It’s been a long standing tradition at CIS for staff members to spend part of a school break each year, building homes for families in Cambodia in partnership with the Tabitha Foundation. This annual trip is about so much more than just building homes. The families selected to receive a new home have committed and worked hard to save a portion of the money to fund the construction.

Tabitha’s savings programme is a cornerstone of the foundation, and vital to breaking the cycle of poverty. The construction of a new home is just one step in the process, which includes generating a consistent and reliable source of income through the farming of rice, chickens, and pigs. Our relationship with Tabitha goes back more than a decade, which is often the amount of time necessary to help families who are in the programme to reach a level of financial independence. Therefore, our house building trip is more than just a “one off”. It’s a culmination of hard work and dedication from the families we help and from the Tabitha Foundation, and is another step in the right direction for these families.

On our most recent trip over the October break, 18 CIS staff members and a few friends hammered away to build 6 houses for families in the Kandal province of Cambodia, providing quality shelter for 18 people! This year’s build provided some unique challenges, as rain in the days prior made the day muddy and soggy. Luckily, the skies cleared in time for us to put up the houses, before the skies opened once again to test the waterproofing of the new homes.

To all of you who supported us on our trip, we say, “Aw-koon” (thank-you)!

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