Parish Offer Gifts, Breakfast To Poor Families During Buddhist Feast Of The Dead

Posted: 30th October 2007

PHNOM PENH (UCAN) -- A Catholic parish gave food and daily necessities to 100 local poor families during the country's Pchum Ben festival, when Cambodians honor their ancestors.

The youth group of St. Joseph Church in Phnom Penh presented a song before providing breakfast and gift packages for poor people at the church on Oct. 6. Buddhists, who comprise more than 90 percent of Cambodians, marked Pchum Ben, during which they offer food to their ancestors, from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11.

Bol Yol told UCA News a Church worker visited her home, where she lives with her two young grandchildren, whose parents have died of AIDS, and invited her to receive a gift from the church.

Sitting on a mattress as she watched the song performance, the 56-year-old woman said, "I don't know yet what kind of gift I will receive, but I am very glad that people of another religion think about a poor family like mine."
Father Paul Roeung Chatchai, a Thai missioner serving here, told UCA News each family received 20 kilograms of rice, eight packages of noodles, a bottle each of fish sauce and soy sauce, 1 kilogram of salt, 1 kilogram of sugar and some clothes.

The priest of the Thai Missionary Society said the Catholic Church joins with Cambodians as they celebrate Pchum Ben, "so we share food and gifts, which we collected from Catholics locally and also from abroad." He added that the gifts for each family, although not much, also bring them encouragement.

Father Roeung clarified to the guests that the gifts in no way mean "we are asking you to believe in our Catholic religion." For Catholics, he explained, giving something to the poor means "giving to our Lord, Jesus Christ." The priest also noted that Catholics also have a special time to honor the dead, All Souls Day on Nov. 2.
Some of the people told UCA News the gifts make a difference in their life and encourage them in their daily struggles.
While waiting for a motorcycle taxi to go home, Ha Gnet, 72, said he had never before received gifts like this and "will never forget them (the Church) for the rest of my life."

According to Ros Sothy, 40, the rice she received can feed her family, with three children, for 10 days. "Moreover, I can use some of the rice to make food offerings at the pagoda for Pchum Ben," added Sothy, whose husband is a motorcycle taxi driver.
The 20 kilograms of rice will last Hor Rum, 74, a whole month. The gift "shows God's love for people," she said, holding her granddaughter next to her. Rum expressed her belief that God wants poor people like herself to face their daily struggles bravely.

Seng Sany, a parish youth who helped some elderly people carry their bags of rice, told UCA News he registered one family after seeing its members living in poor conditions and without much food. "I think they want to go to the pagoda to offer food to their ancestors, but they don't have the money. This gift will help support the family, and some of the rice can go toward making an offering at the pagoda," said Sany, 19.
As a Catholic, he explained, "I care about people who are living," regardless of their religion.

Article Source: UCAN