Christmas 2007

Salesian Sisters Bazaar

13 December 2007

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.] manger scene

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.
Ready to serve the customers
Another stall with a different type of food. Many varieties of good things to eat were available for almost any taste.
Another food offering
The sisters also have a school in the northwestern city of Battambang, and those girls brought baked goods to sell.
Baked goods from the Battambang school
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.
One of the games for the kids
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.
Peeling sugar cane for drinks
Through the year the girls make various handicrafts in their free time to sell at the bazaar.
Selling handicraft items
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.
Satisfied customers

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