Friends of Cambodia Twinning with Cambodia
St Mary’s is twinned with two parishes in Cambodia: the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, in Battambang and the parish of St Therese of the child Jesus, in Chomnaom, and our links to the Tep Im centre, a student hostel located near the Battambang presbytery.
The Friends of Cambodia are a parish group, open to all, meets a few times a year and helps us to keep in touch with news from Cambodia and projects we are supporting.
St Therese of the child Jesus, Chomnaom
Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Battambang
Known as Pet Yiey Chee, or the Hospital of the Grandmother Nuns, because of the presence of a hospital run by nuns in the grounds of the current compound before the Pol Pot era, Battambang parish numbers around 1000 Catholics. Our Lady of the Assumption is both a parish church and the mother church of the Battambang prefecture (or diocese), led by Enrique Figaredo, a Spanish Jesuit missionary.
Chomnaom is a small village in Banteay Meanchey province some 50 kilometres from Battambang. The main source of livelihood is rice farming. In recent years many people have gone to seek employment in Thailand, leaving their children with grandparents. The village has had electricity since 2012, but there is no piped water, and sanitation facilities are often inadequate. Water for drinking comes from huge jars of collected rainwater and has to be boiled; water for washing comes from the river or a pond. There is no public transport. People walk or get around on bicycles or mopeds.
The parish of St Therese of the child Jesus is the second oldest parish in the Battambang Prefecture, with around 120 Catholic families. The parish compound includes the Church, a kindergarten, and a parish pastoral centre. During the Pol Pot regime, the parish priest, Fr.Jean Badre, a French Benedictine monk, was killed by the Khmer Rouge.
The Tep Im Centre
The Tep Im centre, named in memory of Mgr PaulTep Im, Bishop Kike’s immediate predecessor who was killed by the Khmer Rouge alongside Fr Jean Badré, was set up to provide accommodation and food for 30 to 40 young people living in isolated villages like Chomnaom who have been admitted to one of Battambang’s universities but cannot afford to rent lodgings. It consists of three buildings (the boys’ accommodation block, the girls’ accommodation block, and the kitchen and main study room) arranged around a pleasant garden with a kiosk in the middle. The students clean the premises, look after the garden and take turns to cook.
All of these centres are part of the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang (http://www.battambang.net)
Cambodia we miss you
Mike and Marie-Madeleine have put together this YouTube video remembering Battambang in Cambodia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9llfs435iU4
Not able to travel to Cambodia but many memories.
Other videos about our connection with Cambodia.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtu3IlGZU9r1liPBsNk-ne1gU7EU7cnaL
Christmas food vouchers for Cambodia
As in previous years St Mary’s parishioners are invited to purchase a food voucher to provide rice, noodles, tinned fish and soy sauce for those in need in our twinned parishes of Chomnaom and Battambang.
This year's Christmas Food vouchers for those in need in our twinned parishes are now available on St Mary's website in a print yourself format for a donation. The amount you donate is at your discretion but you might like to use as a guide the price of the pre-pandemic vouchers, which were £5 £10 £20. Anything above this is of course most welcome too.
The voucher can be downloaded by clicking on the image or clicking here: voucher 2024.pdf.
Thank you in advance for your long standing support and your customary generosity. Be assured that the friendship between our communities is valued by our Cambodian brothers and sisters who are very appreciative of what you do for them.
How to donate
Donations can either be made by cheque payable to 'Friends of Cambodia' and left at St Mary's Presbytery/Church for the attention of Val Olsen, or by bank transfer to the following account:
Bank: Barclays
Account Name: Friends of Cambodia
Sort Code: 20-44-51
Account number: 73175731
Reference: gift voucher
Please do not use the Donate to the parish online link (DONA) on the home page which would involve more administration.
Gift aid: If you are a taxpayer, please complete a Gift Aid Declaration Form (follow this link), or printed at the back of both Churches, mark it 'Cambodia' and return to the presbytery. If you have already completed one of these for Cambodia (separately from the Parish) you do not need to complete another, this will be automatically gift aided. If you are unsure, do complete another, just in case. It makes your donation go further at no extra cost to you.
Note: Please note that to help those without access to the Internet or printing facilities, it is planned to sell a small number of vouchers after Mass in the second half of December. If you are among these or know someone who is and you cannot pass a printed voucher to them, please contact mariemadeleinekenning@gmail.com