Tabitha USA

Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

 

Q: What is the origin of the name for the Tabitha Foundation?
A: Acts 9:36
Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
   
Q: How long has Tabitha Foundation been in Cambodia?
A: The Tabitha Foundation was founded in 1994.
   
Q: Does the Partnership program work?
A:
CHOUM POUK EYKE COMMUNITY PROJECT RESULTS

The table below shows how life is improving for the villagers in Choum Pouk. The data show that there is hope, despite the increasingly evident scourge of HIV and AIDS. Education in health issues is an important part of Tabitha's work. Along with the table are notes from Janne Ritskes, Tabitha Cambodia's soul and inspiration, not to mention project chief.

From Janne Ritskes in Cambodia: August 20, 2002

Dear friends and partners,

As the time of year draws near to planning for our next program year which begins in October – we begin the process of evaluating our past work. It is a time of renewal and thanksgiving, a time for recognizing our weaknesses and celebrating our strengths. It has been and continues to be an extraordinary year. A year of consolidation and understanding; a year of forming long term sustainable programs; a year of growth. So how best can I begin to describe what is accomplished?

When we begin to plan our next year’s work, we do a baseline survey of our communities. It is the baseline that shows the progress. Let me share one community with you. The community is Choum Pouk Eyke, a commune we have worked in for four years. I let the numbers speak for themselves:

Choum Pouk Eyke - 1999  Choum Pouk Eyke - August 2002
Average family income:
.50 cents per day 		 Average family income:
1.95 per day
Debt to money lenders:
80% owed to money lenders 		 Debt to money lenders:
0% owe debt
 Family description:
Average number of children is 5
80% have both parents, 20% single parent 		 Family description:
Average number of children is 5
60% have both parents, 40% single parent 
 % affected by HIV and AIDS
10% affected 		  % affected by HIV and AIDS
30% affected 
Basic necessities - pots, pans, dishes, beds
15% have some 		 Basic necessities - pots, pans, dishes, beds
87% have all
Water storage
30% have water jars 		 Water storage
90% have water jars
Electricity through use of batteries
25% have batteries 		 Electricity through use of batteries
80% have batteries
Education for school aged children
1400 kids / 600 attend school 		 Education for school aged children
2000 kids / 1500 attend school
Transportation - bicycles
Families with bicycles - 32% 		 Transportation - bicycles
Families with bicycles -100% 

These are just a few samples of what we evaluate each month and year - the progress is astounding. What is not measured is the psychological impact on the people - when we start; the families are defeated and so very tired. To see us coming was difficult for them - it is so very hard to listen to hope when one feels none; it is so very hard to believe in oneself when experience says that achievement can be removed at a moment’s notice. It is so very hard to measure the courage they need to believe in oneself and in one’s family.

How do we measure the smiles and enjoyment at our visits now? How do we measure what it feels like to be welcomed as family - how do we measure the sharing of every aspect of their lives? In one way, it is easy - for it is a joy and a privilege to visit. It is easy to measure the lessening of physical and emotional abuse within the families - drops from 83% to less than 5% over several years in all our communities. It is a privilege to seem walk with head held high, with mischief and life in their eyes, with banter and snacks at each visit. No staff takes lunch to the area - the families take pleasure in feeding them.

Choum Pouk Eyke doesn’t want us to leave - a couple more years they plead - we would like wells and kitchens, we would like toilets and sturdy houses - we can do it if you stand with us - and the new families that want to join - what about them - the ones not easily accessible - the ones living in the back of the fields - they too, need your help. And so we stay for a couple of more years.

How do we measure you? You who stand with us in this work? You, who are our friends and our partners? How do we evaluate your help, year after year? Your financial support, your volunteering, your prayers and concerns for us. How do we measure it? We measure this through the thousands of faces that greet us - that show us what they have done - that share what they want to do - that care for us as we care for them.

We measure it in the new communities we enter each month - we measure it in being able to stand with them year after year. We evaluate all of you in the innumerable blessings and accomplishments of so very many.

I thank God that He has enabled all of us to do so very much and I am filled with thanksgiving and privilege at what He will enable all of us, families, staff, friends and partners, to do in the coming year.

