Mission accomplished! We have come a long way since our first team walked into an area which was mainly an open field and a few trees. We now have 7 finished buildings, beautifully landscaped terrain which contain ponds with fish for eating, and fruit-bearing trees to feed the students

Looking good – ready fro the next phase

Today we awakened to brilliant sunshine and put on our best BTC shirts and went out to celebrate the completion and bless the complex.

The van went out for a short while and returned with 5 monks and 10 nuns. – I thought it only sat 12!

We then proceeded to the entrance where some girls were in tradition Khmer costume with students holding flowers.  The ribbon was cut by the head monk, the head of the commune, Chris Snyder and last but hardly least, Ronnie Yimsut.  This has been his dream forever so we were all so happy for him.

We then proceeded with music and dance to the dining room.  There, the monks and nuns chanted their blessings for the buildings and the school.  Of course there were the speeches but it was all fulfilling.  It was been quite a journey since the first team arrived in 2009.

We had guests – Mr. Toyn from his enrichment schools, Seti and Mum from CIO and Thai Sen from H&HA which we had visited on Tuesday.

We then took them on a tour of the classrooms, new and those previously completed. The nuns were most interested – the group was from 70 to 89.  We sat them in the classroom, gave them an English lesson and then they gave us a Khmer lesson.  They were a delight, laughed, chatted, having fun. Ronnie had most of the plaques up on the walls – thank you for recognizing the work of so many of us.

We then returned to the hotel for a rest – or packing, shopping, massage etc.

Then back to the site at 4:30 for the party – we were concerned because we had seen the size of the speakers the band brought in!  A special thank you to the kitchen staff who have prepared our lunches all week and our feast last night. The band played on (not too loudly) and we all were up dancing.  There were the Canadian couples and singles and most of the Cambodian men out on the floor. 

Brian – Cambodian Hospitality at it’s finest!

Caroline – Inspirational!

Pat – A great celebration – danced the night away with the Cambodians.

Doreen – I have found the Cambodians to be happy people.

Tom – The people are gentle, hard-working, but know how to relax. The kids are a delight – many were there to help.

Vicki – It was wonderful to  participate in the ribbon – cutting  ceremony commemorating the opening of BTC and the completion of our sweat equity program.

Chris – one of the most amazing team efforts.

ALL PICTURES SHOW BETTER IF YOU DOUBLE CLICK ON THEM

Team Leader Chris Snyder preparing to cut the ribbon (one of four cuts) including Buddhist monk, government official and Ronnie Yimsut

Distributing gifts to the monks and nuns after the blessings

The Rotary Club of Toronto contributed C$100,000 to the cost of the building

Drummers and dancers in traditional Khmer garments

Half the classroom block with landscaping complete