As one of the club’s charity partners, the Tabitha Foundation supports families and communities in Cambodia in their journey to a better life, providing food, income security, safe water, housing and education.
Every two years, first and second year players will be joined by coaches on a mission to Cambodia to help the Tabitha Foundation build houses for local poverty-stricken communities, led by Peter Worsfold, the club’s leadership and professional development manager, and chaplain Paul Morrison.
After last year’s inaugural trip, the two were inspired to fundraise to build a school in the province they visited.
Construction has now begun. Click here to view photos of the school's progress.
West Coast fans were called upon to purchase a copy of Morrison’s CD ‘Picking Up the Pieces’ and bid on Tabitha Foundation online auction items. The club also received several individual donations on behalf of the cause.
Thanks to this generous support, the fundraising target was reached within six months and the club’s dream of building the school has become a reality.
Worsfold said construction of the school will begin next month in the Cambodian village of Koh Kong.
“By the time the school is built, the Tabitha Foundation expects to have 500 children enrolled from three surrounding villages, with the Cambodian government supplying teachers and schoolbooks,” Worsfold said.
“The school will be completed and in use by the time the West Coast Eagles visit Cambodia again in November 2012.
“The acknowledgment at the school will read ‘Donated by the West Coast Eagles’, so it will be great for the players to see that and how our fundraising efforts really pay off.
“We’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in some way as part of this significant and life-changing project.
“You can all be proud that your contribution will have a profound effect on the lives of so many disadvantaged children and families, providing them with real hope for a better future and quality of life.”
