austraLasia

?

Shortcut

PrevPrev Article

NextNext Article

Larger Font Smaller Font Up Down Go comment Print Attachment
ALA_5375

20200514_CAM.jpg

By Fr. John Bog Nam Jeon


Poipet, Cambodia, 14 May 2020 -- Interview with Fr John Bok Nam, Salesian in charge of the Poipet community


How was your experience of hosting volunteers in your community?


Over the past 3 years living in the Poipet community, there were both positive and also challenging moments with the volunteers. However, we recognize that in our Cambodia delegation there is a need for Salesian Missionary Volunteers. Together with the Khmer teachers, educators and instructors they make our Salesian educational mission possible in this place. Since 2002 there have always many different volunteers at the side of the Salesians.


NB: the Poi Pet SDB community consists of two Salesians and one Salesian Cooperator-Priest living together every year with many lay missionary volunteers. The community mission is entrusted with a Primary school and Secondary technical education, with hundreds of young people, some of them living in the boarding house.


What is your satisfaction or joy while receiving missionary volunteers?


Salesian education is happening through the whole (educational) community commitment. Our volunteers contribute to this community in a variety of different experiences. We appreciate especially their educational presence among our students. Through the interaction with foreigners, our young people are able to indirectly see wider horizons on our present world. Missionary volunteers are also able to help our Khmer teachers and educators with some educational opportunities they have not as yet come across. Yes, we are glad of their daily presence.


What was the one of the biggest challenges of hosting volunteers?


First of all, the main challenge is the mindset and ‘heart’ attitude of the volunteers. Sometimes we realize that instead of commitment they have chosen an ‘escape’ from their life. Everybody is dreaming about some new turn in life. In a positive way it may be a challenge, from the negative point of view it might be an escape. And real problems happen if some volunteers follow this ‘escape’ mentality. Some of them are rather self-centered, even egoistic, without enough interest in the good of the young people and without much effort to assimilate the Salesian educative mentality. This is also reflected in the lukewarm attitude to learning the local language and culture, hence some of the volunteers hardly become a good role-model for our youth. In spite of providing them with different opportunities to learn in Poipet, their heart is not open.


Please, share one thing you learned from hosting volunteers?


Each volunteer is living his/her own life. However through different motivations (and we call it vocation) they entrusted themselves to a new mission. Indeed, to return to their former safe life after the end of the volunteering is not difficult. While living with the volunteers, we discover how they are moulded through their ‘self-giving life’ in the mission and preparing themselves for a future life full of new opportunities.


What impact does the presence of volunteers have on your community life?


Through the presence of the volunteers our young people and lay collaborators are able to experience some different educational opportunities. Thanks to the volunteers many of them have a serious chance to think about ‘service’. Some of our young and lay people are stimulated and overcome their ordinary weak awareness about ‘life spent for others’ instead of thinking only about self profit. Some of our young people even dream of spending their life as volunteers. It's a joy to witness their transformation day by day.


How does the presence of volunteers enable you to live the dream of Don Bosco?


Our Educative and Pastoral community is not run only by the SDB members. The presence of our volunteers enriches the educational process and they make our educational community more effective. Reading the Biography of Don Bosco we realize, that already since the first steps of his Oratory there was a variety of other ‘volunteers’ around our Father. Starting from Mamma Margaret, through to other diocesan priest and other lay people who were directly involved in the academic and technical education at Valdocco. It’s clear that from the beginning the mission of Don Bosco was realized with many volunteers, provided they were able to share the same spirit in education. Isn’t this shared mission already a way of living the dreams of Don Bosco?


NB:

The Cambodia Delegation has the largest number of volunteers within the EAO region. We are grateful for this service of accompaniment of the young and not-so-young coming from many countries to Cambodia. Without hundreds of volunteers since 1991 we can't even imagine the Don Bosco work in this country.


Related news article:

Resources:



20200514_CAM1.jpg


20200514_CAM2.jpg


20200514_CAM3.jpg


20200514_CAM4.jpg


20200514_CAM5.jpg


20200514_CAM6.jpg
Attach

Drag and drop your files here, or Click attach files button.

