Scholarships for monks
Dhamma Aid Cambodia
March 2009 Update
Hello again,...I'm happy to
bring you the first update of 2009.
Scholarships
for monks
Last month I received a thick envelope from Cambodia.
In it
was a letter from Peter Gyallay Pap, the Executive Director of
Khmer-Buddhist Educational Assistance Project ("KEAP"), with a brief
report on how the
scholarship funds we raised for 2008 was disbursed. With our
contribution, KEAP was able to support sixteen monk students of the
Pra Sihanouk Raja University with ten monthly stipends of US$25 each.
Also in the envelope were some photos and a stack of letters written by
each
of the scholarship recipients . These letters, in addition to
expressing the gratitude and thanks of each student would
tell a little of their background,course of study and individual
aspirations.
It is indeed heart-warming and rewarding to know that we are able to make a contribution to the lives of those who are putting in great effort in determining their future and who aspire to contribute towards the welfare and religious heritage of their country.
Once again, we thank our generous supporters for the scholarships, named in our June 2008 update, who made this possible.
Publications
5,000 copies of the book "Why Buddhism?" by the late Ven K Sri Dhammananda. was printed. As requested by our Cambodian partners, this was a bi-lingual edition and is meant for free distribution to youth groups in Cambodia. Learning English is becoming an obsession among the youth in Cambodia who believe knowledge of the language is the key to well paying jobs and escape from a life of poverty. The book was sponsored by Malaysians through the effort of Bro Lim Chin Kah. "Why Buddhism?" is the second book of Ven K Sri Dhammananda which has been translated into Khmer. The first, also a bi-lingual edition of "How to Overcome your Difficulties" was also sponsored and printed through the sponsorship of DAC in 2007.
The
translator for "Why Buddhism", the Khmer monk Ven Suy Sovann, presently
a student in the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary
University in
Myanmar wrote me to say :
"More books,
however, are the need of Cambodian people. Therefore I would
like to inform you concerned the books, which already translated, as
follows:-
1. The
Purpose of Life, by Ven K Sri Dhammananda (Khmer only)
2. Buddhism
and Problems of the Moden Age, by Dr G. P. Malalasekera (bi-lingual)
3.
Dhammapada, the Word of the Doctrine (bi-lingual)
Actually, I
have already indicated my commitment to do this work for Cambodian
people as well as others. Therefore I deeply hope the Malaysian
Buddhist Friends will help Cambodian people continously."
Hopefully, DAC will be in a position to assist Ven Sovann in this effort. If any of you would like to sponsor these publications please contact me.
The recently printed books are already being distributed. Our partner, Buddhsim and Society Development Association is using the books for its Outreach Program in Takeo province, south of Phnom Penh, to introduce the Dhamma to villagers who have little access to the proper teachings. The programs involve monks travelling to schools and temples in the more remote villages and conducting weekly "tuition classes" on Saturdays for school children. It is the intention of the monks to teach the Dhamma but it sure doesn't hurt that the students get to improve their English at the same time. DAC is happy to learn that it is making a differnce in supporting the resurgence of Buddhism in Cambodia. Once again, thanks to all generous donors.
Below are some pictures of the program taken at Cham Bok Pagoda in Takeo province showing the monks teaching from the book "Why Buddhism?".
 Outreach Program in Takeo  Monks from BSDA. |
Students using the book "Why Buddhism?" by VEn K Sri Dhammananda
Part of
the class. |
Yu
Ban
March 2009
