Pine Rivers State High School - Report on a Family Helped by Tabitha Koung So Phorn and his family live in the Commune of Sre Kror Sang in the Western Cambodian Province of Kompong Speu. The Commune is a refuge for war veterans, land mine victims and those suffering post traumatic stress. Phorn was a young soldier in the Cambodian Militia. He lost both legs when he stood on a land mine, fighting the Khmer Rouge during the civil war. As he cannot work, he relies on his children to earn a small wage working at the nearby farms. His family are very poor. Their old house was very small about the size of a double bed, which they shared with another family. The walls and roof leaked which meant that during the monsoon season, the inside was constantly wet.

Phorn and his family have been saving with Tabitha for 18 months. They thought they were saving for pots and pans and didn’t know they were saving for a house until a couple of weeks before the build. Phorn cried when Tabitha told him that a team was coming to build his family a house. Phorn and his family are very happy to have a new house as they can sleep well and keep dry. Now they can save to send their children to school and to buy medicine when they are sick. Phorn and his family told the building team that he will remember their kindness for the rest of their lives.

We thank Pine Rivers School for this report which typifies the way that the Tabitha House Building program completely changes the lives of poor Cambodian Families.

The Board
Tabitha Foundation Australia