Venerable Somnieng in Melbourne

We held two fundraising dinners, one in Docklands close to the  CBD and one in suburban Frankston, both were well attended and we won a lot of hearts and new friends.

Our function on Wednesday night at the Bopha Devi Cambodian restaurant was covered by Cambodian Community TV and will be featured on their weekly program “My TV Cambodia” at 6pm Wednesdays channel 31.

 – with the team from Breadwinners, a company where the staff all chip in each month to provide a regular donation

– With Karen and Rob Curnow – who sponsor three PAGE girls and Peter McCorquodale

Photo 12- feeding the birds.

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Kerang stay

Venerable Somnieng arrived in Kerang after a 1 1/2 hour flight from Sydney and a 3 hour drive.  We spent the evening on Sunday on the banks of the Murray River in the little town of Murrabit (an area that was devastated by floods last year).  Members of the Rotary Club of Kerang came out to meet Somnieng and to listen first hand to his story about Life and Hope.  The club has been involved in supporting Life and Hope for the past 3 years, but for many, this was the first chance to hear directly about the Association.

On Monday, we visited the 2 Secondary Schools that will be sending students to Cambodia in November/December to continue our work with Life and Hope.  It is pleasing to see that this year, we have 50 students wishing to travel (30 from Victoria and 20 from Northern Territory).  Venerable Somnieng assures us there will be plenty to keep us busy.  During our visits to the Secondary schools, Somnieng had the opportunity to explore the 'technical' rooms.  These are the rooms allowing students to participate in cooking, sewing, woodwork, metal work, engineering and automotive subjects.  These rooms may provide some ideas for future developments of the Agricultural School at Angkor Thom.  We followed this up with a discussion with the Regional Director of the Department of Education around the possible donation of equipment as local schools are re-furbished.  This is a discussion that may lead to some donations of equipment to enable expansion of the Agricultural School to happen.

Monday evening saw a public forum where approximately 40 people attended to hear of Life and Hope's programs.  Unfortunately technology was not on our side and we were not able to show Venerable Somnieng's video clip, but this link will be forwarded to all in attendance.  One member of the community in particular has links to agriculture and he will be staying in contact with Somnieng around the development of the Agriculture School.

On Tuesday morning we headed back to Bendigo to meet Rebecca and Shaun who were transporting Venerable Somnieng to Melbourne for the next leg of the journey.

I would like to say that we learned much from Somnieng in his brief stay and we hope Somnieng has learned a lot from us, especially in relation to agriculture.

Visiting the library at Cohuna Secondary College, with the Principal Stephen Brain

Chatting to students at Kerang Technical High School

Standing on the banks of the Murray River at Murrabit

Talking to Ian at Kerang Technical High School

Meeting with some of the Rotary Club of Kerang members

Venerable Somnieng’s Week in Sydney

It has been an absolute delight having Venerable Somnieng visit us in Sydney over the past week. After welcoming him at the airport early on Monday morning, we drove him out to Northwestern Sydney where most of the Cambodian community has settled. For his first two days, he stayed at the magnificent Wat Khemarangsaram, a Khmer Buddhist Temple in Bonnyrigg where he got to know many members of the Khmer community.

Since coming into the city on Wednesday, we've had the pleasure of his company in Paddington, and have had a lot of time to catch up on developments in Siem Reap, and particularly the impressive recent happenings at LHA. He told us a lot about the 28 students who just graduated from the Sewing Training Center and the progress on the two new houses being constructed on the PAGE building site.

On Thursday evening, there was a very memorable reception held in Venerable Somnieng’s honor at the offices of Heathley Ltd., an investment management company where Peter Hemming is managing director. In welcoming the 35 invited guests, Peter announced that Heathley would commit to sponsoring the 12 new girls who will be coming to PAGE when the new buildings are completed. It was a wonderful gesture that will allow this important program to grow. After guests mingled over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, Venerable Somnieng made a brief presentation about the activities of Life and Hope Association. There was a great deal of interest and many guests indicated that they would be offering support to LHA.

On Friday evening, there was an equally delightful reception held at the beautiful home of Ann Sherry and Michael Hogan. Once again, 50 guests were treated to cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as they wandered round Ann and Michael’s magnificent historic home known as The Abbey. Once everyone had gathered, Venerable Somnieng explained a little background of LHA, and his vision for how it will expand its impact in the future. Once again, these comments resonated strongly with the attendees, and for the next hour and a half, he was surrounded by guests asking questions, making commitments of support, and promising to visit him in Siem Reap.

But on Sunday, Venerable Somnieng leaves us. It's been a wonderful week, and we know he leaves Sydney with some great memories, some strong commitments of support, and a great many new friends. We wish him a successful and enjoyable onward journey, and send him off with an invitation to visit us again soon.

Chris Bartlett.

 Venerable Somnieng addressing guests

  Guests in the entrance hall on the magnificent Abby

 Ven. Somnieng talks with guests at Ann and Michael's home

  Ven. Somnieng answering questions after his presentation

  Guests at the Abby

  Guests enjoying conversation at the Abby

  Ven Somnieng addresses the guests

  Chris Bartlett introduces Venerable Somnieng

Welcome

Welcome to this blog.  The blog is designed to highlight some of the activities of The Venerable Somnieng's inaugural visit to Australia.  We have worked for Life and Hope Association through our Schoolies Alternative program for the past 3 years and we value the organisation and what it is aiming to achieve in Cambodia.  Our partner in Australia is Rice for Cambodia and together we believe we are contributing to making a difference.  Please enjoy the blog and we look forward to your comments and possible support of this Association.