Need 1

Problem: Cycle of Poverty

The people of Cambodia have endured severe poverty for the last 30 years-since the Pol Pot era. In that era everything was destroyed: family, social structure, infrastructure, spirituality. The resulting trauma of that period has left the people with a feeling of hopelessness and futility. Cambodians believe they are to blame for their situation-that somehow they deserve their lot.
Tabitha believes that to break the cycle of poverty you must first help the people to believe in themselves.
An important aspect of breaking the cycle of poverty is to break a corresponding cycle of debt.
Cambodia has good weather for six months of the year but during the other six months it suffers from either drought or flood; both situations dramatically impact on a family’s ability to have a sustainable lifestyle.
During times of flood families often lose their food, animals and clothing-they are reduced to absolute poverty. During times of drought, the crops fail to thrive, their animals fail to thrive and the people are reduced to inadequate food supplies. Whatever debt the family owes during these six months, cannot be repaid, leaving families without land or house or whatever else they used for collateral. The spiritual aspects of the unpaid debts often causes feeling of deep depression because, as Buddhists, they believe that if they die they will be reincarnated in a lower form of life.
Weather the situation is one of flood or drought. Families need to borrow to start again; however, they are usually in debt from the previous seasons, It is a vicious and demoralizing cycle.
The combination of all these factors perpetuates the cycle of poverty in Cambodia. To break the cycle of poverty it is important that an innovative program be implemented; on that seeks to rebuild a family’s self esteem and sense of worthiness, that enables hope during times of floods and other disasters and one that bypasses the system of loans and debts but still results in the lifestyle of the people improving physically , spiritually and morally.

Solution: Empowerment through Savings

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world Tabitha-Cambodia works with the poorest members of the community. Encouraging them to save and work their way out of poverty. Many poor Cambodian families have no house and virtually no possessions. Despite this, most generate a meager weekly income.
Tabitha helps these families to develop a vision of a better life and encourages them to join the Savings Program. Tabitha’s Savings Program recognizes the inherent desire for people to take control of their own lives, allowing them to decide on their own deeds and assist them in achieving their goals. Joining the savings program is a giant step towards rebuilding trust; Tabitha recognizes and rewards that trust in the form of a payment of 19 percent interest on their savings. Tabitha places no stress or risk on the family by accepting any amount, no matter how small, allowing even the poorest to participate in the program.
Tabitha’s savings Program results in a direct reduction of the physical and emotional abuse endemic in most poor Cambodian families. Discouragement and fatalism are replaced by accomplishment and hope. By rebuilding the family unit, in time you build a stronger community.
On average, Tabitha’s relationship with a family on the Savings Program will last for five years. This is long enough to allow people to break the cycle of poverty and graduate to complete financial independence.

People in the Saving Program save for many items. Often it is for meeting the families basic necessities of enough food. Savings may allow for an improved diet, so they can have two meals a day with a more varied diet then just rice. One step that is seen as a family’s first step out of poverty, is to have more then one glass cup for a family of 8-10 people. Otherwise they share one metal or plastic container. And for cooking there may only be one pot for their one meal. Eating off plates and dishes can improve the family harmony/dynamics considerably.

Many of the poor Cambodians will only have one set of clothes and no towel for washing. When you have to use you only set of clothes to dry yourself off, a small towel can make all the difference. Towels are cheap and available locally and can make a big difference. Most families who join Tabitha Savings Program own only one set of clothes. New clothes are too expensive, but second hand clothes are cheap. An outfit for a small child can be obtained for less then $1, progressing to an adult at $3. With the extreme weather in Cambodia, the wet and heat, clothes may actually fall part in a year of constant wear.

Most of the poor sleep on the floor, be it dirt or wooden. Due to lack of space in the smallest of shelters the poor may build, some members of the family may be forced to sleep outside. The simplest plastic woven mat may be the first step. It provides a small amount of comfort from the hard ground or floor. There is available in the market place wooden platform. Usually used with out mattresses, often seen under a raised house during the dry season. Most I saw were about the size of a double bed, accommodating a number of sleepers.

Tables and chairs are rarely seen in the poorest communities, although like most people, everyone would love to have a set. They are placed at the low end of a family’s list of priorities but the attainment of these items is a very real psychological move out of the poverty cycle. Mosquito nets are very important to protect a family against mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. However, though they are a much desired item, they are not a priority when compared the pots and pans, drinking glasses, clothing and towels.

Not only is everyone entitled to access to clean water, but such access dramatically reduces the incidence of diarrhea and infection and doubles a family’s income. The majority, about 99%, of Tabitha families do not have access to a well and must travel, on average, two miles to potable water. These may be wells or manmade ponds that service a wide number of people who do not have local access to clean water. After the long walk, there may be a line waiting to fill their jugs, one must wait, then another long walk home. It is a long process and takes abled bodies away from working the fields or from income producing work. In most instances, families only bathe once or twice a week and the bath water is used to wash clothes and for cooking, resulting in skin infections, diarrhea etc.

With the purchase of a water jar, a family is able to store at least two days worth of water at home. Water jars are an essential and important purchase, and when coupled with a well, can change a family’s life overnight.