We are always told how lucky we are but rarely can we comprehend the true meaning of that statement. It is not something that you can learn without experience, but with the help of Tabitha Foundation Australia that’s exactly what Cambodia taught me.

My house building trip to Cambodia was truly the most rewarding and eye-opening experience of my life. The trip began in Phnom Penh where I met the group of "builders" I would share my experience with. The backgrounds, ages and experiences of everyone on the team varied, but our reasons for the trip were much the same.

Before we started building we spent a few days "experiencing" the recent history of Cambodia. The terrible recent past under the regime of the Khmer Rouge – from the torture prisons to the Killing Fields. Not one of us could ever realise how much the children of Cambodia have been through. Cambodians have lost a whole generation: mums, dads, brothers, sisters, children and babies. Over 2 million Cambodians (25% of the population) died under the Khmer Rouge and all this happened less than 30 years ago. In our lifetimes.

Our building team spent two days building ten "houses" for the poorest of families, some who had never lived in any kind of house before. We built in the day until the early afternoon, the days went quickly and everyone including our "soon-to-be house owners" chipped in. We built 10 houses for 10 families in total – each family contributing some token amount towards the cost of the building materials—around US$20 or US$30, an amount which in itself takes the families an effort to save. After a few hot days and some sore thumbs, but much laughter and enjoyment, we handed over the new houses to the families – for me, this was the most rewarding part of the whole trip and it brought tears to my eyes to think that this little effort from me could mean so much to these people.

The houses that we built were made of wood and basically were not much bigger than most standard size bedrooms. One family, with seven children, will all live in the house together. There is no kitchen; no bathroom; no running water. But from the smiles on their faces and the happiness of the families and children, you would have thought they had just been given a mansion. To them it was much more than that.

The families thanked us for our efforts and blessed us with their prayers – to be blessed by these families meant much more than any gift I had received before. The beautiful children and gentle adults left me with the impression that, even though we don’t live in poverty, they have, in their hearts, so much more than we ever will.

To take very little of my time and see how much of an impact I had on these families and some of the children of Cambodia is incomprehensible to me and is an experience I will treasure always. I received from them much much more than what I have given.

Thanks to Tabitha, especially Jude and Doug Quarry, for helping me to help others. I hope my experience may cause others to consider doing or donating to such a worthwhile cause.

As Martin Luther King once stated: "Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?".