.
The Tabitha Foundation is a benevolent trust, founded in 1994 to support aid efforts begun and organized by Janne Ritskes. Our field activities are centred in Cambodia, whose people were decimated by a regime which promoted enforced starvation, mass executions, slave labour and wholesale dislocation to such a degree that the social, moral and economic fibre of the country was left in tatters.
The integrated development initiatives include work in health care, education, sanitation (water, sewage), housing, small business and co-operatives. These efforts enable the poorest of the poor to improve their health status, rebuild shanties into homes, have their own toilets, clean water, and drainage systems, reconstruct roads, develop their own small businesses or become workers in cottage industry programs and learn to work together as a community.
Central to the Tabitha Foundation is the conviction that our work should foster this sense of community among the local population. To this end the projects always involve the instruction of indigenous trainers who, by example and teaching, work to restore control to communities themselves and guide the work towards self-sustainability. The goal is always to help create a healthy, viable community to allow human beings to realize their full potential.
All members on the Board of the Tabitha Foundation in Canada are volunteers and receive no remuneration, ensuring that all donations and a high percentage of the sales from the Cottage Industry go directly to Cambodia.
We have no positions open for employment. Our sole "employee" is Janne Ritskes, a citizen of both Canada and Cambodia, who manages the operations in Cambodia with a staff composed entirely of Cambodians, trained by her.
Since then, inspired by the work of Janne Ritskes in Cambodia, many
others have added their support through donations, selling cottage
industry
products, sending house building teams, sponsoring the drilling of
wells.
In addition to many individuals world-wide supporting the work of
Tabitha
Cambodia in one way or another, we now have:
Tabitha Foundation
Australia
Tabitha
Australia
Tabitha Foundation Singapore
Tabitha
Singapore
Tabitha Foundation United
Kingdom
Tabitha
UK
Tabitha Foundation USA Tabitha
USA
Tabitha Foundation New Zealand Tabitha New Zealand
Tabitha was working during this year with 33,364
families involving 266,321 people.
They saved a total of $ 1,290,895 USD towards their
dreams.
Tabitha was able to say "well done" to these families, by paying out
10%
interest reward.
We graduated 5,759
families
this
year – a very painful and difficult process as we have come very close
to these families over the past 6-7 years. We have watched
them change their lives from ones of despair to ones of hope and
dignity; from lives of destitution to lives filled with meaningful work
and relationships.
Presently there are 51 staff, (not
including
Cottage Industry) all of them Cambodians. The staff administer
the
various Programs
Most of the staff are involved full time in Development and Savings.
They spend 90% of their time in the communities, training, enrolling,
encouraging
in savings, housing and wells.
The staff in Cottage Industry spend 100% of their time training
new workers, preparing crafts to give out to home workers, quality
control
of finished crafts, packaging and delivering crafts for sale.
A few staffs are support people which includes the director Janne
Ritskes,
the guards and maintenance.
Development and savings programs:
Funds are spent for salary of staff, transportation,
administration,
in eleven provinces: Kandal and Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Prey Veng,
Kompong
Som, Takeo, Kampot, Banteay/ Meancheay,Kompong Speu, Svay Rieng,
Kompong Thom, Channang: $792,723USD
10% interest paid for the savings program: $ 129,090 USD
Total expenses: $804,813 USD
Cottage Industry is self-supporting. A
group of women
living
with Aids was incorporated.
Total staff : 27, total workers: 594
earning an average of $150.00 USD per month.
Cost for administration, rental of premises, transportation,
salaries
of staff: $94,876 USD
Production of crafts: materials and pay for the workers:
$563,165 USD
Total expenses: $658,041 USD Total income from
sales $546,068
USD
Housebuilding 611 houses built with 75 teams of
2,025 volunteers
Total expenses: $338,400 USD All costs were paid by the
volunteers,
building the houses.
Total expenses, not including Cottage
Industry and Housebuilding
$1,010,702 USD
Total income from grants, partnerships, donations $1,502,480
USD
Cost of help per family per year: $30.00 USD (Expenses $
USD divided by families)
Families usually graduate from the Savings Program in 6 to 7 years, when they have adequate food and housing, can pay to send their children to school, pay for medical expenses. They now have self confidence and dignity.
We give regular updates of the progress
of the
work in Cambodia and how donations are spent in News
and Friends
of Tabitha
Nothing however could be accomplished without the Cambodian people, who enthusiastically have embraced the Tabitha programs, are working and saving for a better future for their families and communities.
For more detailed information, statistics and financial statements send e-mail to info@tabitha.ca
|
Janne Ritskes, head of projects, has 20 years of
international experience
with integrated community development programs and cottage industry.
