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2009 Updates from Cambodia
November 26, 2009
Dear friends and partners,
This week marks the end of the first UN held Khmer Rouge trial of Duch – the infamous head of Toul Sleng – a torture and death chamber of more than 14,000 Khmers. Duch has said he is guilty and he has said he is sorry, but these words have little meaning for the survivors for he also says “I was just following orders”. There is no remorse.
When I started Tabitha Cambodia back in October of 1994, the wounds of this brutal regime were still open and raw. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were still active in many parts of the country. People were struggling to make sense out of their losses – losses which included family, homes, education and their very fabric of society, their faith. We had decided to start cottage industry, a program that focused on providing work and incomes for families who had lost so very much. I decided that we needed to focus on traditional skills inherent in this society. Silk weaving was one such skill.
One of our first weavers was a very old lady, named Tuit. When I first met Tuit, she lived in a thatched hut. She was bent over double – she could no longer straighten her back. Tuit was raising 4 grandchildren – at 78 she should have had the luxury of resting her weary bones and enjoying her family – but her family were mostly gone – her husband and her 4 birth children had been executed by a regime that was only following orders. Her one surviving son had gotten married and had 4 children – the son and his wife died of AIDS – Tuit was raising the 4 grandchildren – 16 years old and younger at that time.
We talked of the threads of her life – raised in a happy home, learning weaving skills that created beauty – getting married and having a good home - and then it all ended with the brutality of the Khmer Rouge. Tuit revived her weaving skills – and the silk thread she wove became the income that helped her grandchildren to survive. The silk thread spoke of better times; times when life was normal and good, time when wearing silk spoke of the daily events that people were living. Each silk piece bespoke of the married status of women, of special events being celebrated, of a society that had customs and beliefs.
Several years later, a housebuilding team came and built her home. Tuit was so very touched – in Cambodia it means so much to have a home to die in. She was so very tired and wanted to move on. I asked her not to die but to live – to live for her grandchildren – to stretch the thread of life a little longer.
Over the next several years, Tuit taught the oldest child to weave and the income of the family was secured. The children graduated from school and all got married – the oldest one still weaving today. She is passing on her skills to her three children. The weaving allowed Tuit to live out her life with dignity and beauty. Tuit passed away three years ago at the age of ninety. She was surrounded by her grandchildren and their children. The thread of life continues – the thread of silk her burial shroud. For a few years, this silk weaver regained some degree of comfort in her troubled life – for a few short years – she could be what she was meant to be – a woman of beauty comforted by a thread of silk that bound her family together.
Tuit’s story is but one story of so very many – women and men who have gone through unspeakable horror – the silk thread has given them the strength to carry on, the strength to live for a while longer, the strength to regain their meaning in life, the strength to dare believe in life itself.
For each of you who have purchased an item of Tabitha’s cottage industry – each of you have carried that thread of life one step further. You have given life to so many for whom life was nothing but a thread. I thank my God for each of you – this Christmas season, may each of you give a piece of the thread of life – to those whom are attached to your personal thread of life. May the joy and peace given by each item suffuse you with the joy and the peace you have granted to others.
Janne
Tabitha Cambodia
#239, St 51,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
October 13, 2009
Dear friends and partners,
Yesterday was a day to remember. I received some snail mail – a booklet of thoughts about a Tabitha Housebuilding Trip – it was compiled by fifty grade 8 students who had come to build 20 houses this year. I had just finished orientation with two teams who are building this week and I felt a bit drained. I started to read this booklet and my spirits rose. I decided to take this booklet home with me – last night, my daughter Miriam and I read the entries- we hadn’t gotten very far before tears flowed silently down her cheeks. She snuggled closer against me and together we had a magical hour – both of us realizing how very fortunate we are to live the life we live. I would like to share an excerpt from this booklet – it is my way of honoring each and every one of you who have come and built houses for so many.
