Charles Dittmeier – Page 265 – Welcome to Cambodia, and…..

Salesian Girls Schools Graduation

Today was the 23rd graduation for the students of the two Salesian Sisters girls technical schools in Phnom Penh. One school teaches food service and sewing; the other teaches secretarial and business skills. Both have two-year programs. This year only three girls came from the school in Battambang in the north of the country. Previously they would have 30-40 graduates but now that school has almost closed because it is easier now to get across the border to work in Thailand and the families of the girls pressure their daughters to work in Thailand to make money for the family–instead of going to school.

The graduates gather, happy and excited, before the ceremony. The sister there to congratulate them is one of the fixtures of the Salesian ministry to youth in Cambodia. She is 96 years old and still active and about everyday.

After the national anthem, these students performed the blessing dance that begins every formal function. Notice the words in red on the wall at the right: Together we Build a Peaceful Society. They are a sad indicator of the unease and turmoil in Cambodia because of the actions of the government.

A special part of this graduation day was the recognition of these women–mothers of students at the school–for participating in a wonderful literacy program. All of them have advanced through Level 1 of the program that enables them to read and write. Another sad indicator–the lack of literacy–of the failure of the present government that has been in power for thirty years.

A Scooter with a New Twist

Today I ran into this motor scooter with a new twist in ran protection. I’ve never seen anything like it before–and I doubt whether it gives much protection from the raindrops–but at least it’s a creative and different approach to riding in the rain.

Supper on the Street

The sun is down, it’s starting to get dark, there’s a light rain falling–and it’s time to start grilling meat at a street stall near Tuol Sleng, the Khmer Rouge torture center.

Motorcycle Loads #230

“We’re still under the wires. Throw a few more on top!”

Mission: Down to Basics

Fr. Kevin Conroy is a Maryknoll associate priest like me–a diocesan priest on loan to Maryknoll. We live together in Phnom Penh. He is a doctor of psychology and has started a mobile mental health team that especially tries to find and work with mentally ill people who are chained up or put in cages (like the woman above) because their families and society don’t know what to do with them. Read about his ministry in Maryknoll Magazine.

What, me worry? 2

In other countries, one would think the guy in the chair is just playing around while his buddy finishes loading the wagon. In Cambodia, he’s probably telling the buddy “OK, I’m ready. Let’s go!”

What, me worry?

Can you pick out any violations or accidents waiting to happen in this picture?

None of the motorcyclists are wearing a helmet.
The little boy is standing in front of his mother on the second motorcycle.
Two workers are standing on the rail of the motorcycle wagon or on top of the load.
The far motorcyclist is using the phone while driving. (But it’s only his left hand, the brake hand, so it doesn’t matter.)

This is 6:00 AM in the morning and everyone knows traffic rules don’t apply early in the morning. Also the police don’t work on weekends so why worry?

Not for me….

One of the minor anomalies for me in Phnom Penh is the location of a bunch of small shops selling mussels and clams. They are located on the northern edge of the city, about as far away from the river as you can get, and I’m curious how they established that location for that product. These mussels pictured are rather big compared to the thumbnail-size ones that are sold from carts pushed around the streets. The small ones are a favorite snack of the locals. I’m not tempted by the mussels and clams, partly because they are generally eaten raw and partly because they come from the Mekong River and I don’t want to even put my foot in that much less eat something that lives in it. Phnom Penh is a city of more than a million people and has almost no sewage treatment. Guess where the raw sewage goes?

A Good Example

This is a really encouraging happening, a group of young people down on the Phnom Penh riverfront picking up trash. The littering landscape here is like it was in Kentucky in the 1940s and 50s. People then threw paper, bottles, cigarettes, etc., out the car window or just dropped trash on the street as they walked along. Then came the Don’t Be a Litterbug campaign. Change didn’t happen overnight but anyone throwing trash on a street in the US today knows it’s wrong. Most people don’t know that here so it’s heartening to see this group setting a good public example by picking up after others.

UNDP Meeting

Sometimes people ask what priests do all day. They only see us in church and are curious what the rest of our week is like. Here I am today at the United Nations Development Program office in Phnom Penh for a meeting on the National Disability Strategy Program. I went there as a representative from the Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme.