Christmas charity for home building: The Tabitha project
When the school year ends, students usually let their hair down by running amok on schoolie holidays: swimming, getting sunburned, partying and getting drunk – all in that order.
But not everyone: Luke Moore and Natasha Naido, of Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, celebrated with a three week ‘’adventure’’ around Vietnam, Japan and, most importantly, Cambodia, where they visited the rural village school their fundraising efforts had built.
The project began when the Central Coast Grammar School students were casting about for a worthwhile project as part of an extra activities program in their HSC year. They had visited Cambodia on a school program previously and saw first-hand the charitable work of Tabitha, a non-profit organisation which runs self-help programs focusing on personal and financial development.
Back home, they decided to help the foundation and set about organising a range of fundraisers. These included a movie night - with ‘Skyfall’ the attraction, followed by a concert with help from the local council, a trivia night and a Cambodian food night. All up, the pair raised a commendable $26,500 over 10 months. Of this, $25,000 built the school and $1,500 went towards digging wells in a country where safe water is a priority.
‘’This time last year we held our first event and it’s culminated in the building of the school which has 200 students aged four and a half to 16 and four teachers,’’ Natasha, 17, said.
As she explained in a letter to Tabitha: ‘’We were driven for hours along the highway from Siem Reap and along dusty roads into the Banteay Meanchey Province. Pulling around a corner we were stunned to see 200 neatly uniformed students lining the road, clapping and cheering and running after the bus to where their school stood.
‘’We were involved in a handing over ceremony to the main four teachers and shown around each of the classrooms in which we were able to ask about their subjects and ambitions through the translator. Many of the students told us they wanted to be policemen, teachers and doctors which made the whole experience so rewarding.
‘’What struck me most about our visit to the school wasn't the large building, the sign bearing our names or the enthusiasm with which the students approached their studies. It was simply that the children were so happy to be going to school every day with their friends and learning about new things.
‘’In Australia - where we often take school for granted - a lot of the time we forget the simple fact that education is a joy. Although the facilities, opportunities and teachers were great, I have no doubt these children will succeed in their studies simply because they love going to school.
‘’I hope you'll enjoy the photos I've attached, especially the cheeky smiles of the students.’’
Natasha said the festive season reminded us of the gift of giving: ‘’For me it is a time to appreciate again the generosity of all those who helped us to achieve our goal in Cambodia.’’
Now, after enjoying the bonhomie and laughter from a sea of smiling young faces, she and Luke can relax and celebrate a job well done.
Ian MacDonald, director (volunteer), of Tabitha Foundation Australia, described Natasha and Luke as ‘’amazing’’.
‘’I couldn’t believe when Natasha first contacted me. She’d found out about us and our cause and was doing her ‘due diligence’ on us. I was amazed at her maturity.’’
He explained that the Tabitha Foundation, the Australian fundraising arm, focuses on three major activities in Cambodia to assist its poor, but rapidly growing, population: the building of houses for the poor, the building of schools for a rising school-age population, and the digging of wells, with a target of 3000 by September 2014.
Support comes from corporate benefactors, general fundraising, philanthropic individuals, and from those wanting to donate to a worthwhile cause, such as the man whose wife had died of cancer and who was eager to fund a school in her honour.
Tabitha – founded in 2002 - has minimal overheads and running costs. Funds raised help the poorest people in Cambodia by running self-help programs focusing on personal and financial development. As communities transform and evolve out of poverty, there is an increased need for schooling and this is where Tabitha takes on a different form.
MacDonald said a program termed “Family Development through Savings” - a sort of micro-banking program - was the key to Tabitha’s success in Cambodia.
‘’At any one time, Tabitha is assisting over 59,000 families - or 472,000 people - to save their way out of desperate poverty – getting them to help themselves,’’ he said.
‘’We go to the villages and encourage people to put aside small amounts each week, to set savings goals and generate a sustainable lifestyle.’’
So far, over 187,000 families – 1.5 million people - have ‘graduated’ from the savings program, MacDonald said, with participation a pre-requisite for inclusion in other Tabitha programs.
Community development is achieved also by providing employment and income by teaching and selling Cambodian handcrafted items, and house-building by volunteers for families who cannot afford a home. The aim is to transform lives to fruitfulness with dignity.
So far, Tabitha Foundation has raised more than $6.6 million – all of which has directly supported projects in Cambodia.
Australian property professionals, including Destiny Financial Solutions' Margaret Lomas, have also supported the program by donating time and money.