Author: Charles Dittmeier

CACD Retreat

Today was spent–all day–at Takeo, south of Phnom Penh. I got up at 4:40 AM to catch a bus taking members of the Catholic Alliance for Charity and Development (CACD) to the St. Paul Institute in Takeo where we had an annual retreat that Bishop Olivier combined with a tour of the institute and two high schools and a social enterprise center there. It was quite a day. [More on the retreat to come.]

Cleaning Day

DDP has moved its Phnom Penh office from a larger office building to a smaller new building in the same compound, a cost-cutting move. But before leaving the old grounds, we had a general cleanup of the yard and the old building with all the staff participating.

Some broken and unusable tables and other pieces of furniture were gathered to be hauled away to a dump.
We found some old student desks behind a building at the rear of the property. Why the old desks were saved in the first place really isn’t clear but they’re gone now.
After a couple hours work, it was time for a break.
Although we had separated items to be disposed of into two piles, one pile for the landfill and the other to be recycled, plans were changed when the landlord unexpectedly showed up and asked us to throw all the landfill-destined materials into the fish pond which he wants to fill up.

Epiphany 2023

There is a tradition in Phnom Penh of the bishop inviting pastoral workers and parish representatives to a gathering at the pastoral center on Epiphany Sunday. In the past it was a time for the pastoral workers to catch up with each other and for the bishop to disseminate news but now it has become an occasion more for socializing and recognizing different offices in the diocese.

All the Maryknollers arrived in the Maryknoll Mental Health van.
Every Cambodia event features at least one traditional dance.
One of the diocesan agency groups receiving the bishop’s thanks and appreciation.
A choir of teenage youth sang twice during the evening.
The younger set participated, too. Here children dance and sing to Jingle Bells.
At the end of the program, Santa Claus arrived and distributed gifts of rice and cookies and booklets to all who had come.