ASIA/CAMBODIA - Salesians celebrate 14 years at the service of young Cambodians offering education, and caring for street children and those with HIV/AIDS

Phnom Penh (Fides Service) - This year on 24 May the Salesian community in Cambodia will celebrate fourteen years of service to promote the human, cultural and spiritual growth of young Cambodians. According to the Salesian bulletin Ans, their mission began in 1991 when Fr. Walter Brigolin and Fr Roberto Panetto came here from Thailand to help young people particularly the poor and orphaned following the charisma of St John Bosco who said ‘education is the key to eliminating poverty’.
Today there are Salesian communities in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Poipet. The Fathers run four schools for young people aged 16 to 19: 2 Don Bosco Technical Schools for boys one in Phnom Penh and the other in Sihanoukville; and two Don Bosco Vocational Schools for girls in Tuol Kork and Tuk Thla. For this school year 2004-2005 the schools have a total number of 925 pupils (711 boys and 214 girls).
The community also has a Don Bosco Children Fund which pays fees for children whose families cannot afford to send them to school: at present 4,646 children benefit from this scheme. Besides programmes for education in rural areas such as Battambang, to respond to the AIDS epidemic in Cambodia, the Salesians started a special programme to provide 360 HIV+ youths with instruction, treatment and care.
They have also opened a number of homes to provide assistance for street children. Here these homeless youngsters find a new family, loving care as well as education and training.
The Catholic Church offers an important contribution towards development in Cambodia. The local Church here is organised in three circumscriptions: the apostolic vicariates of Phnom Penh and Kompong Cham, and the prefecture apostolic of Battambang.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 18/5/2005 righe 27 parole 289)