PHNOM PENH: 24th February 2010 -- The Mother General of the
Salesian Sisters, Mother Yvonne Reungoat, is currently visiting
Cambodia for the first time, particularly of course her own Sisters who
have three communities in the country, two in Phnom Penh and one at
Battambang in the north of the country. In fact they have a substantial
presence in Cambodia with some 17 or more Sisters and Phnom Penh is
also the provincial headquarters for the Cambodia-Myanmar
province. Our Salesian communications department in Sihanoukville
caught up with Mother Yvonne for a brief interview reported below. The
interview was conducted in French.
Good evening Mother Yvonne, what is the message you bring in your
visit to Cambodia?
Certainly a message of hope because our presence in Cambodia, is a
presence in education, and working for education means having hope. It
means working in order to build for today but also for tomorrow. In a
world where sometimes hope is lacking, it is my joy is to support all
people in Cambodia, to believe in its future, especially through the
education of children and youth.
We often hear about the problems that the Cambodian women face today
like domestic violence, labor and sexual exploitation. What are the
responses of the Salesian Sisters for the Cambodian woman?
The Salesian Sisters try to welcome a number of young woman who
experience conflict in the family and social difficulties, in order to
give them the possibility to live in a serene and filial atmosphere.
First, to regain their own energies, to be ready to become the women of
that future we hope for, to be able to have their own families and find
success in their lives. Another aspect is the development of their
professional formation. In fact, to give such formation to a young
woman is to give her the possibility of working, and earning her own
resources, to live with dignity, to win respect from others and to
build her own family. At the same time, she receives a training in
human values and spiritual values, so she will find meaning in life.
Through the formation we give to the young woman, we also reach the
family, because the woman has an influence in it. Even if it is not
socially recognised but in fact, by her action, by her presence
especially in the children's education, she has a very important
influence.
The Province of the Salesian Sisters includes Myanmar and Cambodia.
Why have you chosen Cambodia as the headquarters of the Province?
The choice of Phnom Penh as the headquarters is related with the
beginning of the Salesian presence in the area, but also because it is
easier to work in Cambodia. The educational activities we are doing for
many years now, offer good hope for future development. For this
reason, having the Province headquarters here is a great solution.
What are the prospects for vocations for the Salesian Sisters in
Asia?
The prospects for vocations in Asia depends on the countries concerned.
There are some countries that already have plenty of Salesian
vocations, for example Vietnam, India, East Timor, Indonesia,
Philippine, South Korea, Myanmar, but Cambodia because of its history,
needs more time. We already have the first Cambodian Salesian Sister
and other young women are in formation. So, we hope that the Salesian
charism will flourish with the Sisters and that they will discover and
become educators of the young. So, the prospects for vocations in Asia
are those of hope and commitment, because we realise that the charism
of Don Bosco unites children and older young people across all the
Asian cultures. It is also a challenge because it supposes that we
accompany them. Therefore, the charism is really to be integrated
within culture. This way, young Asian vocations are able to translate
Don Bosco's spirit into their lives.
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