In June 2023, the MCC U.S. Board of Directors spent eight days in Cambodia for a Learning Tour. There were 26 visitors in all, including Board members and MCC staff. We were quite a crowd when the MCC Cambodia team met up with them.
On Sunday morning, the Learning Tour split up into two groups with one attending church at Phnom Penh Mennonite Church and Calvary Chapel. It was wonderful for them to meet with Esther at her home church before she traveled to the US to start her IVEP term. In afternoon, I presented on MCC Cambodia context, history, and programming. For dinner, they split up into small groups that were each hosted by a SALT/YAMEN participant. So, for instance, Sondobi took a group to a Nigerian restaurant in Phnom Penh. In the past, we’ve had trouble conveying the YAMEN/SALT experience to visitors and this opportunity for direct person-to-person connection seemed like the best way to bridge the gap.
The Board had meetings together on Monday but Aim Mok lead morning devotion for them and we planned dinner with the Learning Tour and the MCC Cambodia team on a boat. But then the downpour started and we had to adjust plans to have dinner together at the hotel instead. This, too, was a learning experience. Our plans often change here in Cambodia.
The MCC U.S. Board had another half day of meetings on Tuesday but then joined the MCC Cambodia team for lunch at the office. This included giving the MCC Cambodia new shirts and recognizing national staff who – like Pou Cheang – who had reached milestone years of service.
In the afternoon, the Learning Tour visited the Toul Sleng genocide museum along with our new MCC Cambodia service workers.
Then they got in a quick boat ride on the Mekong and Sap rivers before dinner, so that they didn’t completely miss out on that experience. That evening they had dinner at the Sumatra Indonesian restaurant near Russian Market.
I believe that it’s critical for visitors to get out of Phnom Penh and into the countryside if at all possible. It’s important to see how the vast majority of Cambodians live, not think that Phnom Penh is the Cambodian experience. So, early on Wednesday morning, the Learning Tour loaded up into three vans and we headed out to Mesang district, Prey Veng province.
The three groups met at the ODOV office in Mesang town and then split up to visit various ODOV project sites, accompanied by ODOV staff. My group traveled the furthest afield – to Kampong Trabaek district – while the luckiest group got to have lunch at Isaac’s host family and see his home of eleven months. We had originally planned to meet up with Jon and Debbie Coats – MCC Cambodia alumni, now with Eastern Mennonite Missions, who have been living in Mesang since the 1990s – while we were in Mesang but they out of province visiting Gordon, another MCC alumni from the 1990s living in Cambodia. That night the Learning Tour stayed in Mesang, taking up all three of the guesthouses there. Staying at rural guesthouses in a least developed country was another learning experience. I remember sleeping on the concrete floor of the ODOV office when I would visit Mesang during my first term so the fact that there are actually guesthouses now seems quite comfortable to me.
On Thursday morning, we headed to a local Primary School to observe a Peace Club lesson, learn about the MCC’s Rural Education project, and hear directly from the Teachers/Principal about education in rural Cambodia.
We traveled to the provincial capital – Prey Veng town – for lunch with the MCC team there. It was the first time many of the Learning Tour had had ‘hot pot’ and it was a fun experience. We’ve learned that it’s also a great meal for allergies and dietary needs, just put what works into the soup and leave the rest.
After lunch, we met at the MCC Prey Veng field office at the Prey Veng Christian Center and the team there shared about their work. The Learning Tour prayed over the team before we loaded back into our vans and headed back into Phnom Penh in the late afternoon.
The next day I presented on MCC’s partnership model and the the Learning Tour met with the partner directors whose projects we had not been able to visit; either due to the project sites being too far away or too sensitive to visit in the lead-up to national elections. This included a time for presentations followed by a meal together.
In the afternoon, the Learning Tour split into two groups with one visiting the Returnee Reintegration program at the Khmer Vulnerability Aid Organization and the other meeting with MCC alumni Max Ediger. The groups then rotated activities so everyone got to visit KVAO and meet with Max. KVAO works with Cambodian childhood refugees who have been deported to Cambodia to the US. Due to the sensitivity nature of their work no photos were taken of the Learning Tour visit but they did get to meet directly with returnees and learn from them.
The Learning Tour had dinner with alumni of Women Peace Maker’s interethnic peacebuilding program. This gave them a chance to learn about the situation for ethnic minorities in Cambodia and about each participant’s peacebuilding journey, even though they were not able to visit vulnerable ethnic minorities community in person during their time in Cambodia.
On Saturday morning, we organized a debrief session for the Learning Tour based around MCC’s Eight Core Operating Principles and how they had seen them being practiced in Cambodia. MCC Cambodia service workers joined the Learning Tour participants during this to answer questions and help facilitate.
Mennonite Central Committee’s work around the world is guided by 8 core Operating Principles.
1 – Serve in the Name of Christ
MCC responds to human needs as part of its witness to God’s love and its commitment to follow Jesus.2 – Work with Churches and Organizations
MCC wants relationships with partners to be real and honest. We want to be responsible to each other and we want to learn from each other.3 – Be Sustainable
MCC believe we should live simply and take care of God’s creation. We want our activities to have long-term results that are good for the environment, good for society and good for the economy.4 – Make Society More Fair Economically
MCC knows that God’s ways can be the opposite of human ways. God has a special care for the poor. We will always work with poor and less-valued communities to support human rights and reduce poverty.5 – Bring People Together
The Bible tells us to love God, our neighbors, and our enemies. MCC uses community to bring people together from different cultures, politics, religions, and economic classes.6 – End Discrimination
We believe in making God’s ways real on earth. MCC wants to end discrimination based on race, gender or economic status. We want all kinds of people to help plan programs and make decisions.7 – Be Nonviolent
The Bible tells us to be peacemakers. MCC wants to find non-violent solutions to conflict and oppression.8 – Find Justice-Based Peace
MCC Operating Principles in Simple English
All people are created in God’s image and have dignity. MCC makes long-term partnerships that try to build peace. This peace allows all people to have justice. This peace does not accept violence even when others say violence is okay.
Finally, Max Ediger closed the Learning Tour with a devotion that related Ezekiel 37:1-4 to peacebuilding.
The MCC Cambodia team loves to host and was so excited to have the MCC U.S. Board visit. I was glad that we were able to facilitate opportunities for person to person connection. If people are coming all the way to Cambodia for a visit we want to do more than just tell them about the projects. We want them to see themselves, talk to the people directly. It was great to host them despite the added workload involved and I hope the experience enriches their service as MCC leaders.
What an intense and educational experience…love the way people are brought together to share stories and experiences! What a wonderful witness to God working in the world!