permanent home which the rains
and the winds can’t destroy. And the bigger the dream – the
more money that is needed. So our families begin to work together to
make these dreams happen - how can each member contribute – they
begin to raise animals such as pigs and chickens, they work hard to get
a well and with the well – they can grow vegetables and they are
less sick. They start small shops selling little bits of many things,
or they raise money through kids working for their neighbors – and
they all save with Tabitha. Before, no one worked all that hard – now
everyone, even the littlest one picks grass for the cows so that older
siblings can pick grass for the neighbor’s cows and get paid.
The dreams now have dates for the future – something not usually
done – but its important that the income from pigs, and vegetables
and savings all come at the same time, so that the big money is available
to buy the more expensive items.
Our hardest times in Tabitha are when we graduate our
families – for we are the catalyst to these dreams – we are
the ones asking each week, how is it going? We are the ones that celebrate
as each step is taken and we are the ones to encourage bigger dreams.
No matter if there are floods or the people believe there is no water
in their area or if there is a national holiday – we are there
to stand beside them and to celebrate as they move from step to step.
We become family.
What is so amazing in all of this is that it costs
us $25.00 CDN dollars per year to help each of these families. What is
a miracle is that we want to put in 1000 wells and the money is there.
What is so encouraging for us is that so many of you come and see what
you have done through the house building programs.
We had visitors a couple of weeks ago who came to see
what we do – and the lady came back after several days in the village
and she said to me “I don’t understand the joy – I
don’t understand these people – a woman living with AIDS
took us around her house and showed me every little thing she had done
over the past two years – her eyes were shining with joy – I
would have been in despair – yet she, and so many of the families
we met, were happy and proud of what they had done.”
For us in Tabitha – the amount of money is miraculous – but
the most important aspect is the joy. That is the savings program. We
are about celebration of life itself.
I thank each of you for allowing us this privilege – this gift
of life – I thank my God that He gave me, my life. Janne
July 31.2007
Dear friends and partners,
I am feeling good today – in fact I am in a state of contentment.
This month is the beginning of our process of evaluating what we have
done this year and what we would like to do next year. Part of this process
involves me visiting a number of our projects. Last week I was in Siem
Reap. It was one of those visits that left me a bit breathless.
On our second day, we went to see Vath’s project. It’s a
district called Peak Sneng. 3 years ago, we drove down this dusty road
looking at poverty that hurt. I was very saddened by it all and had said
to Ani, our manager, I wish I had a million dollars; I would build them
all a home. This comment Ani kept in her heart. Now she was anxious to
show me what they had accomplished. Do you remember, this is the tree
where we had lunch, do you remember, this is the corner where you told
me about the million dollars – yes, I remembered. As we drove down
the road – we talked of the number of families – 370 in all – and
as we were driving I began to see houses – nice ones, others in
stages of being built. As we talked, Ani and Vath pointed out – and
this one and this one and this one and on and on – at first my
mind would not accept what I was seeing – this couldn’t be – but
it was – and so we stopped at house after house – each one
more beautiful than the last – my unbelief was apparent and I asked
each family – how did you do this – each family shared their
story of how savings had changed their lives – how wells near by
had enabled them to grow vegetables and to raise pigs – how each
cycle they bought more materials. How many families were involved in
this – Vath answered 259 families. I turned to all of the staff
and asked, why didn’t you report this? We did, said, Sarouen, this
is called repair house. I was stunned and so thankful. I turned to Mari: " and
in Svay Chek, where it was so terrible ?" she smiled shyly and
said," it is the same."
Old House Buying Material One of the stages Almost
completed
Ani looked at me and said – I am so proud of what we have done – not
as proud as I.
We went a few miles further to our new area in Chop
Tatraw – the poverty was hurtful to see. We need more wells said
Vath – Tinat agreed. I didn’t say again, I wish I had a million
dollars – although it would be nice – instead, I said: "and
in three years when I come back, what will I see?" they all just
smiled.
New area Some of the children Process has started.
Thank you God for each of our staff – thank you God for each of
you. It is so very good. Janne
June 19, 2007
Dear friends and partners,
I am sitting here this morning feeling a bit self satisfied. Two years
ago, at our annual staff meeting, Tina (who is a man) was one of our
new staff. His attitude at the meeting left a bit to be desired. When
I asked what problems people were having, his statement was rather blunt – the
people are lazy. My older staff knew better than to use that word around
me. I turned on him and asked him how he knew the people were lazy – did
he ask them if they were lazy – was he there all the time to see
if they were lazy – I mean what did he really know! The discussion
moved rapidly to what is our biggest barrier to our work and just as
rapidly came the answer from those who had learned before Tina – we
are often the biggest barrier to development. Our attitudes and our prejudices
affect how we work with people. I made it clear to one and all that using
the word lazy to describe people – means that we are the ones that
are lazy – we are lazy in our thinking; we are lazy in our answers.