Her
programs and projects continue, having proven sustainable among the
poorest
of the poor in the slums of the United States, the Philippines, Kenya
and
Cambodia. See also Publications
for
more
detailed information. . |
Gordon Longmuir, Ambassador of Canada to Cambodia 1995-99
Not long after I was appointed Ambassador to Cambodia in 1995, I encountered a struggling grass roots non governmental organization called Tabitha, directed, seemingly effortlessly, by an unlikely Canadian saint, Janne Ritskes. The ambitious purpose of this project was to give hope to some of the most destitute of Cambodia's people in achieving sustainable and dignified livelihoods. Janne was a member of the advisory committee of our Canada Fund for Initiatives, and brought to it her own irreverent counsel, often refreshingly at variance with official aid doctrine, drawing on her unique experience with Tabitha.
Tabitha has helped Khmer families establish productive lives with jobs, land, homes, better health and sanitation. This has been realized in large part through the imaginative use of credit and savings, generated initially by the production of cottage industry products to be sold visitors or exported to expanding markets abroad.
Tabitha emphasized then, as it does now, self help and confidence in the future. It's work in 1995 was concentrated in and around the capital, Phnom Penh, with one outlet for its products. With a little help from the Canada Fund, the organization set up its second branch in Siem Reap, near the ancient Angkor ruins. Today, Tabitha has expanded remarkably, with a popular handicraft outlet at Siem Reap Airport and broadly based programs in Prey Veng and Kampong Som.
Aside from Janne (who has herself recently acquired Khmer citizenship), its staffing is entirely Cambodian and unlike numerous Cambodian NGOs, it maintains a remarkably modest demeanour. The Tabitha Foundation, from a small support group in Ottawa, has blossomed into a multi-country operation. In addition to growing international monetary support, it has attracted scores of enthusiastic volunteers from Canada, Australia and elsewhere for village building projects.
I warmly commend the extraordinary work that Tabitha has
accomplished
over this past decade, both in its own program and as a fresh example
to
others of what hard work and visionary management can accomplish in a
developing
country.
September 2002
Partnerships
/ Gifts for Special
Occasions / Corporate
Sponsorship /
Donations
YOU CAN PARTNER WITH TABITHA
FOR $120.00 CDN per year
or $10.00 CDN a month
Your support will enable
Tabitha Cambodia to train fieldworkers
who will work with individuals and families to
achieve their dreams
by encouraging savings. After 10 weeks of savings Tabitha
staff then
pays 10% of interest, supervises that the money is spent according to
the plan and then promote another round of savings.
It takes a family an average of 4-5 years to get out of poverty.
YOUR AID WILL HELP AND INSPIRE
SOME OF THE POOREST
IN CAMBODIA TO REACH THAT GOAL
Tabitha Cambodia has grown over the years from a small organization to one that has reached out to hundreds and thousands of the poorest in Cambodia. Our vision remains the same as the day we started - to reach out to the poorest in all provinces of Cambodia. To do so we must build a strong financial foundation. This foundation must be built on financial commitments made in advance and hopefully followed through by those making these commitments.
No one person or funding organization can make the entire commitment for the entire work we do. We must build a foundation built on a shared vision and belief in the programs of Tabitha and the people of Cambodia. The original vision was and remains that Tabitha Cambodia would be a partnership of people within Cambodia and individuals of the international community. The reasons are many for this vision, but the primary one is, that only when individuals from through-out the world come to know and stand with the people of Cambodia, will the people of this nation be able to overcome the trauma caused by the past 30 years of war, genocide, isolation and destruction. Only when we stand together, will peace be restored and justice renewed, for the cause will no longer be one of an unknown nation, but a cause of friends standing with each other - rebuilding and developing despite all obstacles and restraints.
The partnership is not a one sided partnership - it is not one where only one party gives and the other party receives. Tabitha Cambodia is built on the premise that all involved must contribute to this process. For the people of Cambodia this means believing in themselves and in their own ability to achieve their desires for a decent life - this is achieved through the savings program. - where each individual or family must overcome their despair or self loathing to one of self acceptance and worthiness - a task not easily undertaken after years of being told that they are "of no value " and "that to destroy you is no loss"
For those of us who desire to stand in partnership with these people, it means that we must believe that each and every one of these people is of value - to destroy them is of great loss. . It means more than just platitudes - it means making a financial commitment - 10% of their total savings paid as interest - a message of "well done" and recognition of the courage and will it takes to step from the depth of despair into a hope for the future. It means that we are willing to give the time necessary to take the very many steps required -that we understand that development is a process of years rather than days. It means that we are willing to know these people by learning about them, by coming and working with them, by always questioning and holding Tabitha and its staff accountable, not only for the finances, but for the program implemented. It means holding the people we stand with accountable for their development - it means the people hold us accountable for how we stand with them.
It means that we are committed to helping all who need our help - for those we already stand with and for those who are waiting for us to come. It means that we do not sacrifice one for the other - for they are all deserving of our patience, our time.