Maximum File Size : 0MB (Allowed extentsions : *.*)

0 file(s) attached ( / )

  1. 5692_Thai Salesian Thomas Nattawut Kitsawad ordained priest

    Sheep Become Shepherd By SC Thailand HuaHin, Thailand, 11 September 2021 -- On Saturday 11 September, in the chapel of the Salesian Retreat House, the Salesian Thomas Nattawut Kitsawad was ordained a Priest by the imposition of hands and th...
    Date2021.09.12 CategoryTHA Reply0 Views1202 file
    Read More
  2. 5691(II)_Don Bosco Ben Cat Parish: Support Space For Vaccination

    By Augustine DoPhuc, SDB Ben Cat, Govap, Saigon, 11 September 2021 -- When the church’s liturgical door was forced to close because of an invisible force called Covid, the pastor and parishioners of Don Bosco Ben Cat parish (Govap dis...
    Date2021.09.11 CategoryVIE Reply0 Views1114 file
    Read More
  3. 5691(I)_Don Bosco Green Alliance - Myanmar (DBGA-MYM)

    Prayer Service to mark beginning of the Season of Creation 2021 By Fr. Saw John Shine Win SDB Myanmar, 11 September 2021 -- The Season of Creation is annually celebrated by all Christian communities around the world. It is both the individu...
    Date2021.09.11 CategoryMYM Reply0 Views602 file
    Read More
  4. 5690(III)_Witness of Life as Gospel Proclamation

    By Fr. Alfred Maravilla SDB General Councillor for Missions RMG, 10 September 2021 -- Evangelisation does not happen only through direct proclamation, through teaching or through evangelising activities. Credible witness of life is an impor...
    Date2021.09.10 CategoryRMG Reply0 Views669 file
    Read More
  5. 5690(II)_"With a heavy heart..." Passing of Fiji's Fr. Mika Leilua, SDB

    By Fr. Will Matthews Provincial AUL Melbourne, Australia, 10 September 2021 -- Shocked at the sudden and totally unexpected passing of the key figure in the Pacific Delegation's recently established Salesian Priash in Suva, the Australi...
    Date2021.09.10 CategoryAUL Reply0 Views1140 file
    Read More
  6. 5690(I)_Plant visit at Steel Industries – Gordons, Port Moresby

    By Br. Reto Wanner SDB Don Bosco Tech Gabutu, Port Moresby, PNG, 10 September 2021 -- On Wednesday, September 1, the Grade 12 MFM (Machine fitting and Maintenance) students from Don Bosco Technical School, Gabutu, had the opportunity to pay...
    Date2021.09.10 CategoryPGS Reply0 Views2051 file
    Read More
  7. 5689(IV)_‘Come and Help Us!’

    Bosconians bring to life Dream of Don Bosco for Oceania By Isabella Saleu Gabutu, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 9 September 2021 -- 250 students from Don Bosco Technical School took part in a captivating musical entitled: ‘Come and ...
    Date2021.09.09 CategoryPGS Reply0 Views912 file
    Read More
  8. 5689(III)_VIE: Farewell To Brother Peter Nguyen Hoang Phi – The Former Provincial Economer

    By Augustine DoPhuc, SDB VIE Provincial House, 9 September 2021 -- After 6 years serving the VIE Province as the provincial economer, on 7 September 2021, Brother Peter Nguyen Hoang Phi made the farewell to confreres of the Provincial House...
    Date2021.09.09 CategoryVIE Reply0 Views516 file
    Read More
  9. 5689(II)_South Korea – The first Korean SDB, Rev. Tadeo Park, has returned to the Father’s House

    Gwangju, South Korea, 9 September 2021 -- On 3 September 2021, Rev. Tadeo Park Byeong-dal, SDB, the first Salesian confrere and priest of Korea province, passed away at the age of 90. Many Salesian families visited the mortuary in both Gwan...
    Date2021.09.09 CategoryKOR Reply0 Views553 file
    Read More
  10. 5689(I)_Fruits of the ADMA EAO Congress preparation

    By ADMA EAO Congress Steering Committee ADMA EAO, 9 September 2021: D-2 -- During the last few months of preparation for the Second ADMA Congress in the East Asia-Oceania region we have seen the visible fruits of the first ADMA members in t...
    Date2021.09.09 CategoryEAO Reply0 Views757 file
    Read More
List
Board Pagination Prev 1 ... 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 ... 533 Next
/ 533