Salesian Cooperators in Don Bosco Sihanoukville

Sihanoukville. The Feast of Saint Francis de Sales had a two important moments for the presence of Don Bosco in Cambodia and the work of Sihanoukville: three young men made their promise as the first Cambodian Salesian Cooperators, while the Chapel of the school was dedicated to Saint Francis de Sales. Actually they were two Cambodians and a Colombian: Gnan Peun, Sri Thea and Yulth Oyola, who asked to be integrated in the Salesian Family as cooperators.

Gnan Peun joined Don Bosco Phnom Penh in 1995 as an orphan boy from Koh Kong in the Mechanical Section. In 1997 was sent by father John Visser, then Rector in Phnom Penh, to "take care of the works of construction of Don Bosco Sihanoukville". Since then he stayed in the city port with Don Bosco where he married, has two children and became Catholic in 2006. "I want to stay with Don Bosco forever", he said. Peun is the coordinator of discipline in the technical school.

Sri Thea joined Don Bosco Phnom Penh as a boy from Takaew Province in 1995, also to the Mechanical Section. He stayed in Phnom Penh as an instructor in that section and became Catholic. In 2002 he let Don Bosco Phnom Penh and went to his Province where he founded an Oratory dedicated to the children and youth of the region supported by Don Bosco Past Pupils of Cambodia.

Yulth Oyola is not Cambodian but he feels like. He is a volunteer in Don Bosco Sihanoukville since 2007 in the Social Communication Department. This young business administrator from Colombia has become a careful student of the Salesian Preventive System. "I knew little about Don Bosco when I was in Colombia, only I knew that near my city, Villavicencio, there is a Salesian school for agriculture. When I came as a volunteer to Don Bosco Cambodia, I realized how great is Don Bosco and I applied to be a part of the Salesian Family. When I will be back in Colombia, I am sure I will help as I can Don Bosco in my country."

The Chapel where the three made their promise as Salesian Cooperators was also dedicated to Sain Francis de Sales being the first place in Cambodia dedicated directly to the Patron of the Salesian Congregation. The ceremony was attended by the boarders of the technical school and among them the "Don Bosco Brother Sun Youth Group" and the leaders of the Oratory in a moment that became for them very meaningful. Most of them understood the meaning of "Salesian" looking at the face of this Francis de Sales near to their Don Bosco.

Piet de Visser and John Van der Voort visited Don Bosco Sihanoukville

Sihanoukville. Last Friday, 25th January, the Educational Community of Don Bosco Sihanoukville received the visit of two of the most consecrated benefactors of the Salesian work in Cambodia: Piet de Visser and John Van Der Voort, bot of them from the Netherlands.

Piet de Visser started his support since 2000 helping in the running expenses of the technical centers of Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Poipet through his “Foundation for Cambodia”.

“I decided that persons like the Salesians need this kind of support, because I realized that they work for the poor and they do not look for things for themselves”, he answered in the brief conference press he gave when one of the students asked why he helps Don Bosco Cambodia.

Mister de Visser said also that Cambodia is changing and he is happy to see a better standard of life in the cities, although countryside still poor and undeveloped.

The two benefactors visited the installations of the Hotel School and the Technical Sections. The students and instructors gathered to greet them:

“This is your house. May God bless you for all that you do for us. We, the young people, are very lucky to have people like you that help us to grow as good persons for our country”, said one of the students.

Gallery of the visit

Mr Peat and Mr John during the ceremony of welcome by the Educational Community.


Master Sambo, student of social communication section, giving the words of welcome to the guests.

Mr. Peat de Visser with the social communication students.


The two benefactors with the class.

Motorbike safety campaign?

Sihanoukville (Australasia News): 20th January 2008 -- The death, yesterday afternoon, of a past pupil who had finished his studies in the electrical section of Don Bosco Sihanoukville in 2006, has local Salesians wondering if there is not a need to mount a serious campaign, especially amongst the young motorbike riders they know, to prevent what has led to the death of two students, a teacher and now a past pupil over a period of twelve months.
Suaung Sophoan, 23 years of age, was in collision with another motorbike and both were run over by a container truck. Three persons died and three others were injured in the accident. The incident occurred near the busy port where heavy container-loaded trucks pose a constant threat to motorists and especially bikers.
Most students and many young people, including children, use motorbikes as a means of transport in Cambodia. There is no law, at least no enforced law which prevents anyone from riding a motorbike and a single vehicle may often carry three or more persons. Many young people refuse to wear helmets because they consider them too hot to wear.
Suaung Sophoan came from a region near the border with Vietnam and was working in Sihanoukville following his successful completion of a two year technical course at Don Bosco. He was living alone in the city. An ecumenical prayer for Suaung will follow on Monday in the St. Francis de Sales Chapel at Don Bosco.

Visit to three radio stations in Phnom Penh

Sihanoukville, 17th January 2008. Last Monday finished the 1rst Radio Seminar in the Social Communication Section that was directed by Mr Sarathany during a week. The visit to the Radio Stations was the last part of the seminar and it was also an opportunity to know the ways and advances of radio broadcasting in Cambodia. The first visit was to the National Radio of Cambodia where the students appreciated the new equipment and antennas that are going to be placed in far provinces to make easy communication with farmers. The second radio station belongs to Equal Access, an international NGO that works to create nets of communication around the world, especially in poor countries. The third radio station belongs to a Christian church settled in Cambodia that has excellent installations donated by Dutch donors. The students were very well welcome by the personnel of the three stations and the youth liked what they learned in this intensive seminar. Mr Sarathany is coordinator in a radio station in Banteay Meanchey province and has a degree in radio journalism from the University of Phnom Penh. He got interest with the project of social communication in Don Bosco Sihanoukville and has been very kind to the school.

