Mission in Cambodia
Sister Joseen Vogt
In 2013, Sisters Joseen Vogt and Marlys Jax made a trip to Cambodia, and their story is featured in the Spring issue of the College of Saint Teresa Alumnae Newsletter. Click here to read the article.
At an age when most people look forward to retirement, Sister Joseen embraced the opportunity to serve in Cambodia during the country’s reconstruction period. Here is her story in her own words:
Water for Cambodians
In April 2009, Yuwatey Suy, Director of Business Affairs for the Sisters of Saint Francis, traveled to her former home in Cambodia, accompanied by her husband and sister. She has periodically visited her native country since arriving in Minnesota in 1979.
In addition to meeting with Sister Joseen for the formal ceremony of dedication and graduation of the students, Yuwatey had a concern while she was in her native village: the need for wells producing clean water. She went to her former home with $2000 donated by the public, and another $1000 from the Franciscan Fund. At around $170 a well, the workmen were able to repair some wells, finish others, and dig and make operative several new wells. The need is so great, she says; families not having a well have to search for water and often find only polluted ponds. Families with children and the old and/or disabled were served first, but still, many remain without.