RGAW Event – Cambodian community consultation

Saturday the 20th of May.

It is early morning and Wathnak, Memoona and Melvin are travelling to a Cambodian temple in Burton – the Wat Khmer Santipheap Association Of SA Inc.  They are there to observe a religious ceremony and provide a section of the Cambodian community education about the services offered by PEACE as part of RGAW.

Wathnak Vy is a member of the gambling help team here at PEACE and works tirelessly across many sites to service the Cambodian community. RASA has a service available tailored specifically to Cambodian gambling issues as part of RASA’s broader gambling help objectives.

The team arrive just in time to see the prayers and food being offered to the monks.

Shortly after they are welcomed with some traditional dance and performances from the Cambodian youth which is both intriguing and entertaining.

After the welcome and pleasantries, it is over to Melvin who shares his experiences of being raised in an ethnic family and how his experiences led him to have issues with gambling. Wathnak acts as an interpreter for this and relates Melvin’s experiences to issues facing the Cambodian community such as isolation, lack of knowledge of available resources and cultural barriers that exist which limit people seeking help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memoona then gives a short presentation to outline the specific services available for the Cambodian  community in relation to gambling and fields questions about how we may best be able to improve our services in outer metropolitan areas which is of particular concern to some attendees. Again, Wathnak serves as a translator for this and relays these concerns back to the team to be addressed.

Wathnak then summarises how members of this temple may access these services and the team is invited to share in a traditional meal with members of the community.