It cost approximately $20.00 US ($25.00 CDN) per family per year as they take their steps forward. We are looking for partners who would undertake to support an average from 5-10 families a year. We are looking for partners who would make a 5 year commitment - the average time length for a family to come from a state of absolute poverty to a level where a family is well on its way to becoming middle class - which means sufficient daily food, clothing, land, safe house, regular sources of income, transportation of some form, schooling for their children, access to medical care, access to safe potable water, toilet facilities and the ability to help others to go through their stages of development.
This program year of October 2003 through September 2004, we would like to begin this process of developing partnerships. Our vision is to reach out to 16,000 families with 131,000 people.
Our partners will receive regular newsletters. Those who are able we encourage to come and see what you have helped others to do. For some we hope this may be included in a specific trip to house build. Together we can change the lives of so many here - we can be a part of the restoration of the people of this nation.
For more information e-mail: donations@tabitha.ca
or mail to: Tabitha Foundation, Merivale Postal Outlet,
P.O.Box 65057, Ottawa K2G 5Y3 ON Canada
Team & Leadership Development Several large companies have taken the opportunity to run workshops in Cambodia - such as team building, leadership skills, and personal development. The standard of many of the hotels is world class, offering all conference facilities. However, tie it in with a house building trip for Tabitha and you come away with comments from General Managers such as "We came, we built and we left, forever changed." In contrast to a classroom seminar approach, a house building trip requires teams to shake off old habits and entrenched thinking and adopt new attitudes and behaviours. At the end, most people have challenged cultural and other assumptions, and are eager to make even greater changes to their business. See also: Volunteer House Building |
 |
| Sponsoring a Village, a District, a Project
Area, a Province. Sponsoring villages in the Savings Program provides a meaningful link between your corporation and the people of Cambodia. The Savings Program is a business model of success - families enter with nothing, and through savings and entrepreneurial efforts, they are able to break out of poverty and find self-sufficiency and personal pride. We will provide progress reports and newsletters about the people your company has helped, and you can encourage employees to add their own funds to magnify the impact of your sponsorship.The table below gives an indication of the vast numbers of people your donation will reach in one year: |
| Category |
Number of People |
Sponsorship Amount |
| A Village | 4,000 | CAD$
5,500 US$ 4,000 |
| A District | 8,000 | CAD$
11,000 US$ 8,000 |
| A Project Area | 20.000 | CAD$
23,000 US$ 20.000 |
| A Province | 40.000 | CAD$
46,000 US$ 40,000 |
DONATIONS
The Tabitha Foundation is a registered charity #88939 9598 RR0001
All donations are tax deductible. Please send any donations
to:
.
| Tabitha Foundation of Canada P.O. Box 65057 Merivale Postal Outlet Ottawa, Ontario, K2G 5Y3 CANADA or click on donations@tabitha.ca |
 |
Your address will remain confidential and not passed on
 |
Make a secure on-line donation through CanadaHelps.org.
All donations are in Canadian Dollars. All e-mail receipts are issued in Canadian Dollars. Your address will remain confidential and not passed on. |
| Faith, hope and the dawning of a new day
Janne Ritskes groaned, "What have I done?" as a 747 jet whisked her from comforts of North America to the slums of Manila - one of the darkest corners on earth . Philippine Morning is the story of how God changed that cry of despair to ten years of willing, joyful missionary service with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. In the desperate poverty and hopelessness of the slums Ritskes experienced the exhilaration of following God's call. Her amazing narrative paints a compelling portrait of missionary life in the most difficult of circumstances. Janne Ritskes is currently serving in Cambodia on behalf of the Tabitha Foundation, a Canadian Charity she founded. Her success in Cambodia has been noted by many and CBC Television is telling her story on Man Alive rather than a moment --- Janne Ritskes is making this come true for the people of Cambodia. Philippine Morning by Janne Ritskes $12.95 send cheque with your address to: or click on donations@tabitha.ca |
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CHILDREN'S BOOK Sunbat looks for a Papa This is a delightful children's book about a little boy waiting for adoption in a children's home in Cambodia. He goes out and asks different animals to give him advice what to do to to get adopted. Unique illustrations. Sunbat looks for a Papa by Janne Ritskes $
5.00 CDN PS. This story has a happy ending, not mentioned in the book. The real Sunbat found a Papa and is a happy, healthy boy, living in Canada. Please send cheque and your address to: or click on:donations@tabitha.ca |
| Snippets
from 10 years work of Tabitha
Cambodia, gleaned from the e-mails and newsletters sent out over the years. written by Janne Ritskes, edited by Jude Quarry. From the Preface: This book is dedicated to all who believed in us - the Foundations, the individuals and the organizations who enable us to do so very much. This book is dedicated to God, without whom none of this would have happened. Snippets by Janne Ritskes $20.00 CDN send cheque with your address to: or click on donations@tabitha.ca
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