Jordan wrote: “At first I couldn’t hit the nails although, I was good at hitting my thumb. Every time I hit myself or my back was aching all I needed to do was look down at the little children collecting the nails beneath me. Or I would turn around and look at the men of the village helping put up the walls or even just take a glance at the mothers talking amongst themselves. Right away I would get back to nailing and wouldn’t dare complain. Doing something for someone other than myself for once, was enough for me just to get on with it.
I took so much from this trip. It was such a privilege to be able to make such a big difference to someone else and that experience will stay with me for the rest of my life. I complain a lot less now. Before I left, I would complain for the tiniest thing but now, I like to believe, I rarely complain. I am so grateful for the life that I have and I am able to fix this world, one house at a time.”
Thank you house builders!
It is what I needed – inspiration from all of you - for this week we also were able to finalize the devastation for some of our families caused by typhoon Ketana in our Kompong Thom Project. 2000 of our families have lost their crops, 3 of our families have lost their home. The area is still very wet as a dike broke from the river and it won’t drain for awhile. Our families are cooking what’s left of their last years crops on a dirt road. It is heartbreaking and yet – there is hope because 666 of these families have either a well or a pond. They will be able to re-grow their crops and they can rebuild – for another 500 families, hope is on its way – as soon as the water goes, we will once again, put in ponds and wells. All of our projects have suffered from floods this year – literally 25,000 families do not despair because they have access to water – water given by all of you.
With all of us standing together, we hope to install 1,488 wells this year and another 102 ponds. Taking a quote from Jordan, we can fix this world, one well at a time.
Thankyou God for my life – and for the privilege of serving so many – thank you for all the Jordans who help change the world, one house, one well, one pig, one set of clothes, one child in school…. at a time.
Janne Ritskes
September 2009
Dear friends and partners,
I am sitting here in my office listening to the patter of rain – rain and more rain – this summer has been the summer of rain. First, our time in Canada this summer left us 7 days of sunshine in one of the coldest, rainiest of summers in a long time but we enjoyed all that Canada had to offer. It was very good.
Since we returned to Cambodia in August, the rains have fallen in a steady, weeping fashion. For some of our families, the rain is a blessing – the rice will grow well this year if it doesn’t flood. For others of our families, the rain has not fallen. I traveled to Kampot this week – we needed to pass through parts of Takeo province. Here the rain has been sporadic and the rice is not growing – in Kampot – the rain has fallen in abundance – in fact, parts of the highway were flooded – we looked at the fields through sheets of rain – as the families asked for two reservoirs – these are large ponds – 25 meters square – that need to be walled in with cement. If done, the 240 families needing the reservoirs will be able to have year round crops covering a minimum of 250 hectares. Right now, they grow one crop of rice a year – hard to imagine as we stood drenched in the rice paddies surrounding us.
For Tabitha staff, rain brings its own challenges – for our country roads and tracks that are used to get our families have turned into a morass of slippery goop. I know, I have walked in the mess, I have been given a lift on the back of a carabao – I am getting too old for this - I have been on a wagon moved by a rotor tiller – we slid into the ditch several times but we survived. Despite the hardships the staff is eager to show what they have done. What a remarkable group of people.
August marks the end of our program year and we look back and see what you and I and all of Tabitha staff have done. It’s been an amazing year. We had 83 teams of volunteers come from all over the world and they built 887 houses. Our biggest team ever of 150 people built 45 houses in one day – an experience to be remembered but not done too often. Another 659 families were able to construct their own homes.
Our cry for water in the form of wells and ponds was supported and enabled by so many of you. This past year, 1165 wells were dug enabling over 4500 families to a way out of poverty -another 79 ponds were dug to enable 101 families to thrive – each of the families have increased their earnings from an average of $30 per month to an average of a minimum of $200.00 per month. It’s not just the earnings – it is their health that has improved – their bodies are stronger and their eyes are shining as they not only sell what they grow but also eat the food. What, for me, is so humbling is to see so many of our husbands and fathers staying home because there is work to be done. 4,188 families were able to buy water jars in which to store water for home use. How good it is!
