Newsletters

With our regular newsletters, we aim to keep you posted on all the interesting and important news and updates of our programs and various activities. Enjoy reading! 

September 15, 2014

            	
Dear friends and partners,
Every so often I get to see the direct results of meetings we have had. We have a number of families who have lost all that they own through illness. The most striking community is in Saang –Kandal Project. What do we do with families who have lost it all. 753 families reduced to living three families in a small shack – no land, no means of bringing in an income.
   
It was a daunting and hurtful visit. What do we do? We decided that families needed their own home and a house building team came and provided houses for a number of these families – the commune gave each family a small plot of land for these homes,  6 meters by 6 meters. This was good but their incomes had not changed – the hurt was still there.
       
 
                
We had a staff meeting – what could we do? It was very easy to walk away from the problem – pretend that it did not exist – they had a nice home – what else could we do? I suggested that we start thinking outside the boundaries – what could families do – some could do pigs and chickens – but most had no space for even this – how about raising insects – a delicacy in Cambodia, I suggested. Our staffs were not so sure about this.
Then last week I had visitors and they wanted to see the work. Tharry was her usual charming self yet she was also nervous – I want to show you something- she whispered in my ear. As we drove to the community of hurt –I was a bit confused – is this what you want to show – we walked through fields of rice and vegetables – so many families flourishing because of field wells – we walked by a patch of pumpkins and again I was confused – pumpkins during rice season? This is not good.
Finally we came to the village of sorrow – she brought me to our first home and there it was – underneath the Tabitha house were four cement pens and each – had crickets – lots of crickets – I was amazed – there was a nursery and several pens of almost full grown crickets . I was stunned – how many crickets –I asked – about 300 kilos worth of crickets – they are sold every 5 weeks and the cash income averaged $200 USD. A very welcome change to the famine status of so many of our hurting families.
   
I couldn’t help but laugh. Several other families were growing pumpkins – the favorite food of the crickets. We had noticed a number of egg cartons on our site visit that day – what are they used for – raising crickets – 12 families in one village – how good is that.
Life can be very hard for our families – sometimes we are not sure which way to turn. Sometimes innovation and lots of talk can turn the futures of those who hurt so much – towards a life of hope. Who would think crickets could have such an impact.
I am so grateful to my God for all He has created, I am so thankful for staff who take a risk and walk outside the boundaries; I am so grateful for each of you, who help make it happen. How good is that!
Janne
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Tabitha Foundation Cambodia                                and                   Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital