Newsletters 2018

February 2018

Dear Friends and Partners,

The past two months have been busy with visiting new and ongoing villages in our various project areas. It is such a privilege to see families join our programs – families for whom life is very difficult – families for whom savings are the start of process of hopes and achievements.

One such village is Cha Village in Kompong Channang – a village which we started in a year ago- it’s a beautiful location – an oasis in the midst of rice fields. It is a village where life is exceptionally hard but also a village of great hope and spirit. I have inserted the links to both visits

Kg Channang New Area April 2017

Kg Channang follow up Visit Feb 2018

What is the attraction to our programs is savings – families save a little each week for ten weeks – savings towards a desire of something that person wants –it may be a chicken or a towel – it may be water jars or school supplies for children – it may be to buy seeds or fertilizer – or bedding and new materials to build a house – it may be a bicyle for transportation or a battery for electricity - the dreams are endless. It’s a way of families and people to make a choice to better their own lives – a way to enhance their quality of life. It’s an opportunity to make life choices without fear or threat – they are in control – a gift they very seldom receive in their harsh lives.

Tabitha’s gift to people who save – who dare to dream – is the gift of encouragement – the gift of time to make those choices become reality – the gift of faith and dignity that each person can make choices and can achieve them. You and I stand in partnerships with these families as individuals – you and I believe that they are capable of choice – you and I believe that lives can change – you and I believe that each person – each family is worthy of our faith – of our encouragement. Savings and partnerships is the core of all that we do.

We visited several new villages in Siem reap where families make a living off scavenging the dump sites for recyclable materials – a job that we look on with dismay YET the families greet us with dignity and pride in the beginnings of their dreams – Yat Sen shared her story of how she washed dishes for a richer neighbor so that she was able to save a little extra that week.

I thank my God for this privilege I have of sharing lives with so many – I thank my God for each of you who stand with us in savings and partnerships – this year 10,000 families – it costs us $25 USD per family – you all help us to make that happen. Most of all, I thank my God for allowing me to stand with families as Yat Sen – people who work hard and teach me what it means to be strong and courageous despite the hardships of life. It can’t get any better than that.

Janne

PS – although I do not write as often we do post regularly on – please like us on Facebook and then you will be automatically notified of the many things that are happening in our Tabitha projects