Donated Suffolk football shirts head to Cambodia

By Jon Wright

BBC Suffolk

 

Cambodian children are wearing football shirts sent from Suffolk - with a Catholic couple collecting more to take to their partner parish.

 

St Mary's in Ipswich has very close links with Battambang, which is twinned with the East Anglian Diocese. The church is also trying to raise enough money to build a reservoir.

 

"It's about more than just fundraising, it's about building relationships, about fun," said Mike Kenning, project organiser at St Mary's. He's been to visit Battambang with his wife Marie-Madeleine, and will be taking another delivery of football shirts when they return next year.

 

"Until you see what the place is like, it's not quite so real," said Marie-Madeleine. "It's emotionally very hard because they are so poor but it is very rewarding as they are so friendly. "They smile and welcome you and they want to hear about your life and you want to hear about their lives."

 

 Battambang is Cambodia's second city after Phnom Penh and the parish covers both urban and rural areas. "One is called Chomnaom which is about an hour's drive outside. It's a very poor village, there is no electricity and no running water," said Marie-Madeleine.

 

Mike and Marie-Madeleine took about 30 shirts, which were distributed via a raffle, and are now collecting more donations from across the county.

 

"Father Totet, the parish priest in Batambang, came to visit last year and he suggested it," said Mike. "They know all about English football, the big clubs and David Beckham, and the parish itself runs a number of football teams who are apparently quite good. "It's obviously a big thing for them to have a UK football shirt on their back, so they really appreciate it."

 

The East Anglian Diocese is also working to help sustainable development projects, sending money to reinforce houses to make them withstand the rainy season, and to build a reservoir.