Building houses

When I first arrived in Phnom Penh last Wednesday, it was sunset and I saw something I had never seen before, an iridescent cloud, glowing in a crazy mix of nacreous colours.

It was a surreal experience for people were piling into mini-vans or waiting to get out of the airport while I alone stood stock-still, drinking in the beauty of the fast-morphing and fading colours.

I felt this was an apt metaphor for the recent bloody history of Cambodia. Instead of noticing the horror of genocide committed under our noses, we were people busy going about the business of living, oblivious to much, save our own immediate needs and wants.

And that is why I applaud people like Janne Ritskes*, who came to Cambodia in the 90s and who has committed her life to helping a nation pick up the pieces by rebuilding communities and raising the standard of living by enabling financial independence.

I sat through a grim and gripping recounting of Cambodia's history by Janne in the Tabitha Cambodia shop/office/factory and consequently visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek.

The magnitude of the number of lives lost (about two-three million in four years) was mind-numbing, and all I could do was pray under my breath as I walked around the same grounds where countless people were tortured and killed.

While I would never knowingly visit places where such wide-spread evil was committed, I can appreciate why the tour to the museum and killing fields was mandatory, for Janne wanted us to see the reality of genocide and perhaps appreciate the wounds that still live on in the faces and souls of the present population.

It was with great resolve that I ventured into the countryside with over 40 other members of my house-building group to build 40 houses in one and a half days and hopefully communicate to the villagers that they were worth the time, effort and money. They mattered in the world.

As I hammered in nails, dripping sweat down aching muscles, Janne's words echoed in my mind, "It's not about you, it's all about them," and I hope that in some small way, I have shown the villagers that just as there is evil in the world, there is good.

* Janne founded the Tabitha Foundation in 1994 to help the poor of Cambodia. To find out more about what they do, go to http://www.tabithasingapore.com/ and see how you can contribute to Tabitha.