Johm riab sua, Sok sabay’… ‘ Hello’ and ‘Happiness.’ Such was the warm greeting as we arrived to build within Kandal province. The plan was to construct six houses over two days. ‘No problem’ was our response (whether we actually believed it or not is another question!) These were the first houses to be built within the village of Srei Ampok, so naturally there was a great deal of excitement mixed with fear as the vans rolled up to the building sites. The Tabitha staff had been working hard with the villagers – convincing people that giving their savings over to this program could mean that their dream of a family home could come true. A lot of hard work on both sides got them to this point. The significance of the program was brought home to me when we allocated our ‘site’ on day two and in front of the frame was a neatly laid out vegetable patch.

Six houses in two days became a reality. The Tabitha staff - Heng, Somme, Pom, Thali, Sim and site manager, Nari, set the scene for us all. They were the ones to learn from, they knew the way to make it happen. This was Thali’s region and it must have been a satisfying moment to hand over these houses to the new owners. Hopefully now she can work with more families to develop their dreams.

The international team was largely a Singapore-based crew led by Craig Ower. I came across as an Australian ‘ring-in’ and, on day two, we were joined by a group from the British Embassy based in Phnom Penh. Thanks to Craig, Deepa, Sharon, Janice, Christiana, Gwen, Jaimie, Ben and William (Singpore crew) and the British Embassy crew for your part in this building program. The job looks daunting at the start but it always impresses me to see what a team working with the same end in mind can achieve. It was a good team and thanks for being part of it.

So Kandal province now has its first Tabitha-built homes. The message from the families was: ‘All the families say thank you - they are very, very happy. Say thankfulness to Tabitha and to the team because without Tabitha programs they cannot have a good life and future’

Next time we go back into the region I look forward to seeing the faces of the people that we built for as they show us the additions that they have made to these homes. The new homes are usually just the start and our journey into neighbouring villages showed us the changes that are possible with wells and the purchase of livestock such as pigs and ducks. We look forward to seeing the next steps towards your future.

The families that were involved in this building program were:

• Kha and Sok Me, with three children and auntie
• Heng and Ra,with three children and auntie
• Vong and Chek, with four children and grandma
• Yin, a widow with six children and grandma
• Soth and Sourn, with five children
• Chhor and Peach, with five children

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