The simple basics of life were achieved by so many of our families – an unbelievable 18,626 families improved their lives with better food – meaning being able to eat a variety of food, three times a day. A remarkable 31,696 of our families were able to buy such things as pots and pans, dishes, blankets and towels, mosquito nets and so much more – things we take for granted but for our families are all steps out of despair. 4,649 families were able to pay for medical expenses and 1841 of our families had children who were able to get married.
4,476 of our families were able to buy a battery so they can have light each night – more than 176,000 of our children went to school this year – 7,200 plus families raised animals of some sort - pigs, chickens, fish and cows,- over 13,000 families are growing vegetables and or rice this year because of all of you.
And the list goes on – despite the financial crisis and despite the dramatic downturn in tourists – our cottage industry sales provided enough work for all our workers – year round. The sales are down but we could provide good work for everyone. How very thankful we are for that gift.
We have started our new year and we have visions of helping another 33,000 families move their way from despair to hope, from sorrow to joy. We cannot do it without each of you.
Thank you for the blessings of the year that has just ended. We look forward to the blessings all of us together will bring to many who have none. I thank my God for such a privileged and wondrous life.
Janne Ritskes
June 4, 2009
Dear friends and partners,
What an exciting month it has been for us. The response to the shopping bags, our eco warrior system for the environment, plus work for so many of our women, ended up in us selling 1200 pieces in the first month. I pray that this trend may continue for many months.
We have had a number of firsts, unusual events that have touched my heart. Bruce Ford, an Australian friend, ran the first ever marathon for Tabitha. Bruce entered an event called Racing the Planet, a 7 day marathon in the heart of Namibia. The race was very tough and Bruce struggled but he never quit. At the end of the week he ended up in the hospital with a severe infection in his leg. Bruce raised nearly $50,000.00 Australian dollars for Tabitha. His race so reflected the people he raced for, people who struggle constantly and never quit. Thank you Bruce!
Another partner of Tabitha, Dan Hammond, participated in a Triathlon in support of Tabitha. The final figures are not yet in but he raised several thousand dollars. Dan’s participation involved determination, pain and struggle, but like Bruce he never quit. Dan reflects on the people he supported, people who are often in pain, they struggle but they don’t quit. Thank you Dan.
This week I visited a family of 6, desperately poor. They have 2 hectares of land but the land is very poor quality – it cannot grow rice as the water just seeps through the pebbly soil. The family got a field well a month ago. The father cried. He cried not because he was tired or because he was defeated, he cried because he had hope, he cried because he could work. I saw their fields yesterday. It was amazing. Every inch of his fields was sprouting with new life. His wife Sokha carried her youngest in her arms, her face was shining, her eyes spoke volumes of the joy she felt. The parents and their 4 young children tilled and planted every inch of their fields. Their house is nothing but a simple shade from the sun and all their hard labor is bearing fruit. Harvest will begin in June and they expect to make several hundred dollars from each field. Sounds so little to most of us but for this family it is riches beyond their imagination.
A youngster Danielle had her birthday last week. She didn’t want presents, she asked instead for money, money to be able to help a family in Cambodia. Danielle went housebuilding 2 months ago and Danielle, like so many of our young Tabitha supporters, gave of herself, through a birthday present for others. I know of so many young people who have done this and because of each of these young people so many young people here like Vutha’s 3 older children can now to go school.
Miriam and I are leaving for Canada this weekend. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends, first time for a whole month off in 16 years for me. I am excited. It’s been a long struggle, it can be painful, but none of us at Tabitha have ever quit.
I look at all of this with wonder. How can my God have blessed me so richly. How privileged I am to have each of you in my life, each of you who give in so very many ways. I could write volumes about what each of you have done. I can write volumes about the lives each of you have touched. Thank you my friends, you are an amazing group of people. Talk with you again in August.
Janne
May 4, 2009
Dear friends and partners,
This month is May – a month where we celebrate workers with May Day and we celebrate mums with Mothers Day. As a mum, I am so very blessed – a beautiful daughter that is a delight and who delights in life. I don’t worry very much about how to feed and clothe her, or how to educate her – how to enable her to experience all aspects of life – the good and the bad. I have choices in all aspects. As I said, I am so blessed.
