SALESIAN MISSIONS ANIMATION FOCUS
T
he Don Bosco
Technical School in
Tuol Kork, Phnom
Penh, has the ordered
atmosphere of a German
industrial estate and
environment. Large buildings
line clean streets where a
myriad of signs promote
cleanliness in the middle of one
of the fastest emerging
property hotspots in the capital.
be used. The metal frame is
still conspicuous and therefore
they still have a value.
Likewise, the iron or the
potential to be rebuilt is a
possibility. Yet, it took a very
long time to convince skeptics
and get permission from the
government to be able to start
producing The Bench.
Along with other avant-
courses. The students are
selected out of more than 3,000
applicants who come from the
neediest sections of society.
They are enrolled in a two-year
course after which half of them
are given apprenticeships at
the school.
Moreover, the best students
are offered jobs as teachers
and trainers at the school.
______________
The Bench
will hopefully
come to
represent a
powerful
symbol of
Cambodia’s
ability to turn
tragedy into
triumph!
______________
As you approach the
welding department, the sound
of construction can be heard
with a white-haired man
working on a piece of furniture.
Val Sutherland, 70, is a
seasoned engineer with the
Australian Business Volunteers
(ABV) programme. He offers
professional knowledge in
teaching students in Don Bosco
to make quality products and at
the same time learning the craft
with precision. He is
responsible for designing a
prototype of a wooden garden
bench with arms and legs
made from AK-47 automatic
rifles. The said project is called
The Bench.
The extraordinary peace
symbol benches were no easy
project to conceptualize and
make. It was not easy to get
clearance for the weapons to
garde furnitures made from
decommissioned weapons
collected by the Cambodian
government through the late
1990s and early 2000s, such
initiatives will be showcased to
the public. The proceeds from
the sale of the furniture will go
to Don Bosco.
The project aims to lay to
rest the popular image of
Cambodia as a war-torn
country where misuse of illicit
weapons and weapon related
crimes is an ongoing issue;
inasmuch as the country is
becoming recognized as a
world leader for its weapons
destruction program. “The
project is significant for this
country because it is turning
weapons into art,” says Father
Leo Ochoa, SDB.
Today the 600 students at
Phnom Penh are learning the
trade with other vocational
Since 2000 all the teachers
have been Cambodian. By
summer 2008, Don Bosco in
Phnom Penh – it has other
schools in Kompong Som, Kep,
Battambang and Poipet – will
have trained more than 3,000
students in several vocational
courses.
The students are assured to
get a job after leaving Don
Bosco. They are among the top
craftsmen in Cambodia and are
much sought after.
On the other hand, Val
Sutherland, even after his 2008
ABV tenure is completed, the
Don Bosco students will
continue to produce The
Bench, which will hopefully
come to represent a powerful
symbol of Cambodia’s ability to
turn tragedy into triumph!