Cambodian past pupil died in tragic accident

Sihanoukville – January 20, 2008. Suaung Sophoan, past pupil of electrical section in Don Bosco Sihanoukville, died yesterday afternoon in a tragic accident in this city. Sophoan, 23 years old, was driving his motorbike when he crushed against another motorbike and both were overwhelmed by a heavy truck container. Three young men died and other three were injured. Suaung Sophoan died on the spot while other who was brought to the hospital died soon after. The accident was in front to the Leu Pagoda, about 5 kilometers far from downtown and near to the port where heavy truck containers are usual.

Accidents by motorbike became almost normal and authorities show worries for its increasing although not strict measures have been taken yet. In the last year some students, teachers and students of Don Bosco in Cambodia have been involved in this kind of accidents, with four persons lost (two students, a teacher and a past pupil). Salesians are already moving to start a serious campaign among young people to prevent this increasing problem, since most of the students and young people in Cambodia use motorbikes and there is not a national regulation and culture about traffic. Anybody in Cambodia can drive a motorbike, even children and it is usual to see vehicles with more than three persons. Many youth refuse to use helmets because they consider it hot.

Suang Sophoan was from Suay Riem, a province near the Vietnamese border and he was working in Sihanoukville after finishing his two technical years formation in Don Bosco in 2006. He was living alone in this city. An ecumenical prayer will follow this Monday in the Saint Francis de Sales Chapel of Don Bosco Sihanoukville at 16:30.

Angkor

Ankor Wat According to Don Bosco

"Nagara" or "The Holy City" is a Sanskrit word. In Thai it came to be nakhon and in Khmer it is pronounced ongkor. Angkor is associated to a renown Asian civilization of the 9th to 14th centuries: The Khmer Empire that dominated the Indochina Peninsula, today Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

The center of that civilization was Angkor, the Holy City. It is located 320 kilometers (199 miles) at the northwest of Phnom Penh and at the northwest site of the Sap Lake. It is near of what is today the provincial capital of Siem Riep. Angkor Wat is one of the biggest religious complex of the world.

The Angkor complex is located at the north of Tonle Sap (translated means "The Great Lake"). At its north is the Kulen hills.

There are many ways to arrive to the Archaeological Complex of Angkor: by plain from Phnom Pehn, Sihanoukville and Bangkok. By road from Bangkok via the Arayapraeth-Poipet border or from Phnom Penh.

100% in Christmas and New Year

Next 12th of February 2008 we are going to have our first Anniversary when His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni visited Don Bosco Sihanoukville and opened officially the Hotel School for the formation of young people from poor conditions to the growing tourist industry in Cambodia.

This Christmas and New Year time was the first period that our Hotel School was completely full of guests, most of them foreigners. They give a great sense to the Hotel School and the opportunity to our students to get in touch with the reality of tourism. Many hotels in the city asked also some of our students to work with them this busy time, another opportunity to improve their skill and give a hand to the growing number of tourists. Thank you to all the guests and hotels that are supporting our program of education.

Last| The Market of Sihanoukville destroyed by fire

Sihanoukville -- DB News. The Lur Market of Sihanoukville was destroyed by fire last night. The conflagration started between 10:30 and 11 PM and was at its heat until 4AM, but at 8AM there were some places that still burning. According with some witnesses, the fire started by an electric chock generated behind the market and set in fire an area of about 400 meters sq. All the shops were razed completely and there is not yet a calculation of the account of economic lost.

The police and firemen came to the place at 11:30 trying to control the conflagration, but it was already impossible to set off. There were not persons hurt by the fire.

Mr Sou Chheorn, 23, seller in the place, said that his shop was destroyed completely and the lost of his business is calculated in about US$ 15,000. The fire started in the sea food shops at the left corner of the market. Firstly he and two other men tried to control the fire at 11PM but it was impossible already, so they called other people from the neighborhood. A car of the firemen came about 11:30PM but they did little to set off it because the market had not enough space to introduce the machine. Chheorn said that 95% of the sellers were unable to rescue their belongings. At the other hand, 50% of them had their houses within the market.

Another seller who did not want to give his name, said that first he saw three men coming inside the market around 9PM and soon after they ran away from the place. According with him, some other neighbors saw them, a fact that created the theory that they were the responsible for the conflagration. “Few months ago there were a small fire in the market,” he said, “but only a shop suffered the consequences.” "The municipality asked us to move to the new market very often, but we did not take the decision. Our market used to have a strong security with more than 20 guards. We do not understand why they did not catch the responsible of this", he said.

Although some sellers said that they will ask to the municipality not be moved to another place, many persons were already setting areas in the new market, about 500 meters away in the Oh Muy Street. The new market, practically unused for more than three years, became today an obliged center for those who use to get food and other things in the market everyday.

Some persons went this morning to the Sihanoukville Trade Center – the official name of the new market – to buy some food from the sellers who are building their provisional shops in the site this morning.