But that is not true for so many mothers that surround me. So many whom have children that they love, children who must be fed and clothed, children who need shelter and education, children who need to experience life – both the good and the bad. 2 weeks ago we remembered the advent of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the subsequent genocide and isolation of Cambodia. I look at these mums and I cannot find one who has not lost the right to family, to growing up with choices, the right to live in a home, even the right to eat. All of them have lived lives that have shattered whatever normal life they should have enjoyed. So I count my blessings.
This month of May, I hear all around me the pains of frustration and anger, the pains of not knowing what the future holds for so many of us because of the world wide financial crisis. This month of May, I look at the mums closest to me – those who weave our silks and sew our products - we have been affected by the troubles in Thailand and tourism and walk in customers have dropped to a trickle. All around us I hear of other mums who have lost their jobs as factories close and businesses go under. And I think to myself, how blessed am I – how do you and I bless others and I came up with an idea.
In April the world celebrated Earth Day and I heard all about how plastic bags add to the problems of global warming. And I thought to myself, how we can be environmental warriors while at the same time enabling our mums to maintain their dignity and ability to provide for their families.
The solution is a simple one – shopping bags made from silk organza – silk woven by 400 of our mums and sewn by another 100 of our mums. If each one of us – you and I - could sell 100 pieces to our friends and family, what an impact that would be. Silk organza is a natural product which is very biodegradable but which is also strong and lightweight – silk organza grocery bags would provide work for over 500 women – giving them the choices all of us mums would like to have. At $5.00 a bag – it’s a price that brings peace and security – dignity and worth.
What if all of us made that commitment? Perhaps as a school – as a project which enables women to live lives of dignity and to protect the environment – perhaps as a club or a church group – perhaps as a business - perhaps as individuals – what impact could we have? And so this month when we celebrate Mothers Day – I bring my mums before you.
I am so blessed and I thank my God for His mercy in this. I thank each and every one of you that I can come to you with yet another request.
Janne
March 6, 2009
Dear Friends and Partners,
Yesterday was one of those days that make everything worthwhile. I went to see our programs in Kompong Thom. Apo, my manager there, took us to see a village called Preah Nongkor. My first impression was one of total dismay. The dirt track we traveled on kept getting smaller and smaller. We were surrounded by scenes of utter desolation. The fields were dry and dusty and the homes of people were small and decrepit. I thought, oh no, how can it get worse. We visited a few families and the stories were all the same. Husbands were gone to work on the Thai border; there was no work near home. The fields were empty and dusty. The old folks and a few moms were struggling to keep it all together. The children were malnourished and dusty. It was all a bit too much.
In the midst of this desolation was an emerald of green. Several small plots of land were growing rice. What is this, I asked Apo? This is what I wanted you to see, she said. As we go out of the car, we walked through the rice. We came to two of the small decrepit homes. As we walked past the houses, two families were there. They had the biggest smiles, waiting in anticipation for what they would show me. There before me was a pond. It was 5 meters deep, 5 meters wide and ten meters long. It was surrounded by a wall of dirt, removed to make the ponds.
The pond was almost empty and the husband was gathering fish from the muddy bottom. They had their speech ready. Remember last year when we talked about ponds? Apo asked me. Remember I told you that wells would not work in this area. The water, when we find it, is very little – enough to keep clean but not enough to grow food. I asked for a pond which would cost 3 wells and you said go ahead. This is the pond.
I looked around me. The rice was almost ready for harvest, the husband told me. I emptied the pond so that we can make it stronger and be ready to do this again. We raised 1000 fish. There are a few remaining. We wanted you to see because my family is no longer hungry. We no longer have to buy food at the market each day, food we couldn’t afford and so we ate just rice. Now each day we have rice and fish, and we have vegetables to go with it. The wife spoke up quietly – now my husband is home, there is work for him here. I am safe.
