My small triumph was part of a much larger undertaking—building homes for the poorest of the poor in a threadbare country.

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After three decades of war and instability, Cambodia, which has experienced horror rivaling anything in history, is on the mend, and the people are cautiously optimistic about the future. One reason for the optimism is Tabitha-Cambodia, a nonprofit organization based in Phnom Penh, whose purpose is to reach out to the country’s most impoverished citizens.

Guided by a local carpenter and some Tabitha staff members, we broke into five units, creating a floor here, a wall there. Cambodia during the dry season is hot and the sun is relentless. As we toiled, dirt and sawdust caked our faces, and dunking our heads in a cold bucket of water once every hour was not only pleasant but necessary.

This year’s group was the fourth from UWC to build homes in Cambodia. UWC teacher Lisa Brennan recalls her 1999 experience this way: “I remember my eyes filling with tears, and I honestly couldn’t tell you whether they were tears of exhaustion, of pain from the contortions I had put my body through, or of joy for what we had been able to do for this family.” Tabitha-Cambodia targets Cambodians whose daily income averages less than $1 a day.

Each recipient is required to submit to peers a “dream cycle,” a description of something they would like to see improved in their lives. Once they have a stated goal, they then work toward achieving this goal through work and savings. “These people have been through so much, many of them believe they are unworthy of any improvement,” says Janne Ritskes, a Canadian who in 1994 started Tabitha with her life savings. “Psychologically, it’s a difficult transition.”

In its first five years Tabitha worked with nearly 5,700 families, impacting the lives of an estimated 45,000 people. The program is currently adding 80-100 families per month. Most recipients have been so successful they are now eating three meals a day, buying clothing, sending children to school, and meeting basic health care costs.

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