(Reprinted from Mobile 1 internal staff magazine)

Nurturing Hopes in Cambodia

It was the start of a life-changing experience for Ong Ai-Kiow when she answered Accenture’s call for volunteers to embark on a Tabitha Cambodia house-building programme.

Ai-Kiow shares her meaningful experience:

Q: What came to mind when you found out about Accenture’s request for volunteers to be part of this programme?

A: The first question that popped into my head was “how could I help when I knew nothing about building houses?” and “what if the houses collapse due to the volunteers’ shoddy workmanship?”.

Q: Why did you decide to volunteer your service?

A: I had a better idea of my role after listening to the team leader from IBM. I understood Accenture put in a lot of effort to raise funds to build four houses and it needed at least 10 people to form a team to go over to Cambodia. Eventually, we managed to get 11 volunteers, including friends of employees.

Besides, I was touched by the determination of the families whose homes we were going to build. Despite their difficult conditions, they managed to save money to contribute to the purchase of the land or building materials. Helping them put together the materials to build the houses was the least I could do.

Q: What were the necessary health measures that you had to take prior to your departure?

A: I had three vaccinations against flu, typhoid and tetanus. I also took medication for flu, malaria and a host of medicine for diarrhoea and vomiting.

Q: Who would live in the houses?

A: Priorities will be given to those who are most in need of a roof over their heads but most families in the Tabitha program will eventually build their own houses.

Q: What roles did the Tabitha staff play?

A: They conducted orientations, opened our eyes to Cambodia’s sad past and highlighted the do’s and don’ts during the building process. They also prepared the building materials before our arrival and went ahead to complete the groundwork for the houses like the frames and roofs.

Q: Did you encounter any difficulties?

A: The ladies were responsible for hammering nails and sawing planks. However, spending long hours on carpentry work was something new to me. So, I had a hard time attaching planks to timber that supported the houses. I wasn’t good at hammering nails in the right direction and eventually, had to remove those that were bent in the process. That was yet another challenge because there were numerous pairs of eyes looking at me.

Another factor that made the going tough was the weather. It was so warm that we had to take half-hour water breaks to combat dehydration and exhaustion. While doing that, we conveniently drenched ourselves with cold water too.

Q: What kept you going?

A: The resounding words of Janne Ritskes, the founder of Tabitha Cambodia. The first time we met her, she told us no matter how strenuous our responsibilities might be, and regardless of the number of cuts and bruises that we might get, we must never give up simply because if we did, the villagers would similarly feel discouraged too.

Bearing this in mind, we persevered with our tasks and kept a constant lookout for team members who might need help. Really, this mission would be impossible to accomplish if we didn’t work together.

Q: What did you gain or learn from this trip?

A: That teamwork was key to our success. Everybody was more than physically tired; we were also mentally drained. However, at the end of the day, it felt really good to know that we have managed to bring together people from all walks of life to work harmoniously for a good cause.

Q: What was the first thing you did after all the houses were built?

A: Photo-taking! We happily snapped away with the proud and delighted new house owners. After that, we visited Tabitha communities in another village. There we saw houses that were newly built and water pumps working to irrigate the fields and livestock. It was great knowing that every volunteer who made a trip there managed to make a difference to the lives of the friendly Cambodians.

Q: Did you visit any other places in Phnom Penh?

A: We visited the Royal Palace, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, one killing field and a temple. We went to Russian Market, Central Market and New Market for some cheap shopping and took a cruise along the river.

Q: Do you have anything to share with our readers?

A: I hope what I have shared will inspire you to join the house-building trips that SunCare Club intends to organise again. Feel free to drop me an email if you have any enquiries. I’ll try my best to answer them.