Leigh
Ramsay
322
Wecker Road
Carindale
QLD
4152
14th
Feb 2013
Dear Leigh
It comes as no surprise to me that you have not
responded to my letters of 6th, 10th or 12th
Feb. Indeed, it would surprise me if you did. You clearly hope that by burying
your head in the sand like an ostrich and hoping the annoying Mr Ricketson will
just disappear, that he will disappear. Alas, here he is again asking you
questions you do not wish to answer and making available to the public (through
his blog) just what Citipointe’s modus operandi is in Cambodia, as opposed to
what the church claims, on its very very misleading website, to be doing here.
Chanti has asked me yet again, as her advocate (you
have a copy of the relevant document signed by Chanti) to ask you to allow Rosa
and Chita to accompany herself and the rest of the family to Chhork’s sister’s
wedding this coming Sunday – 17th Feb. As you know, Chhork is
Chanti’s husband and step-father to both Rosa and Chita. You have never before
allowed Rosa and Chita to attend any family functions and I don’t imagine that
you are going to have a change of heart this time around. God forbid that these
two young Cambodian girls be exposed to Cambodian tradition and culture in the
form of their aunt’s wedding! What deleterious effect might this have on
Citipointe’s cult-like determination to turn Rosa and Chita into evangelical
Christians in the Citipointe mold if they were to attend a Buddhist wedding
ceremony!
Nonetheless, I do want to put this formal request in
writing since miracles do occur and
perhaps you are not totally incapable of behaving like a proper Christian and
will allow ALL of Chanti’s children to be present for their aunt’s wedding!
As always I will also publish this letter on the
internet so that readers of my blog (growing in numbers weekly) can be in no
doubt at all that Citipointe has deliberately, and over a period of years,
sought to alienate Rosa and Chita from their family, from the Buddhist beliefs
of their community and from Cambodian culture in general. A blatant human
rights abuse – one of several practiced by Citipointe church.
It is worth mentioning here for new readers of my
blog that Chhork, as a tuk tuk driver, earns between $30 and $35 a week or
$1,500 a year. This figure is supplemented by small amounts of money earnt by
Chanti’s mother, Vanna, in the weaving of bracelets to sell to tourists and
with money earnt by Chanti selling scarves, sarongs and other artifacts to
tourists, earning roughly $500 a year.
$2,000 is not a lot of money for a family to live on
for a year but is considerably more than many Cambodians must subsist on.
The family income is supplemented by myself in the
following manner:
Annual rent: $840
Annual school fees for James and Srey Ka @ $270 per
annum $540
One $40 bag of rice per month $480
Medical expenses for the family per annum $300
This brings the family’s annual income up to around $3,600.
Now consider how much it costs to keep one girl in
Citipointe’s She Rescue Home. You will not reveal such costs but based on
figures you once had published on your website and my knowledge of the cost of
living in Cambodia, including rent, it costs in the vicinity of $500 a month to
keep one girl in the Rescue Home.
So, it costs Citipoine around $7,200 per annum to
keep Rosa and Chita in the She Rescue Home. Or, to put it another way,
Citipointe spends double Chanti’s family income to support Rosa and Srey Mal
each year.
Or, to put it yet another way Citipointe church
could save itself $3,600 a year by returning both Rosa and Chita to their
family and making a contribution of $3,600 to helping support the entire
family. Alternatively, Citipointe could save most of the money is spends
keeping Rosa and Chita in an institution, making only the following
contributions to the family income:
Family medical expenses (including Rosa and Chita) $500
School fees for four children (including Rosa and
Chita) $1,100
In short, for the sum of about $1,500 a year
Citipointe could be making a significant contribution towards making this
family self-sufficient, whilst providing all of Chanti and Chhork’s children
with the education they are going to need to lift the entire family out of
poverty. Instead, Citipointe has chosen to make no contribution at all towards
the welfare of the whole family, no contribution at all to the education of
James and Srey Ka, no contribution at all towards the medical expenses required
by Chanti to have a tumour removed from her wrist or, this past week, to be
cured of her pneumonia.
Even at this late stage, and I mean today,
Citipointe could (1) Allow Rosa and Chita to accompany their family to their
aunt’s wedding this coming Sunday, (2) Promise to return Rosa and Chita to the
care of their parents and (3) Offer to make a small contribution towards the
ongoing support for the entire family over the next 10 or so years. $15,000,
spread over 10 years, in addition to my own contributions and the money that
the three breadwinners in the family can earn (Chhork, Chanti and Vanna) could
completely transform this family’s fortunes and give all the children a chance
in life that their mother, father and grandmother did not have as they were
growing up.
best wishes
James Ricketson
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