August is the month when we at the various 
Don Bosco schools receive the applications for new students. A whole week is alloted for interview and it is capped by the entrance exam at the week's end. DB Poipet held its interviews from 13-17 August. Their minimum entry level is grade six. Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh had theirs the following week (19-25 August). Here the minimum entry level is at least grade nine. For the secretarial course they must finish grade 12.It dampens my spirit that for more than a thousand plus applicants for Phnom Penh, only around 200 will be accepted for the first year of technical training. Well, where else will you find a two-year quality voc-tech training for free here in
Cambodia? If only we had more money and donors to expand the program!
Interestingly, I wanted to recruit one from Phnom Penh to help out here in Poipet, but I was too late since all the 2nd years of the Electrical and Machine Shop sections have been recruited by various companies... even before they graduate in September.
Cambodia will never want for blue-collar jobs. Let's hope we can train these young men and
women into ethically committed professional young workers. Ahh... that's the legacy of St. John Bosco.
From the pictures you will see that we had to use our covered courts for the exams since the classrooms alone will not suffice for the number of applicants.Such are the difficulties that poor but deserving students may have to face. Tough times never last, but tough people do. Personally that's how I wish to help in training these young ones for the future.