TA PUNG
The Catholic Community of Ta Pung initially consisted of only two families. In 1992 a priest was invited to celebrate Christmas day with them, and little by little, over the years, the Catholic presence has steady increased. In 2001 a church was built, and is called “St Mary’s”. Today the catholic community of Ta Pung is made up of approximately 50 families.
The Church is a two-story building and is situated in the middle of the rice fields. The ground floor comprises a kindergarten and a vocational training centre.
The place for worship is on the second floor. The vocation-training centre offers the opportunity to the community to learn new skills, such as tailoring and a place to learn life basic skills such as reading and writing.
The church is in the middle of 70 hectares of rice fields. This rice fields, owned by the Church, are used to provide rice to the community, especially the sick and elderly.
The Catholic community of Ta Pung also organizes a “food for work” program; this program provides families who are in need, food and basic necessities. In return the families work on new projects such us building new roads and dams for the benefit of the community as a whole.
Ta Pung parish also offers a series of scholarships enabling those pupils who cannot afford and wish to attend high school. Some students, which are given a scholarship, also receive lunch each day.