2006-07 News

TEACHERS’ JOURNEY IN CAMBODIA

Instead of taking a break during the October school holidays, six caring teachers from ACT schools ventured to Cambodia to partake in humanitarian work.

Kate Page, Lee Amer and Melinda Hill, all from Weetangera Primary School were amongst the group who assisted with the building of houses in three villages outside of Phnom Penh for Tabitha Foundation Australia.

Dear friends and partners,

Someone asked me last month: "Do you realise the impact that you have?" I am rather humble about that – "Yes, I do know." I went to Singapore in the beginning of the month. I went to talk with several schools who give us phenomenal support and the week ended with a Tabitha Silk Fair – it was an amazing week in so many ways – we sold $94,000 in three days! Children would walk up to me at the schools and want to shake my hand – a number of parents shared the change in their children who had come housebuilding. As the week progressed, I began to understand that perhaps the rest of you do not understand the impact that you have. Today I would like to try and express that impact.

Ann Whyte and Ian MacDonald delivered a presention at the Community for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) last week entitled "Authentic Leadership, Ethical Decision Making, Corporate Social Responsibility and the Tabitha Foundation - when good deeds and great leadership go hand-in-hand."

The lunch, hosted by Insurance Australia Group, was an opportunity for Ann and Ian to discuss the October corporate program they are running in Cambodia, linking curriculum on ethical decision making and authentic leadership with the building of 20 houses in Kompong Som province.

For more information about this program, please contact Ian on 0411 021 024

Over 200 people crowded into a Walsh Theatre at the Cremorne Orpheum Cinema last Thursday to support an evening event, entitled, “Caring for Cambodia – A Neighbour in Need”.

The evening, organised by Fran & Rob Ferguson and Martin Sims, regulars at Balmoral Beach, was to raise awareness in the community of the plight of people in Cambodia, a country which has suffered so much pain in recent years.

Harriet Keane - Master Builder (Year 9)

Last holiday I was part of a group called the Cambodia Tabitha Foundation. Our family friends inspired us to attend this wonderful experience to build ten houses for some very poor people far away from the city.

The group all met in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Everyone got on well and it felt like we had known each other for ages. We met with Janne who told us a little bit about the history and how we should behave towards the people in the village. As part of the group we had to visit the Killing Fields and the Killing Fields Museum. That was harrowing.

In July 2007, I was one of eighteen house builders in a team building about an hour out of the southern coastal city of Sihanoukville.

My group comprised several families (a total of eighteen people) who all knew the team leader or had come into contact with Tabitha through the Australian International School Singapore (where I was a student in 2001-2004). The team raised over A$35,000 and built a total of ten houses over two days of building. Each house costs approximately $1,200 and the remaining money paid for an additional two houses, 20 wells, a micro-interest savings scheme for 900 families and an additional $2,000 for village development.