Last week, I wrote about the Shalom Small Homes project, designed to provide over 55s in North Grenville with stable and affordable homes. One of the guiding forces behind the project is local North Grenville resident, Janne Ritskes, author, builder, founder of charitable organisations, and recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada. Her resume provides just a glimpse of what she has accomplished.
Janne has over 40 years of international experience with integrated community development programs. Her work has focused on the poorest of the poor in the slums of the US, Kenya, East Africa, the Philippines, and Cambodia. She stayed in the Philippines from 1980-1988, 1988-1991 in Kenya East Africa, and from 1992 until the present in Cambodia for her World Renew Development work. She developed two NGOs—Tabitha Foundation Cambodia and Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital (Foundation).
After discovering the terrible genocide in Cambodia caused by the brutality of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime, Janne set out with all her savings to do what she could to alleviate the suffering of the Cambodian people. In 1994, Janne traveled to Cambodia with the support of friends and family as she put herself in harm’s way for people she had never met… half a world away. Her experiences with NGOs in Asia and Africa helped Janne to develop her own unique community development approach. Janne’s approach was not one of just giving assistance but one of teaching the people she worked with. With her approach, she assisted Cambodians to regain their dignity and self-respect. Janne’s legacy is the 4.7 million Cambodians she helped out of poverty through savings programs, goal setting, and cottage industry.
Her book, “I Am Who I Am: my 25 year journey with the poorest in Cambodia”, details her work and challenges in Cambodia, where her motivation was “How do you institute a program that will allow them to start dreaming again, start believing in themselves, start working for themselves?” With that goal in mind, Janne worked with the Cambodian people so that she could sleep at night. She said, “You know whether you have done good or not. If you have done good, you will sleep.”
Among many other projects, Janne’s Tabitha Foundation, drawing on 30,000 volunteers from around the world, has built an astonishing 13,266 homes for people in Cambodia. A special focus on women’s health in Cambodia resulted in the building of the Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital, an initiative launched by Janne, the Cambodian Minister for Women’s Affairs, and the City of Phnom Penh. Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital was officially registered with the Royal Cambodian Government in 2011. The vision for Nokor Tep Women’s Hospital is based on an issue of justice and equity, a vision evolving from a view of basic human rights. In Cambodia, as in many developing countries, women are seen as the least valuable assets of society despite the fact that women are the foundation of homes and society. A direct result of this is that women’s personal health issues are of little concern.
Throughout her time in Cambodia, as well as her previous work in Kenya and the Philippines, Janne was supported in prayer and finances by her local church, the First Christian Reformed Church in Kemptville, and they continue to be involved in her latest housing initiative.
Bringing her work on different continents together, Janne is using the proceeds from her book to fund the start of Shalom Small Homes Kemptville, and it seems that this revenue will allow her to continue building beyond the four units currently planned. Having received a 40-year lease from the Municipality of North Grenville (at the amazing rate of $1 per year), Janne has referred to the miracle that, as she stated: “there will be enough copies of my book sold over the next year so that I will receive enough royalties to build an additional 36 small homes for over-55s who are struggling to make ends meet”.
In 2003, Janne received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Calvin University, Grand Rapids Michigan, her alma mater, where she completed her baccalaureate degree in psychology and sociology with Latin honours, Cum Laude. The award is presented annually to alumni who have made significant contributions to their field of endeavour and manifest a Christian commitment.
Just recently, she received word about the awarding of the Meritorious Service Medal. The Governor General’s office notes that: “The Meritorious Service Decorations (Civil Division) were established to recognize remarkable contributions in many different fields of endeavour, from advocacy initiatives and health care services, to research and humanitarian efforts. Past recipients have tackled poverty in their community, improved education opportunities for children in Canada and abroad, or raised awareness of important causes and issues. They inspire us and make us proud”.
The award will be presented to Janne by Governor General Mary Simon at Rideau Hall on March 21. It is a fitting acknowledgment of Janne Ritskes and the work she has performed around the world, and continues to perform in her home community.
Janne has achieved so much more than can be told in one article, so go to her website at https://janneritskes.com to learn more and to find out where you can get a copy of her book and support the local work of Shalom Small Homes Kemptville.
