The Metta Karuna Reflection Centre provided a sacred space for reflection for Hindu, Muslim and Christian peace seekers from Pakistan and Indian Kashmir in March.

“Many said the time of reflection they spent in our inter-faith sacred space helped them crystallise their desires and arouse their imagination for a peaceful way forward,” said centre founder and director of Jesuit Refugee Service Cambodia Sr Denise Coghlan RSM. “It was a special moment as Hindus, Muslims and Christians gathered around a very concrete and specific peace challenge in Kashmir.”

The Metta Karuna Reflection Centre in Siem Reap is an inter-faith centre where Cambodians and foreigners are welcomed to see the challenges of Cambodia through the eyes of the very poor.   The centre receives visitors from all over the world and is a sanctuary for refugees.  It holds landmine and cluster munitions campaigns, seminars on the rights of women with disabilities, reconciliation and justice programmes, teacher workshops and children’s camps. 

March also saw a visit from a delegation from South Sudan, which was declared a sovereign state in 2011.  The government representatives, both injured by weapons of war themselves, came to learn about upholding the rights of survivors. assisting the most vulnerable victims  and making programmes that meet real needs.

Earlier, people evicted from their land had visited the centre to learn skills to defend their case and strengthen their solidarity.  In March, three of them, who had been imprisoned unjustly, were helped to rebuild their lives and families again.

But perhaps the most popular visitor was Lakenna, the new baby of Reaksmey, a member of the Centre’s staff. Reaksmey suffered leg injuries when she was very young and came to stay in the Phnom Penh hostel.  Her mother was dead and her father a landmine victim, and she needed to attend an accelerated learning programme to make up for her lack of access to schooling. 

Year later, she arrived at Metta Karuna for a workshop on the rights of women with disabilities conducted by Song Kosal.  Emboldened, she demanded that her father allow her to get a job.  She has since married and in March came with shining eyes and great joy to present her beautiful two-week old baby.

“We were blessed with so many graces in March,” said Sr Denise.

For more information on the Metta Karuna Reflection and Refugee Centre, click here.