Janne Ritskes
   
Q: How did the well program begin?
A: In late December 2001, we finished a very special project. In April 2001 when Deth Dara died, some of our partners from Singapore held a collection - this was to be used as a memorial for Dara – his wife Ani said, "Let’s use it for the people - they desperately need water - can we dig wells?" At Christmas time Janne Ritskes visited to see for herself these wells - she saw 23 families - people who suffer destitution - many of the families live in grass huts, several meters square, the poverty stark and painful - and near their shack is a new well with a cement patio - each family was already growing vegetables beside their homes - it was wonderful to see. Janne shared this with other partners and in January 2002, these partners came forth with money for another 25 wells.
   
Q: How many Tabitha employees are involved in the well project?
A: All of the staff, except for Kompong Som, is involved in well - digging in their respective projects - as well as the house-building - it’s a part of the total development program. We have 15 project staff.
   
Q: Who does the actual well installation?
A: We hire locally trained well drillers found in each of our project areas. That is why the quality is so good and the drillers know what they are doing - they are drilling in areas where the people know them and they know the people. There is a 6 month complete warranty on all wells dug and the flappers are easily replaced locally - families are trained in maintenance and up keep.
   
Q: How long does it take to complete a single well?
A: It takes about 2 weeks for the complete drilling, hand pump installed and the 1 meter cement skirt to be dried. Pumps come with an extra spigot for a diesel pump to be added for irrigation.
   
Q: How long does it take a family to save for their portion of the cost of a well?
A: It usually takes the five families to save their $30.00 about 6-8 months on average - some faster - some longer.
   
Q: How many families are currently saving for wells and with how many families is Tabitha currently working?
A: As of our monthly report from May 2003 - we have 1427 families in savings for wells - at the end of May, we are working with 10,027 families with nearly 57,000 dependents.
   
Q: In which provinces is Tabitha currently drilling wells?
A: The provinces currently being done are - Prey Veng - 4 districts; Siem Reap - 4 districts, Kandal - 2 districts, Takeo - 3 districts. We keep monthly records of each and every well - including receipts and pictures. We can provide this information on a monthly basis.
 


Note!
There are several districts where wells are needed but they are unable to dig for $85.00 because of volcanic rock - and the depth needed to be dug - these wells are possible but would cost $400.00 each as special drilling augers have to be used. These are as are in Kompong Som - 3 districts; Takeo, 2 districts, Siem Reap - 2 districts. We are unable to afford such an expense - and so those families will remain without access to water.
   
Q: Do floods present problems to these wells?
A: In some areas, flood would definitely affect their areas but then we generally dig in neighboring drought stricken areas - floods are caused by the river overflowing from rains in China and Laos - not from local rains although the 2 often coincide. All pumps are removable during the flood season and the well can be capped during the floods.
   
Q: How many wells have been installed to date?
A: This past year and a half - since last August - 305 wells have been dug affecting 1525 families. We have budgeted funds for 20 wells per month to be dug - in each province - we take turns by district and by villages so that every area has some but there are waiting lists in each district. Of course, for the families for the difficult wells - there is a strong desire but no funds.
   
Q: What access do most families have to clean drinking water?
A: Relatively easy access to clean water can change lives here dramatically. 90% of all our families do not have access to clean water - on average, one family member, usually a child of 10-12, must get up at 4 in the morning to walk an average of 3 kilometers to a community well - there he must wait his turn at the pump - usually returns home at 10 in the morning with 2 pails of water. This water must meet the needs of all the family members - all members suffer from constant diarrhea, skin rashes and sores; matted hair with lice - water is used sparingly for cooking, a wipe of the body, washing dishes and then for washing clothes.
   
Q: How does a well change a family's overall quality of life?
A: A well changes a family's life dramatically - children bathe several times a day, skin disease disappear, diarrhea is reduced to several times a month, diet improves with enough water to drink. The lethargy disappears.
   
Q: How does a well change a family's potential income?
A: Income is quadrupled through the growing of vegetables - in Bati where 6 wells have been installed for 30 families - each now has ploughed fallow land - each plants vegetables that grow in 6 weeks cycle - since February of this year - each family has planted and harvested 3 times - each has earned in hard cash between $150 to $200 per cycle or from $450 to $600 - before the wells thy earned an average of $150.00 per annum.
   
Q: How do the five families share the well for agriculture?
A: The families plan together - each family takes their turn to plant a different vegetable - so cucumbers, bak chay, beans, tomatoes, etc are grown by each family in turn - this keeps the price up and the land fertile. This was their plan and they have worked it out wonderfully.
   
Q: How many volunteers have been involved in the house-building project?
A: Between January 2002 and June 2003, 329 volunteers from 37 nations came to Cambodia and constructed 54 houses in project communities.