About Tabitha and House Building

Tabitha Cambodia was founded in 1994 by Janne Ritskes, a Canadian with 30 years experience working in the slums of the United States, Philippines, Kenya and Cambodia. Tabitha Cambodia works with the poorest members of the community, working alongside Cambodians to help people generate an income to improve their lives through cottage industry, savings programs and community development. Since its inception, Tabitha has positively affected the lives of over 500,000 Cambodians and is currently working with over 30,000 families (>242,000 individuals) in eleven provinces as of January 2009.

Primary Tabitha Cambodia activities include:

• Community Development by encouraging personal savings
• Cottage Industry with products marketed around the world
• Volunteer House Building programs
• Wells for Clean Water

Tabitha is a sustainable non-profit organisation with minimal overheads and running cost. All funds are used to help the poorest people in Cambodia by running self-help programs focusing on personal and financial development. Tabitha does not give out money.

Tabitha Foundation Canada is administered by a volunteer Board of Directors. All donated funds are used for specific purposes (e.g. for houses or wells) or to expand Tabitha development programs to more villages in more provinces.

More information about Tabitha can be found at www.tabitha.ca

CAMBODIA TODAY

Cambodia has good weather for six months of the year, but during the other six months the peopleexperience extremes of either drought or flood; both situations dramatically impact on a family’s ability to have a sustainable lifestyle.

During time of flood, families are forced from their homes – (80% have houses made from grass or thatch on bamboo poles) – they lose their food, their animals, and their belongings. They are reduced to absolute poverty. During seasons ofdrought crops and livestock fail to thrive and the people suffer from inadequate food supplies.

Whether the situation is one of flood or drought, families need to borrow to start again; however, they are usually still in debt from previous seasons. It is a vicious and demoralising cycle. In Cambodia the reality is that much of the poverty is caused by families unable to repay their loans and losing their homes and lands in the process. If disaster occurs, there is no one for Cambodians to lean on; there is no State welfare system. Life for most Cambodians is precarious.

Families have endured severe poverty for the past 30 years, since the beginning of the Pol Pot era. In that era everything was destroyed – family, social structure, and infrastructure. The result is a nation of deeply traumatised people, but a dignified people nevertheless, with unbelievable courage.

Tabitha Cambodia is committed to help break this cycle to enable the Cambodian people to help themselves.

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Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world. In Cambodia, 36% of the population earn less than $1 per day. Of the total population, 80% earn less than $2 per day – an amount unable to provide a sustainable, healthy lifestyle.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:  PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

Many poor Cambodian families have no house and virtually no possessions. Despite this poverty, most families generate a meagre weekly income; it may be by collecting and selling empty plastic bottles or cutting grass for sale to a farmer.

Tabitha community development workers help these families to develop a vision of a better life and encourage them to join the savings program.

Each savings “cycle” lasts ten weeks. The savings are collected weekly by Tabitha workers and returned with ten- percent interest at the end of the cycle. Before starting to save, each family decides what they are saving for (their “dream”) and is encouraged to purchase that item at the end of the cycle.

Saving the equivalent of 20 cents a week soon allows the purchase of life transforming items such as a water pot, a set of crockery, clothes for the children, fishing net, a pig, a bicycle to take produce to market, etc. Some families save for a house.

Results           

Tabitha’s Savings program results in a direct reduction of the physical and emotional abuse endemic in most poor Cambodian families.  Discouragement and fatalism are replaced by accomplishment and hope.  By rebuilding the family unit, in time you build a stronger community.

Savings allows the people to break the cycle of

poverty and provides them with

INDEPENDENCE, DIGNITIY AND SELF-ESTEEM.

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HOUSE BUILDING PROJECTS

Some families in the Community Development program are able to save the US$960 required to build a house. For these very poor families, Tabitha co-ordinates volunteer building teams to supply the additional money and work under the direction of Khmer builders to construct a small house.

Some of the ongoing benefits to be gained by house building as opposed to just sending money are:

In 2008/09 it is expected that 75 teams will come to build 600 houses.  

Cambodia is an under-developed country. Volunteer building teams expose themselves to certain health and safety risk and should be aware that they will be working in unfamiliar circumstances and conditions.  Builders should be fit and prepared to undertake two days of manual labour in hot and humid conditions

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HISTORY OF VOLUNTEERS AND HOUSEBUILDING

In early 1995, Andy Payne, a teacher with United World College in Singapore, came to Cambodia and learned about Tabitha.  Andy wanted his students to come and learn about poverty through a volunteer experience.  Tabitha Cambodia responded to this request by developing the house building project.  The concept was to provide a learning experience that taught the recent history of Cambodia and to combine this learning with a practical experience of the impact on many people here.  This was to be done through building a small home for a family in our project.

The volunteers are required to pay all their own expenses; raise money for the cost of materials; come and build the house in the community; learn about and visit sites about Cambodia’s history and to take home their memories and share this with others.  Volunteers are encouraged to help find markets for our products as well as raise additional funds to help families in our community development projects. 

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BENEFITS OF VOLUNTEER HOUSEBUILDING

1.  To provide an in depth and meaningful experience for foreigners visiting Cambodia.  The team members will experience not only the tourist attractions but will come to understand and befriend Cambodians – both the poorest and the middle class.
2.  To educate volunteers about poverty and the issues involved – it is an education in the causes of poverty, the results of poverty and the solutions to poverty.
3.  To become partners with Tabitha-Cambodia in our outreach – team members, upon returning home, can become volunteer sales people as well as fund raisers for various projects.
4.  To give Cambodians an opportunity to teach foreigners the skills of house building - rather than being taught by the foreigners – developsa deep sense of pride.
5.  The families chosen represent the very poorest in their communities as well as being role models for their courage and faith in their own ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds

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COST OF HOUSEBUILDING

Materials used in house building vary from region to region and also build to build depending on the cost of wood at the time. 

The family is expected to contribute a portion of the cost, usually between $25 and $100.  It may take nearly four years to save this amount, and while it seems little to us, it is a huge effort for them.   Volunteer house builders need to raise US$960 per house.

Each team of builders is expected to make a commitment to raise funds towards the cost of building. The number of houses which can be built depends on the size of the team, and the time available. On average, teams of 16-20 can build 4 to 5 houses a day. Any funds raised in excess will be used towards helping more families in the community development project, in drilling wells for clean water, or building more homes if time allows.

A pledge sheet may be requested to help you track your fundraising.  When completed, please send a copy of the pledge form, along with a cheque for the total amount made out to Tabitha Foundation Canada:

Tabitha Foundation Canada,
Merivale Postal Outlet, Box 65057
Ottawa, Ontario  K2G 5Y3

email us

Donations are tax deductible, and email receipts will be issued.  Donations may also be made online through the website www.tabitha.ca. Please ensure that you indicate which House Building Team is being supported.

The money must be wired to Tabitha Cambodia no later than 6 weeks in advance of the building date. Tabitha is unable to refund any money once it has been received, as materials must be purchased in advance of a team's arrival.

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