Helping Hands:

So often it’s those who are already struggling who are hit the hardest by a crisis. The same goes for the pandemic – “We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat”. We speak with a volunteer working with one of the region’s hard-hit nat

Empowering women in Cambodia

Name: Jenny Trengove

Nationality: British

Name of organisation: Tabitha Foundation

What’s the mission of the Tabitha Foundation?

Tabitha was founded on the belief that everyone deserves to live with dignity and hope. Its mission is to provide the poorest women of Cambodia a route out of poverty by teaching them skills to become selfsufficient, providing them with savings schemes and giving them self-worth and security. Tabitha Singapore provides a market for the beautiful silk products they make, and is run completely by volunteers.

When did it begin and how has it grown?

Tabitha Cambodia was established in 1994 by Canadian Janne Ritskes; she wanted to improve the lives of women and their families who were just “existing”, not “living”, after decades of war, displacement and unspeakable inhumanity at the hands of the Khmer Rouge regime. Many of the women who currently work as Tabitha seamstresses were victims of human trafficking and live with HIV, AIDS and other STDs as a result. Tabitha Singapore was established in 2002 and supports the mission of providing a sustainable income for these women by holding silk product sales in homes and at hotel fairs, and partnering with retail shops. We also now have an online shop (tabithashop.com).

Why did you choose this particular cause to donate your time to?

I was introduced to Tabitha when Janne made a presentation at my daughters’ school. She is a passionate advocate of her cause and I have since heard her speak many times, usually reducing her audience to tears. I believed in both the mission and the product and I spent my first six years here volunteering in the stockroom. This year, I have taken on a committee role as Stockroom Manager.

What do you get out of doing this work?

I love being part of a “women empowering women” organisation. With two teenage daughters, I feel it’s an important message to send, while showing them that volunteering is a way of giving back to society when we’re so privileged and fortunate. Having travelled many times to Cambodia, it’s wonderful to see how our Singapore work translates to actual benefits for the talented women of Tabitha. I’ve also benefited greatly from being part of a community of like-minded people; I’ve made many friends over the years from my work in the stockroom and at the sales.

How has COVID-19 affected the foundation and the women it works with in Cambodia?

It’s had a major impact. With home sales and fairs cancelled, we suddenly had no outlet to sell the products made in Cambodia. With fewer sales, the income for the women has consequently dropped. Still, they remain incredibly positive about their future and keep saving with the Tabitha Saving Schemes towards small goals such as water storage jars or a rice mill.

Our online shop was established last year to mitigate this issue and it’s been a blessing to have some limited sales through this outlet. We continue to add new products to the range and trust that sales will continue to grow.

How can our readers get involved?

We always welcome new volunteers to be involved with the stockroom or to help run the silk sales, and when someone leaves the committee, vacancies need to be filled. There are no specific posts empty at present, but skills such as PR, marketing, IT, product development and event management are always useful. If you have any spare time, please get in touch!