The Salesian Sisters operate two schools for young women in Phnom Penh. One, in the area called Tuol Kork, is a technical training school to prepare young women--mostly poor and from the provinces--for office and secretarial positions. Every year at Christmas time they have a bazaar with entertainment by the students, games, and different food booths offering a variety of dishes the girls prepare. It is a fun and enjoyable day, both for the girls and for the people of the neighborhood. [This school is where Charlie Dittmeier has mass every Friday morning for the sisters and a small group of students.] |
The school has a two-year program of training in job skills, social skills, and English. Events like the bazaar give the students confidence in interacting with the public. | |
Another stall with a different type of food. Many varieties of good things to eat were available for almost any taste. | |
The sisters also have a school in the northwestern city of Battambang, and those girls brought baked goods to sell. | |
Various simple games for the kids were offered, but the favorite attraction is a haunted house. Kids pay 100 riel (2.5¢) to go through and be scared again and again. | |
A favorite drink for Cambodians is sugar cane juice. First the cane is peeled and then run through a press--like a washing machine wringer--to extract the juice. | |
Through the year the girls make various handicrafts in their free time to sell at the bazaar. | |
Friends and families of the students attend the bazaar but so do many local people who enjoy the distraction from ordinary life and its struggles. |
Go to Christmas 2007 main page