In late 2016, we supported and attended the annual PLC Year 10 Parent / Daughter trip to Cambodia and it was a fantastic opportunity to spend this time with our kids outside of their regular environment. 

 

The primary aim of our trip was to work with the Tabitha Foundation in constructing accommodation for selected villagers in a very poor rural community (see photo above and below right). We built 17 huts over 2 big days and were supported by an incredibly warm and welcoming community, not to mention the swarm of young children, who were adopted by all the girls by lunch on the first day. The handover ceremony (photo above), was particularly special and the ability to provide a tangible improvement to the lives of each family was truly rewarding. 

 

After this, we spent two days in very hot and humid conditions building the foundations for a new primary school further west (see middle and lower left photos). Despite the incredibly taxing work environment, everyone pitched in as you can see, which was essential because everything was done by hand ! 

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We left Cambodia after two weeks, having also visited the Killing Fields and Angkor Wat with an enormous sense of appreciation for the privileged life that we lead, the new friendships formed, the quality time with our daughters and the immense satisfaction that we had made a real difference to the lives of people who had very little. The smiles, warmness and welcoming nature of the Cambodian people is something that will stay with us forever. 

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If you would like to know more about the Tabitha Foundation, please visit www.tabitha-cambodia.org