in Cambodia
8 February 2010
A group of students from Assumption High School in Louisville, Kentucky in the United States have raised more than $20,000 to build an elementary school in Kampong Chhnang Province in Cambodia. Now a group of thirteen students and faculty from Assumption have come to Cambodia to see the results of their efforts. |
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7 February 2010 Near 28 hours after takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky, the group exited from the arrivals area of Phnom Penh's airport and met their tour guide leaders. This was at 11:45 PM so the first order of business was to get to the hotel and get some rest! |
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The last to set foot on Cambodia soil was Fr. John Burke, a Louisville priest who is chaplain at Assumption High School. John is a seminary schoolmate of Charlie Dittmeier so his arrival was also a reunion. |
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8 February 2010 After a day of touring and visiting Phnom Penh markets, the group gathered at a Khmer restaurant for supper. Karaoke was scheduled for tonight but the jetlag was catching up with everyone and it was decided to head back to the hotel to rest up before tomorrow's trip to Kampong Chhnang. |
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9 February 2010 Today the Assumption High School group visited the school they built in Kampong Chhnang and it was quite an experience for them. This evening, after resting up a bit, they gathered with Sr. Helene O'Sullivan, a Maryknoll Sister who works with trafficked women and girls in Cambodia. |
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The AHS girls had many questions for Sr. Helene. It was an interest in human trafficking, after reading some New York Times articles, that led the girls to a project to improve the situation of women and girls in Cambodia. |
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After the discussion, Fr. John Burke and some of the AHS students posed for a photo with Sr. Helene on their way to supper together. |
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10 February 2010 Today the Assumption students and teachers returned to the school they built in Kampong Chhnang Province to interact with the students there. A sign, facing the road, has been erected to acknowledge Assumption High School's work in collecting money to build the six-room school building. |
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The ten students and two teachers at the government school in Kampong Chhnang Province. The school is a two-hour trip from Phnom Penh along a terrible road that limited speeds to five or ten miles an hour for over an hour. The journey also included crossing the Mekong River on a small ferry. Click here for another page of pictures of this trip! |