I expected each and every staff person to do what they said they could
do without using the people as an excuse for not doing – anyone
who couldn’t do this – well, Tabitha was not the place for
them to be.
Last week, Srie visited Tina’s work – she was so excited
and couldn’t wait to share her news. The people that had been described
as lazy – were doing so very excellent. Out of 80 families that
Tina had described as lazy, 66 families were making at least $2.50 per
day from growing vegetables as an addition to their other sources of
income. The families were so very eager to show Srie everything, their
new clothes and water jars, their pigs and chicken and ducks, their bicycles
and cows, their children in school and a number of them had already started
to buy materials to build a new home for themselves. What had turned
them around?
Tina had returned from our meeting two years ago and
had decided to take matters into hand. He had two wells installed in
the village and then he went and bought seeds from his own money. He
told the volunteer to plant those seeds and to see what happened. People
watched as the seeds sprouted and grew into vegetables. Those vegetables
were eaten and the surplus was sold – money left over to buy more
seeds and to save for a water jar. The families began to ask if they
to could have seeds – Tina said, use your savings – and so
it began. At last years meeting, Tina was thoughtful in his questions
and responses – he was learning. His one request was for a one
time turn at having ten wells in one month – he did not say why – just
that he needed these wells. The request was granted.
Srie and I had visited this village three years ago
when Tina had started – the poverty was stark – the land
unproductive. The people were in despair – they couldn't think
anymore. Last week Srie experienced joy and pride from these very same
families whom Tina had called lazy. The ten wells allowed 66 families
to turn their lives around and it is so very good. Srie’s request
that the staff week of visiting each others programs be held in this
particular village next month was agreed on.
Then Srie said - we have visited the neighboring village where Tina
wants to expand to - 300 families in stark poverty. I asked Srie what
Tina says about these new families – she burst out laughing – they
are lazy, is his comment. Perhaps my self satisfaction is premature but
I know that before I meet him next month that word lazy will be changed
to something different.
I thank each of you for allowing us to learn our own barriers – for allowing each of us to teach ourselves and to reach out and teach others. I thank my God that He has the patience to let each of us develop out of our own laziness into people of strength. It is so very good.. Janne
May 15, 2007
Dear friends and partners,
Miriam and I have returned from our month long journey
through Canada. Both of us are recovering from jet lag and culture shock.
Our first 3 weeks in Canada were a shock as each morning we woke to a
carpet of snow on the ground. April is not supposed to be like that.
We ate and ate – everyone brought out their best and we enjoyed
each morsel. We traveled far, talked with many and made new friends.
Best of all was reuniting with family – a family reunion on the
only warm day we had – 110 relatives and close friends. As Miriam
says, it was our amazing day.
So what about culture shock? One of my nephews announced
his engagement to his fiancée – a girl he has known for
a number of years – a girl whom he loves and she loves him. When
we returned to Cambodia we were met by Nary and Tuit – our nanny.
Tuit’s big news is that she got engaged. She didn’t get engaged
because she loves him – she got engaged because her grandmother
told her to. My nephew’s engagement was received with joy and thanksgiving – Tuit’s
engagement was met with disbelief and sorrow. My nephew chose to get
married – Tuit was ordered to get married. The engagement was done
in secret – not even her mother knew. I reel from it all – Tuit
knows that her life will not be easy – her fiancé is an
American Khmer – new culture, new ways – and no one to share
her life with except for the man she chose to marry. We talk of loneliness,
of hardships, we talk of having babies – Tuit’s response
tends to frightens me most – she will do it because grandma wants
her to.
The culture shock continues – hockey was a big part of our experience
in Canada – Miriam knows who the Ottawa Senators are - she watched
several games with her auntie and uncle – she knows who’s
the best player and who is the worst – she knows that the Senators
always come close to the Stanley Cup but never quite make it. We come
to Cambodia and no one knows about hockey or about the Senators – we
talk about rugby and the All Blacks – Miriam is a bit miffed as
no one shares her new found passion for a sport called hockey.
The culture shock continues – we lived well in Canada – the
house we stayed at was very nice, the food, the best, the toilets – well,
they were a bit cold. As we drive through the city each morning and the
rain falls around us, Miriam sees some little ones huddled under a plastic
sheet. Is that all they have mom, she asks with tears in her eyes. Why
mom, why?
