ToSpeak

I am glad to be invited for the movie screening for ToSpeak, which is held in United World College. Further more, it is more meaningful when I’m doing it for charity.

Tabitha is an organization behind this screening. They are a charity group helping out the poor in Cambodian. They are trying to raise money to add another 60 more wells. More than half of the people there are ang-mohs and it is heartening to see auntie Patsy and uncle Freddie getting along well with their life as well as to see the gang like Kevin, Victor, Edmund, Shimona and Ying Wong.

I left early so I don’t quite know how’s the sales of the CDs but it should be good cos it includes 3 other songs that are not available on the website.

Uncle Freddie presented a inspiring speech. It is even more encouraging to see that he is living well 5 months after Reuben passed away. It’s already 5 months. Time reall flies. But I think to a mother, it is really much worse.

The story is set in a village in Cambodia where the people in the village are very poor and have no hope for the future. They are always trap in the cycle of poverty and their earnings came from chipping stones under the hot sun day in day out and the person buying is a shrewd businessmen. Because of the influence of the pol pot army in the past, the people lost all hope of getting a better life. They don’t have money for daily neccessities let alone medicine.

Ratana, a 16yo girl, is perplexed by the fact that why is other village having a better life than them. With clean water from wells and a roof to shelter them from rain and sun. So she seek help from the Tabitha organization to start saving at the opposition of her families as well as village. The problem of the village is so bad that they are living day for day. Not enough money for rice and some meat.

She had to save 0.25 USD per week for 20 times. She had her 2 siblings cutting grasses to sell to a farmer and work overnight to chip the large rock into stones as well as to wake up early in the morning to fetch water from other village (where she get to admire houses made of wood and metal foil). She went through many power struggle with her mother and almost had to give up the saving plan with Tabitha on the 10th time where she will be able to get her principle plus interest.

It is quite lucky they managed to iron the thing (if only every organisation is this flexible) and let Ratana get her first interest to realise her first dream of getting a bag of rice for her family. The chief relented his position and decided to find out more about it. The situation improves after the villagers all start saving for small stuff. Another power struggle is went through to get all villagers to save for a well. It is quite creative for Ratana to come out with the idea for all the kids (responsible for fetching water) to go to the work place and start massaging their hand as a show of defiance to the adults.

Of cos it all doesn’t end well here. Ratana’s mother died of sickness and she was so fed up with her situation that she wanted to leave the village with her uncle. It is after many efforts by the other villages to hold them back and even wanted to adopt her other siblings. It is really a touching scene back here. The girl next to me was crying.

Nonetheless, the village got wipe out by a flood but because they’ve got their savings with Tabitha organization, they were able to rebuild the village faster.

This movie hit me deeply to see how she defy all odds to do what is wanted to do - to get a better life. Yet sometimes, she is so down but was fortunate that her friends gave her a helping hand to go through the bad patch.

I think it works the same for every person. One should always help, to do something great for others not in the mind of getting something in return. It will come a day when you need some help from others, be it something as simple as words of encouragement.

Reuben, even though you’ve gone, you still are doing great things for the kids in Cambodia. You’ve not died in vain. No regrets ya?