Report April06

Everything starts with an IDEA Thai Boxing Academy owner Bob Carver has taught the martial arts of Southeast Asia for over twenty years. Every year he ventures to Thailand, often with side-trips to neighboring countries. In 2003 Bob and his wife Wendy went into Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. The trip to see one of Worlds greatest man-made structures was spectacular. However, it was apparent how poor the area was in comparison to neighboring Thailand. After returning from the trip Bob saw an article in the fall of 2003 on a lecture being held in Ottawa by Janne Ritskes - founder of the Tabitha Foundation. Having missed the lecture, he visited the Tabitha Foundation website and liked what he saw. Since then, the Thai Boxing Academy has been involved with Tabitha. In 2004 and 2005, the Academy began holding small fundraising ‘Kickathons” which sponsored the digging of several wells. This brought potable water to families in remote villages. In 2006 Bob Carver wanted to do a bit more to help people in Cambodia through one of the many programs run by the Tabitha Foundation, and became interested in Tabitha’s House-building Program. Tabitha’s Programs are not hand-outs – they are helping hands – the Cambodians must help themselves in return.

On the front steps of their new home... a new place of pride and hope.

The EVENT: Rockin’ 4Tabitha 2006 The House-building Program involved raising US$860.00 per house, plus an additional US$1,500.00 which is left in a reserve fund for further development in the village. The goal was to be able to build at least 4 houses. A much, much larger kickathon would definitely be needed – until Bob came up with the idea of a “live-music FUNDRAISING EVENT”. Had we ever done this before? – never. Had we ever held a large fund raiser before? – never – but our feeling was “we’re just going to make it happen”. So, with that in mind Bob searched out a few venues and settled on the Hard Rock Café in the market.

The TALENT He then recruited four bands and “Rockin’ 4 Tabitha” became a reality. The event was headlined by The Hitmen - led by Les Emerson, writer of such timeless 70’s tunes as; Signs, Absolutely Right, I’m A Stranger Here, Moonshine-Friend of Mine, and many others. Texas Flood, Nice Rack and The Dropouts were also added to the musical lineup. Through pleading and hounding we procured several items which we drew as door prizes during the course of the evening. - we also had some very special items that we sold by auction. Several friends volunteered as “roadies”, ticket sellers and hostesses. The result was a great evening of live music, where everyone had fun, while raising money for a tremendous cause.

The Generous SUPPORT Our first goal was met thanks to the generosity of several corporate sponsors, the special auctions and individuals who purchased tickets to attend the event. We can not thank them enough!

Our intrepid builder volunteers... (LtoR) Mike Neu, Jeff Ritskes, Mary Ritskes, Mike Marshall, Bob Carver, Wendy Cunning and Nathan Weiss

Recruiting our TEAM... OUR second goal was to assemble a team willing to pay all their own expenses, volunteer their time, and actively participate in the completion of the houses. Our Team consisted of Mike Neu, Jeff Ritskes, Mary Ritskes, Mike Marshall, Bob Carver, Wendy Cunning and Nathan Weiss. A team of 12 can build approximately 4 houses in a day – we were short a few members but we were a very determined group.

Our ORIENTATION session... After very long flights to Asia by varying routes, the team rallied in Phnom Penh on Saturday, January 27th, 2007 to attend an orientation session with Tabitha Cambodia founder Janne Ritskes. Janne gave the team members a perspective on the recent history of Cambodia that led to the mass genocide by the Khmer Rouge. The history lesson was to enable our team to better understand the Cambodian people who had survived the Khmer Rouge. Janne told us – “this day is not about you – it’s about the people in the village - they have earned this right to own a house”. Janne explained that ‘our’ families had to actively participate in the effort to improve their conditions. Most families begin with a savings program, which pays 10% interest, enabling them to buy such basics as a bucket, or blanket. Simple things that we never would give a second thought about are, for some, luxuries. It sometimes took several years for these families to save thirty dollars to contribute towards the construction cost of their house. This day is all about them. They have the right to hope and a right to dignity. Again Janne emphasized that this day was not about us, and if we could not accept this, then please do not go to the village”.

All around us are constant reminders of a recent past filled with pain and sorrow

Becoming MINDFUL of the history around us Janne was adamant that we follow her instructions, which came from her many years of experience in the country. We were told that if we accidentally injured ourselves with a hammer (and it did happen several times) – we could not cry out or make a fuss as this would result in “bad luck” remaining in the house, and the family would not occupy it. So, we learned to voice our pain in other ways. We were not permitted to give the children in the village any toys, coloring books or anything else that we may have brought with us. Doing this would show favoritism to a child, and the villagers believed that this would result in something bad happening to the child. Many of the people feel that the Khmer could come again – that it could happen any day. Janne told us some children are not given a birth name until they reach their teen years as the parents feel the child could be lost at any time. It is a concept that is truly beyond our imagination. The genocide is such recent history that it remains in the forefront in many of their minds – that it COULD actually happen again. This really touched a chord with us because we realized that most of the people we met – from hotel employees, taxi drivers, retailers – they had all been affected by the terror of the Khmer Rouge. They had lost some if not all of their families during the Khmer rule. There were numerous instructions and we hoped we could remember all of them. We did not want to insult any of the villagers or cause disruptions of any sort. The rural culture is so much more different than our Western upbringing, experiences, and lifestyle, that this orientation was absolutely key to ensuring a positive interaction with the villagers. It was also mandatory to visit the Choeng Ek Genocide Centre (known as ‘the killing fields’) and the notorious ‘tuol sleng’ prison – a place of mass torture - both were very sobering reminders of the devastation wrought by the Khmer Rouge.

