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House Building in Cambodia |
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| Euroa Rotarians building |
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| Before and After. The old residence standing next to the new residence |
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| Money also went into providing wells to several Cambodian Villages |
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| Euroa Rotarians and friends building a house |
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| Rotarian Eric Lund playing with Cambodian children |
Some Euroa residents recently made up the majority of a working party who flew to Cambodia on October 10 to take part in a house building project for families in need.
Many of the group are members or partners of members of the local Rotary Club and the work was organized through The Tabitha Foundation.
The club raised and committed $20,000 to build 12 houses for Cambodian families in need. The money also stretched to purchase the construction of 43 wells, each well to be shared by 5 families.
The group took along 7 set of tools kindly donated and organized by Hunter Rural, Euroa and other community members. The saws, hammers, tin snips etc were used for the building and then left behind for the Tabitha Foundation to use for other projects.
The Tabitha Foundation reports, "Most families participating in the Family Development Program are able to eventually save enough money to buy land and the materials to build a house.
However, some very poor families cannot save the complete $1500 for a house; reasons include head of the family being a widow, single mother or landmine victim, or the family lives in a very poor area. For such families, Tabitha Cambodia brings international, volunteer building teams to Cambodia to supply the additional money and work under the direction of Khmer builders to construct simple houses."
Members of the House Building Group received an orientation, which included some cultural information and a trip to prison and the Killing Fields used from 1975-79 during the Pol Pot regime.
The group of 20 worked in very hot, humid conditions under direction to nail floor boards and secure cladding to structures erected by the foundation. The building site was in the Kampong Chnang province 1.5 hours north of Phnom Penh.
Participants in the project were all very moved by the circumstances and the gratitude of the families as they were given their very newly completed homes and invited to move in. The language barrier was not a problem, the smiles and gestures said it all!
The Tabitha Foundation says that some of the ongoing benefits to be gained by house building as opposed to just sending money are:
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During the Pol Pot era, Khmer people were made to feel they were of no value -some Khmers still feel they are worthless. When volunteers come from overseas it helps them start believe in their own value |
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Builders can combine fund-raising with the follow up hands-on building project. This gives a sense of how their funds are directly targeted to those in need. |
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Participants return home inspired by their experience of actively making a difference in another family's life |
Euroa Rotary Club President Eric Lund told the Gazette:
"It was a privilege to be able to contribute to such a worthwhile cause in such a tangible way. Rotary is an international organization, we get great satisfaction working to improve the community we live in. Some club members suggested this project, which has enabled us to, in fact, see how fortunate we are here in the Lucky Country."
The group took the opportunity to see more of the country, travelling to other cities and finishing up in Siem Reap and visiting the ruins of Angkor Watt before coming home.
