House 150 and a Tired Truck
We just didn’t see it coming!
You might recall that when we built House 100 back in December 2023, we knew it was coming. We talked about it for months! We watched the number getting closer. We celebrated it. One hundred Heartprint homes was a milestone, and it felt like one.
House 150 has been rather different.
Somewhere among the programmes at the Community Centre, the Hub, the playgrounds, the water projects, the excursions, the families we work alongside and all the other things that fill our days, somebody looked up and realised: hang on a minute. We’re about to build House 150!
It rather snuck up on us.
And perhaps there is something quite fitting about that. Because while 150 is a number worth stopping to celebrate, these houses have never really been about numbers. Each one begins with a family and a story, and House 150 is no different.
There is also a wonderful backstory to House 150.
Many of you will know Fiona, one of our board members, whose Heartprint story began when she came to Cambodia as an intern for six months and, happily for us, never really left the Heartprint family. Fiona’s dad is 79 and a former builder. The man whose family will receive House 150 works as a concrete labourer.
There is something rather special about that connection: two men from very different places and generations, both of whom know what it means to build things with their hands. One spent his working life building; the other still earns his living doing the hard physical work of helping to build for others. But this time what is being built is a home for him and his own family.
That is what makes House 150 important to us. Not the number printed on the list, but the family that will sleep under its roof.
Still, we are going to allow ourselves a small moment to marvel at that number.
One hundred and fifty homes!
Of course, houses require steel, tools, concrete, equipment, and a great deal of moving things from one place to another. Which brings us to another member of the Heartprint family who deserves a little recognition.
We think it is time you met Bitsy.
Bitsy is our truck.
To be fair, “truck” may be a slightly grand description of what arrived at Heartprint in March 2025. We desperately needed a vehicle and didn’t have much money to spend, so for US$3,500 we bought what was essentially a collection of bits and pieces from the wreckers and turned it into something we could use. We added the back we needed. We adapted things. We fussed and maybe cussed and generally made it work.
In just 18 months, Bitsy has helped us with almost 25 house builds and six playgrounds. She has transported playground equipment between shipping containers, storage, and building sites. She has carried water filters. She has taken us on more excursions than we can count. When we were delivering border relief, Bitsy was right in the middle of it all. She has bumped and rattled her way all over Siem Reap, hauling whatever needed hauling and going wherever she was needed. (Mostly!)
She has also been responsible for some unexpected professional development.
When Bitsy first joined us, Garry was the only person with the licence needed to drive her. That wasn’t terribly practical, so two of our team went out and got their licences. Another couple of skills learned, another little bit of independence gained — all because of a slightly battered truck.
Now, we would love to tell you that Bitsy has carried out all of these duties without complaint.
She has not.
Bitsy is temperamental, to say the least. She breaks down and doesn’t always start. And while we love her dearly, nobody would describe her as reliable.
Long journeys are simply beyond her. When we built a playground in Kampong Cham, we had to hire another truck to transport the playground and a separate vehicle to get our team there. We have another playground planned for Kampong Speu in November, and we’ll have to do the same again.
Bitsy, it seems, is happiest closer to home.
And really, can we blame her? Aren’t we all just a little tired?
For something cobbled together from bits and pieces and bought because it was all we could afford at the time, this little truck has given Heartprint extraordinary service. But we know she is getting towards the stage of life where some of the more arduous duties need to be handed over to a more youthful model.
We aren’t launching a big truck appeal. Bitsy hasn’t been put out to pasture, and we intend to keep working with her as long as she is willing.
But we are starting to think about what comes next.
So we’re simply putting the thought out there. If you happen to hear of someone looking for a very practical way to help Heartprint — someone who might like to contribute towards a vehicle that could reliably carry building materials, playgrounds, water filters, relief supplies, staff and everything else we seem to find ourselves transporting — perhaps mention us.
Because if the past 18 months are anything to go by, a truck at Heartprint is never just a truck.
And meanwhile, Bitsy will keep rattling along.
After all, House 151 isn’t going to build itself.
As always, with gratitude,
Your HP Team