Cambodia
St Joseph’s, Tahen Our Twin Parish
Since 2002, the Diocese of East Anglia has formed a special charitable relationship with the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang which is in North Western Cambodia. Since 2004, St Walstan’s has been actively involved in corresponding with and fund raising for the parish in that region.
St Walstan’s has raised funds to help towards the cost of a children’s play area and a mushroom farm, and our latest fund-raising project will contribute to the cost of new houses for the villagers.
In September 2015 St Walstan’s was delighted to host Bishop Kike Figaredo,the Apostolic Prefect of our twin Diocese who gave us a first-hand account of life in the village of Tahen.
Most important of all, the parishioners of Costessey and Tahen support each other with friendship and prayer. We are also in regular communication, sending Christmas cards and exchanging stories and photographs of events in our respective parishes.
For further information please contact Hilda Kaye at hildakaye@btinternet.com
Tahen News
Latest News: Tahen Latest Report August 2024
Cambodia: There are new emails and photos on the Tahen noticeboard in the porch so please do take a look at them. One set is of the repairs to the houses following the flooding; the other shows their Christmas celebrations.
Facebook: Here is the link to the Facebook address of the parish of St. Joseph of Tahen, where we publish photos of the activities that take place … Although it is in Cambodian the photos are beautiful, I hope you enjoy them!
https://www.facebook.com/103224334911797/posts/362934518940776/?d=n
Cambodia Appeal: In response to the appeal from our twin parish for help following the recent devastating floods we have sent just over $19,000. (All transfers are made in US dollars.) This comes from the recent special collection, Alive in Faith parish funds, teas after Mass, the jar in church, etc. Thank you to everyone for their continued generosity. An email outlining their action plan is on the noticeboard in the porch
Building Bridges between the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia and Battambang Prefecture:
Then the Khmer Rouge Came: Survivors’ Stories from Northwest Cambodia, a memoir by Marie-Madeleine Kenning.
What is it like to visit a twin parish? How do you build a relationship with people so far away living in very different conditions from your own? And, in the case of Cambodia, what happened to people under the Khmer Rouge and how has it impacted their life? These three questions prompted Marie-Madeleine Kenning, from St Mary’s, Ipswich, to write Then the Khmer Rouge Came, drawing on her personal experience of making regular visits to the parishes of Battambang and Chomnaom.
All profits from the sale of the book, due to come out at the end of June, priced £14.99, will go towards helping those in need in Cambodia. To maximise the amount sent, Marie-Madeleine has set up a personal pre-order list and will distribute the book post free.
To reserve a copy please send an email to mariemadeleinekenning@gmail.com . No money needed now.
A communication from our twin parish Tahen:
Dear Twin Parish of East Anglia,
We are really thankful to write this email to you. We want to share with you the beautiful story of the Vannak and Wanna Family. In this case, thanks to your support we were able to build a house for them empowering and improving their lives.
We hope that you feel the same joy and gladness as us with the pictures of the blessing house for this special family.
Thank you very much for your support and accompaniment.
Kind regards,
Tahen Parish Team