I kept staring with amazement at what I saw and listened with a heart bursting full of joy. We brought you here said Apo, because the one thing our families have is land, an average of 2 hectares. But they have no water. They would all like to have a pond – a pond to grow fish in, a pond to irrigate their land; a pond that would give work to their husbands; a pond to give security to their families.
What is stopping us is the cost of a pond. It costs US$350.00 – the families are willing to pay US$50.00 from their first crops – if Tabitha would pay the US$300.00. I looked at their faces, I looked at the emerald fields around us, I looked at the pleasure of the husband as he caught a fish for me and I knew I couldn’t say no. How many families Apo? 500 families are in the program in the 3 villages that need the ponds. At least 150 families will want one, we have 20 families that are ready to begin right now. I said, go ahead and start for I could not bear the thought of returning through this desolation without some hope.
So I now turn to each of you. The past year has taught us what water will do. Our field wells are amazing as they turn barren soil into flourishing spots of vegetables – changing desperation and hunger into food and income, turning helplessness into fields of dignity and respect. We have learned that water is a source of life and we are learning that this water must be developed in many ways. So now we must do ponds.
I thank my God that I can come and share all this with you – I often use a phrase – who will hear our families when they cry – I thank my God that it is each of you who have heard the cries. $300 for a pond sounds so very much – and yet – this $300 can grant life. Thank you for hearing us.
Janne
February 6, 2009
Dear friends and partners,
Happy 2009 to all of you – we are always fortunate for New Years is celebrated at least three different times: The internationally celebrated new Year, Chinese New Year and in April; Khmer New Year. As with all new years’ celebrations – we think of the year that lies ahead and the new things we would like to start.
In Tabitha we started a new project area in the province of Kompong Channang. I had the privilege of seeing the new area last week. Once again I am reminded of how full my life is of grace. We saw many families for whom life is a daily struggle. The poverty and meanness of their lives is hurtful to see. In one small community we met 3 families living in one small house. There were 25 children and seven adults living in a space of 4 meters by 6 meters. I thought to myself, how long it would be before I lost my composure if I lived in such a circumstance. They didn’t have access to clean water – this community walked through the fields to a small swamp where they fetched their water. I thought to myself – how many hours would it be before I developed diarrhea or had sores on my feet that would become infected from standing in swamp water.
We met a group of ten widows – their husbands had all died from malaria or from AIDS – contracted when the men had to leave home to find some kind of work that would supply some funds to feed their families. The women lived close together for security – children of all ages surrounding them. They were sharing how they earned an income. They gathered tamarind beans from nearby trees and gathered insects from other trees – these were sold at nearby markets. It was hard to find out how much money they earned so I asked – how many nights do you go to bed hungry. One woman replied – we go to bed hungry 18 nights out of one month. I thought to myself, how many days of hunger would it take before I despaired – saddened beyond words that I could not supply the daily needs for my child.
A few days later and I visited a project area in Treang Trayeang – an area where we started 2 years ago. It was an area that suffered as those in our new area. This day we celebrated. I met families who lived in desert and barren surroundings the first time – families who now had many varieties of fruits and vegetables. I saw banana and papaya trees. I saw lemon grass and morning glory – a staple in Cambodian diets – I saw green onions and peppers. What struck me most is that I saw men at home – working their small plots – men who were honored to have me visit and proud to show what they had done. I tripped over pigs and chickens pecked boldly around my feet. I saw families together – smiling in pleasure at my visit. I thought to myself, would I have the strength and courage of these families – to work long physical hours – tilling soil that is unrelenting in trying to keep its treasures from mortals such as I.
We have so many dreams this year of 2009 – 30,000 families with 240,000 dependents over eleven provinces. I think to myself, how I will be able to help so many. I think of my God who has never failed me in all these years. I think of all of you who have never failed these people in all these years. I think of the financial crisis and how many are so hurt by this yet despite all the hurt, you all still respond. 30,000 families sound impossible and yet as I reflect – it has always been possible.
I thank my God for His grace and I thank each of you for being a part of that grace. Happy 2009 to each of you.
Janne
