Acceptance

The telephone never stopped ringing today, marking the announcement day of those accepted into the Don Bosco Secretary Vocational Training Center for the 2009-2010 year. Today I was actually glad I hadn’t progressed very far in my study of Khmer, saving me the task of breaking the sad news to those not admitted.

The Sisters now need to locate a nearby house for the girls admitted from the countryside. With classes starting next week, it seems to me that the Sisters are cutting it close!
Construction is under way for a new building designed for the Vocational Training Center and is scheduled to be completed in June. The four-story building will not only have classrooms and offices, but also space to house girls from outside provinces (who are usually the poorest of the poor).
This year the Vocational Training Program is operating out of the Kindergarten building, while the Kindergarten has been moved outside to the courtyard. Needless to say, the opening of the new building will be greatly celebrated. It will both further the Sister’s mission to serve the poor (allowing them to accept girls who would not otherwise have had the means to live in the city and attend school) while providing the space to adequately accommodate students and teachers alike. It will be exciting to see the opening of the school this year, but I sometimes find myself wishing it had been built a year earlier : )