Dear Friends and Partners,

It has been awhile since I have written – my excuse is a simple one – working very hard to get the Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital ready for our soft opening held this past week. One of the blessings is having my niece Paighton Ritskes here to write of her experiences while in Cambodia. Paighton went house building – this is her account.

This past week I had the opportunity to house build with Tabitha. During my two-day build, we sweat, cried and some bleed but all of these things vanished from our minds the minute we got to meet the families who worked so hard to save for their dream of having a Tabitha home. They took such pride in their homes and their accomplishments, welcoming us with open arms into their community and into their lives. Starting this journey off, we were exposed to the rich and devastating history that Cambodia and the majority of its people faced in the past and in turn still face today.

I grew up in a middle class family in a small town in Ontario. We lived in a beautiful home, when I was growing up we had running water and never did without food. We lived in a safe neighborhood filled with lots of children to befriend and to help make the most of our time. This for me was a rich and blessed childhood, one that not many children in Cambodia grew up with. This was something that I came to realize navigating my way throughout the city of Cambodia and more so during my time house building in a small village in rural Cambodia. One thing that didn’t change was how kind and generous these people were to my fellow house builders and I as we embarked on a two-day build. We built a total of 18 houses for 18 different families who were not only proud of their accomplishment of saving enough money to pay for their home but they were grateful for our presence and excited to show off their existing homes, belongings and precious families.