The culture shock continues – In Canada we met so many people – they
surrounded us and were delighted that we were there. They asked the questions – why – why
are people so poor. And they had answers – too many too count – why
don’t they work, why don’t they borrow, why, why, why. In
Cambodia we walk through one of our communities that we work in – people
come out and greet us – we are surrounded by people – they
are delighted to see us – they point to what they have achieved – some
new clothes, a new roof, a cow, a pig, a new baby – they laugh
as I slip in the mud – they shower me with laughter and joy that
I had come to share a few moments of their lives. They are thrilled with
so little. And I ask myself why.
It is so very good to go – to renew relationships and make new
ones. It is so very good to be back – to renew relationships and
to make new ones.
Thank you to each of you for your faithfulness to Miriam
and I – whether we are here or whether we are there. I thank my
God for culture shock; I thank my God for each of you.<> Janne
March 28, 2007
Dear friends and partners,
Its been quite a wonderful month for us – 90 of our families got
a new home – for the children of these families, a good night’s
sleep is now a reality because they can all sleep inside the house with
mom and dad – no more sleeping in the open, in the dark, listening
for noises and wondering what it is – a snake, a cow, a robber.
Its starting to rain again, for these 90 families it no longer matters – they
no longer will sit up all night with their children, huddled in a corner,
miserable and wet – waiting for the morning sun. This morning two
of the moms came into my office – these women both live with AIDS – their
faces shone with happiness, their bodies quivered with joy. Oh so very
good.
This month we celebrated with several Rotary Clubs
from Taiwan and Japan for the gift of water for 2,665 families who had
received 533 wells from them. It was good to see how some families had
vegetable gardens, others pigs and yet others with chickens – it
was good to see the clean faces and the shining hair. It was even better
to see these same gentlemen come from afar to hit a few nails and meet
a few families.
It was so good to celebrate with 30 of our families
who had just bought new clothes – Khmer New Years is rapidly approaching
and for the first time, these families were preparing with new clothes – the
kids are bubbling with excitement, they told me of the food they would
celebrate with – I am not so sure it would be to my taste but their
anticipation is to my taste.
In two days time, my daughter Miriam and I are traveling
to Canada for a month long celebration of work we have done with our
friends and partners from Canada. It was a celebration last weekend as
Miriam was in her first school play presented in a real theatre. She
did well as a hedgehog. Her excitement was tempered a bit on Sunday as
she rode her bike and did a 360 degree turn in front of boys – leaving
her with a road rash of epic proportions on her thigh – it could
be a long trip to Canada if it does not heal quickly for she cannot sit
properly.
We want to wish each and every one of you a Happy Khmer
New Years – the staff will celebrate with a week off work from
April 13 through to April 22, Nary will handle any emails.
I thank my God for all these celebrations, these moments
of joy. I thank my God for each of you for your constant support and
care for all of us here. We are so very grateful. Janne
February 20, 2007
Dear friends and partners,
It seems like so very long ago, in 1994 that I answered
a call from my God to start Tabitha Cambodia. That call was not an easy
one, it meant giving up all that I had in so very many ways. It meant
going against worldly wisdom - going against voices that urged me to
be more rationale in my approach to life. Instead I believed that my
God would keep His promises – which were that I would never be
in need, that the family I gave up would be enhanced with one of my own
and that I would have a place to call home.
Over the years, I have never done without – in 1999, I became a
mom and now, in 2007 – hopefully in two weeks, I will move into
a house that will be my home. The people that gave that gift of a home
spoke of grace, of giving me a place where I could grow old without fear.
It was not an easy gift to accept for it is a gift of great value – a
gift from a Gracious God who never fails in His promises. That my God
works through so many others is the miracle of my life.
Its Chinese New Years this week – people who should be finishing
my new home are off visiting their families. It’s very frustrating
as my rented home must be vacated by the end of the month and my toilets
are not yet functioning, the house is not yet painted and the woodwork
has only begun. I am assured that all will be well.
Out of my frustration I went to visit some of the families
that we work with. I met Seng, a 12 year old boy with his family. Seng
was laughing – his eyes were wide with wonderment – his family’s
home is made of grass, it’s very small, it has no electricity and
no toilet – yet he was laughing. You see, his family got their
savings this week and for the first time in his young life, his mother
bought fish sauce. All his life, his meals consisted of rice and salt,
when there was enough money. He had begged his mother so many times to
just buy a bit so that he could taste it – this week, they had
a whole bottle. I asked him if it tasted as good as he thought. His eyes
twinkled as he said, ‘oh, I can’t open it yet – I want
to wait and dream what it tastes like – I have wanted this for
so long – I just want to hold it in my hands and look at it for
a few days.” Ah Seng, you make my frustration seem like nothing – you
make my life so good.
