A ground-breaking ceremony for a communal house for Vietnamese-Cambodian people was held in Cambodia’s Kampot city on January 27

Chairman of the Khmer-Vietnamese Association
in Kampot Chuon Seiha speaks at the event

The house will be built on an area of 750 sq m, which was acquired in 2014 with assistance from Vietnam’s Kien Giang province in the Mekong Delta.

The Consulate General of Vietnam in Preah Sihanouk province and authorities in Kampot raised about US$250,000 to support the construction of the communal house and the holding of Vietnamese-Khmer language classes.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Khmer-Vietnamese Association in Kampot Chuon Seiha noted that since its establishment in 2003, the association has worked to bolster solidarity among Vietnamese-Cambodians and link with other organisations.

Construction is to be completed in April, he added.

For his part, Vietnamese Consul General in Preah Sihanouk Vu Ngoc Ly spoke highly of the efforts of Vietnamese-Cambodian people in Kampot and Cambodia at large in surmounting the difficulties and challenges in 2020.

He noted that the building of the communal house will help ease the burden on local people and strengthen their bonds, thereby affirming their position in the country.

On the same day, the Vietnamese General Consulate in Preah Sihanouk presented 50 gift sets of 15 kg of rice each to disadvantaged families in Kampot, to help them enjoy the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

Hundreds of Vietnamese-Cambodians have joined Vietnamese-Khmer language classes arranged by Kampot authorities since 2008.