Chilling display of the killing fields’ horror.

The smiling faces... the cooperation and community support were all around us.

Our WELCOME committee The day of our build began at 7:00AM with a one hour drive (always dependent on the traffic and the road conditions) by minivan to Sampov Loun a village in the province of Kompong Speu. We were the last build team for the month of January and, although Janne had given us a prior heads up – we did not expect the scene that awaited us. Under a huge, recently erected canopy were approximately 300 villagers seated on plastic chairs. After a few smiles, waves, and wai’s (an Asian greeting of respect) we took our seats of honor up front (I must say that we were all feeling rather awkward to be seated at the front). The guest speaker was the Minister of Telecommunications for Cambodia. He was born in this area and could relate to the villagers’ plight. He spoke to the villagers, encouraging them to continue their work towards improving their conditions and quality of life in the village. He then thanked Janne and our build team. There is no electricity in the village so the PA system was powered from a car battery. This showed us what a tremendous difference there is between city and rural life even though Phnom Pehn is only an hour or so away – they were worlds apart. Janne formally thanked the villagers for allowing us to come into their community to offer our assistance. There were already a number of houses in the village that had been built earlier in the year by Tabitha teams. After the speeches were done, we were finally able to get to work – and work we did.

Two of our “helpers” coordinate from a lofty new viewpoint later in the morning.

Before and after... a new home to be proud of

Beginning the BUILD... morning shift The framing of the houses had been completed by Tabitha employees and villagers prior to our arrival. The houses are a single room approximately 12x15 feet in dimension, sitting on 6’ stilts with cement footings to avoid floods during the rainy season. Tabitha staff completes the majority of the construction for the safety of build team members, who often have little construction experience. Four houses per day is normal for a build team of 12 persons. This also ensures that teams do not need to travel to the site more than necessary, which would result in extra costs and time to Tabitha employees. Our team of 7 members was in dire straights – it was necessary to complete the four houses that day – but, as I said previously, we were a small team but a very determined one. These families had been waiting a lifetime for their homes and we did not want to leave the village without completing them. We hammered, sweated, hit our thumbs on more than one occasion, got bruised and blistered but by noon hour we had completed two houses with minimal self-inflicted injury. Two more houses to go – and the sun was getting hotter. One board at a time... one nail at a time... over and over again.

In the minimal shade of the blazing heat, we gathered our strength at a mid-day break...

By the end of day... the last house is completed.

Completing our BUILD... After a quick lunch break – we headed down a dirt road to find the other two houses and started hammering again. An hour into it and the blisters and bruises grew – the villagers watched and offered their help time and again. They were so considerate and helpful and we were sincerely thankful for their assistance – they passed us planks, hammered with small axe heads, trimmed wood with machetes – it was unbelievable. They were so anxious to have their homes completed. Their original homes, usually located next to the new ones we were building, were no more than small huts - unable to hold the entire family. Some of the children had to sleep outside the hut at night. This was the first time that these families would have a real home - a place where they could all sleep together and feel safe. They deserved to feel safe. The family uses the house strictly for sleeping in at night - while cooking and other daily activities are carried on underneath the house. During the last hour most of us were struggling with maintaining our hold on the hammer, (some of us became concerned about konking one of our co-workers.) By the end of the day, we had completed our mission. All 4 houses were finished.

A new home arises beside the previous one.

A pile of lumber on its way to becoming a home to love.

The happy faces of our homes’ new families made it all worthwhile.

We ALL giveTHANKS The Tabitha staff accompanying us assembled the families in front of the last completed house, and the foreman explained to them that we had raised the money for the houses, and had volunteered to come over and build them. We then gave each family a new quilt (another of Tabitha’s successful programs), and we formally handed over their new home. With many smiles all around, and some happy tears from build team members, we wrapped up our day with a picture with ‘our’ families. Janne told us that each family will be given a group picture. They will hang this picture in their new homes and they will pray for us each day – everyone can benefit from an extra prayer. We thanked them for allowing us this wonderful opportunity of visiting their village. They, in turn, reciprocated with five traditional Cambodian blessings: 1. Long life 2. A good complexion 3. Wherever you go you will be safe 4. Much strength 5. Much cleverness It was extremely emotional, and hard to keep the tears back – they were so proud of their new homes, and we were so thankful for having this opportunity. As we climbed into the minivan to head back to the city, the villagers all lined up on the road and waved good-bye to us. On the ride back home everyone was very quiet – alone with their individual thoughts about this amazing experience. Janne had told us of an incident where the spokesman of the families was a lady in her forties, 90% blind and raising seven children. She said, "I have never lived in a house and I thought I never would. Now I have a home. You will not remember us over the years ahead but on the day that I die, it will be your faces that I see." I thought about this on the ride back.

Late Summer 2007...

The BUILD continues... Connecting directly with the people you have raised money for certainly made it all worthwhile. I think we all came away with a new gratitude for how lucky we all are here in Canada. We were able to help these four families.

the Chhay San family (3 children),

the Tha Yeun family (5 children),

the Sok Mean family (5 children),

the Sokha Ran family (6 children)

Will we build again? Absolutely. The sense of giving back to a community is unbelievable. We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words but, believe me... those smiles were worth a thousand pictures.

SEE YOU AT... ROCK’N4TABITHA 2007!