Rockin' for Cambodians

Ottawa-area residents build houses for poor

August 6, 2011
By Bob Carver
Ottawa Citizen (Ontario, Canada)

My wife Wendy Cunning and I are self-described "Asia Hands." My connection to Southeast Asia derives from my long involvement as an instructor of martial arts from that region. I owned and operated the Thai Boxing Academy in Ottawa for 12 years. Wendy and I began spending our yearly vacation in Southeast Asia in 2000. The initial trip took a bit of convincing on my part. After hounding Wendy for several years, she finally relented to our first trip with the words, "All right, I'll go this once, then I don't want to hear about it any more."

However, Asia has a way of hooking visitors. Most who visit Thailand and neighbouring countries fall in love with the climate, food and especially the people, and can't wait for their next opportunity to visit. Wendy was no exception. Since 2000, we have travelled the length and breadth of the area. "We have now been to more parts of Thailand than many native Thais. We have also visited Laos, and toured Vietnam from Hanoi to Saigon in 2002," says Wendy.

But it was our visit to Cambodia in 2003 that changed our lives. That year, we did a three-day trip to Siam Reap to visit Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was an absolutely amazing place, but we also noticed that there was real poverty on the edge of what had been developed for tourists. Other areas we had visited in Asia were always green, with multiple crops per year possible, and no one goes hungry. Crossing from Bangkok over the Cardamom Mountains, we saw an immediate and striking difference in the climate; Cambodia was "dustbowl dry," as Wendy put it.

That September, an article in the Ottawa Citizen caught my eye, about a presentation by Janne Ritskes, a local resident who with her own funds started the Tabitha Foundation in Cambodia in 1994. I did a little Internet search and liked what I saw about the organization - volunteer driven, with more than 90 cents of every dollar reaching the field.

We began by doing "kickathons" and sending over a few hundred to a thousand dollars to Tabitha several times a year, to be used to provide wells for rural villages. In 2006, we decided to put together a volunteer team and participate in Tabitha's house-building program. Rockin'4Tabitha was born, we raised enough money for four houses that first year, and, after seeing how Tabitha worked, we committed to continue our house-building trips for as long as possible.

To date Rockin'4Tabitha has finished 75 houses, resulting in lifechanging living conditions for nearly 400 of Cambodia's rural poor.

Last year R4T received support from Lush Handmade Cosmetics, which donated $10,000, enough to build 10 houses, and sponsored several employees. Also part of the team were Lush CEO Mark Wolverton's wife Karen and daughter Chloe. I think Karen and Chloe really got what our work is about since Lush is sponsoring 25 houses and sending another team of employees on our next build. Because of this we will be able to complete 40 houses, more than our first four years combined! We are very excited about this partnership. It is rewarding, and humbling to see that what began as onetime event is now in its sixth year.

The sixth annual Rockin'4Tabitha music night fundraiser is Sept. 22 at the Lonestar at 1211 Lemieux St., near St. Laurent Boulevard. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. For more information, go to www.rockin4tabitha.ca or contact me at carverbob54@gmail.com