Author: Charles Dittmeier

Things don’t look good….

The headline “NGO says 60% of three to five-year-olds not schooled” is an indication of the poor state of Cambodian education. Cambodia has made significant progress over the last twenty years in reducing the number of eligible children not in school, but this week Save the Children published its global report on education with some terrible statistics for Cambodia: [1] 22.5% of children of primary and secondary school age are out of school; [2] 60% of pre-school and kindergarten-age children are not receiving any formal education; and [3] only 0.3% of the Ministry of Education’s budget was allocated for early childhood education.

Field Trip

This morning when I had mass at the Don Bosco Technical Training Center, these Year 1 students were preparing for a field trip in the Phnom Penh area. Their Year 2 compatriots had already left for a two-day trip to Kampong Som on the southern coast. The Year 1 girls were looking forward to a one-day trip locally that would show them the Killing Fields, the genocide museum, the palace, etc. Here they are getting some last-minute instructions from two of the teachers.

Where can we go?

For over a year the English Catholic community has been considering different options for our services on the weekend: how many liturgies, in what venues, at what times, etc. Today our committee looked at a university lecture room that was suggested as a possible mass site.

Seat of Government

This is a typical municipal building–maybe the equivalent of a county courthouse in the United States–located in Kampong Thom Province. There isn’t too much to these structures, just two closed offices, one on each side, and an open meeting area in between. This municipal building might be unusual because there’s a car parked there.

Tangkok Pilgrimage

During the Pol Pot era, the Cambodian bishop and other men and women leaders of the Catholic Church in the kingdom died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Their case has been presented to Rome for official recognition as martyrs. Every year a memorial service is held in Kampong Thom Province where most of them died. Click here for pictures from this year’s ceremony.

Motorcycle Loads #261

Not all motorcycle loads are piled directly on the moto. Here is a motorcycle pulling a tuk-tuk that is fully loaded. Notice the jerry can of water on the side of the moto, behind the driver. Most motorcycles pulling tuk-tuks these days have one of these water containers which just drips plain water directly on to the motorcycle engine, adding a bit of water cooling to the air cooling.

Hat Lady

I was in a three-wheel tuk-tuk, the new motorized kind, and the driver went through the Boeung Tum Pun market area. We got stuck in a big traffic mess and this lady selling hats wanted to make a sale. She was half-joking but started offering me hats for 25ยข apiece. I should have bought a bunch to give to the kids.