Day 6 - Tabitha and Friends-International

Tabitha founder Janne Ritskes addresses the group

We visited the Tabitha organization this morning for our housebuilding orientation meeting.  Upon arrival, we were met by Janne Ritskes, Tabitha's founder.  Janne provided us with some background information about the recent history of Cambodia through her innate storytelling ability, which had us all captivated.

Following this, we learned about our housebuilding project in detail.  We would be building 8 houses in the village of Prek Sleng in Kandal province.   Janne discussed appropriate dress and behaviour with us to ensure we did not offend any of our hosts during our trip to their village.  The most important thing Janne emphasized with us was the fact that our day of house building was not about us.  It was about the people we were going to help.  She explained to us that there would be times during the day when we would be hot and tired and in these moments, it was more important than ever to remind ourselves why we were there.

When she asked us whether we could do this, the group responded emphatically and on cue that, "Yes, we can!"

Mrs. Shepherdson presents our donation to Int'l Coordinator
 James Sutherland 

In the afternoon, we visited Friends-International, a organization focused on building futures for marginalized children and youth around the world.  We learned about the various projects they offer including Mith Samlanh, which provides support, education, medicine and accommodation to 2 000 children every day.  We also learned  about their efforts to reduce donor dependency through income generating initiatives like their restaurant and retail store which are also used to provide training to street youth  in developing skills the skills required in the food, beverage and retail sales sector.

Back at the hotel later that afternoon, we broke up into our teams and strategized about the upcoming building project.  We also discussed the importance of staying hydrated and personal safety issues that everyone needed to be aware of.    I sensed some nervous apprehension within my group and reminded them that as daunting as their task may have seemed, that the building project would be an enjoyable and rewarding experience that they would never forget.

After a team dinner at the Khmer Surin Restaurant, everyone turned in early, so that we would be well rested for the following day.