We had a team build 20 houses this past week in one
of our newest projects. On their return, several of the team members
were frustrated by the nails they had bent. They told me they were ashamed
of what they had accomplished. I shook my head and laughed – we,
the perfect people, wanting to give the perfect house, to people who
see miracles in the homes they have received. The families who have received
these houses have learned that we are not perfect; they have learned
that we are the same as they, for we too, make mistakes. We are human.
And I see my house with its crooked walls and its imperfect tiling – and
I think, this is my home, because it fits me – with all it imperfections.
How grateful I am for this gift.
In two to three weeks, I hope to move. We are cleaning
out our collected belongings – clothes that Miriam has outgrown
and toys that are no longer age appropriate – we give some to the
Sisters for the orphans they are raising – the little girls prance
around in their new dresses – the boys build their own imaginary
homes from the plastic bricks. Sister Samantha smiles with pleasure and
gives Miriam a hug – Miriam’s life had its beginning in this
home - Miriam begs me to take home a little brother, a boy who looks
so much like her. For him, his home has been destroyed by an illness
that took his mom – his father visits each week but he too, is
very ill. We cannot take him, for although his home is no longer there – the
love of his father sustains him. And I think of my frustration and I
am ashamed.
My God has asked me to live in faith – to live in trust – He
has promised that He would provide. My God has given me each of you – and
I am content. Thank you for being a part of my life, for being a part
of all of our staff, of being a part of all our families. You are our
miracle. Janne
January 18, 2007
Dear friends and partners,
Happy New Years to each and every one of you. It’s a very good
beginning for us this year as we begin our work after being closed for
holidays. We came back to being able to work freely as there are enough
funds to meet everyone’s needs. What a blessings you have brought
to so many here.
Last year, I wrote several newsletters, in March I
wrote about our new sewing group that are living with AIDS. In December
I wrote about our theft through our security people – and my despair
that this should happen. After this threat – we revised our security
at the office. Now everyone must have a Tabitha security card – it
includes a picture, name, and our official stamp. I had resisted this
for so many years as I like to live in trust.
I often hear the Biblical phrase that out of bad there
is always something good. Our ladies living with AIDS found it very difficult
to rent a place to live – people were afraid of them. Landlord
after landlord turned them away because they have AIDS. The women couldn’t
keep their children, they couldn’t have a family. Each night they
found sleep in a shelter – not a place to call home, not a place
to be free – but a place to sleep.
When we issued the security cards – miracles began to happen – all
of our women found a place to rent. The landlords would look at the cards
and see that these were women had work, had value. These were women who
were worthy of being rented to. I shake my head in disbelief – and
then shudder with joy. What had been so terrible is turning into a blessing
that I would not have thought of. These women who though they lost all
now rejoice as their children can come to a place called home.
In 2005, I wrote about two young ladies who have no
citizenship in any country. The first time we paid them for their work,
they stood in disbelief and wanted to give us some money back – they
said it was too much money. Their parents were desperately poor – badly
in debt because of medical problems. The young ladies were determined
that the debt would be repaid. It took a year and that was done. In this
last year, both young ladies have been able to send enough money for
their families to rent land and to build a small home - this year, both
girls are traveling home in April for the New Years celebration – they
need to cross borders without a passport – a very risky task -
their new ID card gives them identity – they can travel without
fear – “we want to celebrate life with our families” they
tell me.
Over this week and next, 65 of our families will get
a home from ten teams that are here. I met several of these families
who last year had no hope – they were despaired because they had
no papers – they had no land. Our staff worked hard to change that
and land was bought and or given – with real papers. As the houses
are being built – the family’s hopes become reality – we
are somebody, a woman told me, we are important.
I have a faith – I have a faith that all people – irregardless
of color, race or creed, irregardless of wealth or poverty, irregardless
of education or lack of it – are of equal value before my God.
Each of you makes that faith real – each of you believes in people
that you have not seen or never met. You stand with us from your heart – you
touch others in faith. Rejoice with us – for so many people here
have felt that sense of value – of equality because you cared.
May the year 2007 be a year full of the blessings that you have given in faith – may these blessings be multiplied and returned as blessings to each of you.
Happy New Years to each of you.
Janne
