Dear Mrs Finnegan & all the Mini Vinnies,

I hope that the end of this year finds you and your family in good health and good spirits. 

I believe that you are aware that, in recognition and appreciation for your school's great efforts in supporting Tabitha during our recent campaign, funds for a water well in Cambodia were donated in honour of your school. The well has now been completed, and attached please find a picture of that well. (Apologies that the lighting is not optimal!)

It strikes me as important to explain the context of the well picture, as it may be interpreted as "just a pipe sticking out of the ground."  The funds for creating the well go toward digging deep into the ground to the water table and completing the well with a pipe up to the surface. That is what the picture shows.  In order to access the water for drinking and/or irrigation, a (petrol-powered) pump is needed.  This is a separate expense that the villagers bear, and it is common for villages to share use of a single pump which is moved between several wells.  The pump is not shown in the picture.  Sometimes a hand-pump is used as well.

A gift of water is often called the "gift of life" due to its huge impact on the daily life of villagers.  The first well in a village often means eliminating a several-hours-long walk to the nearest water source.  And it goes without saying what having clean drinking water and water for irrigating crops year-round can do in improving health and self-sufficiency.

In any case, please let me close by once again thanking you for your support of Tabitha.  We wish you all the best for a happy and healthy 2021.

Warm Regards,

Jeff Spaeth - Chair, Tabitha