School children and youth group members in Rhymney have been learning about Thai Buddhism in a series of visits aimed at building links within the community.
Rhymney is home to Wales’ only Thai Buddhist Temple and Thai Monk Sawat. Local police community support officers have been busy building links between the vastly different cultures of the Far East and the Valleys.
CSO Kelly Lewis and CSO Kath Young have been visiting Sawat on a regular basis and as a result, they have been able to arrange several visits to the temple during November.
Visitors included Councillor Carl Cuss, pupils from Upper Rhymney Primary School and pupils from Rhymney Comprehensive.
CSO Kelly Lewis said: “The visits to ‘The Sanghapadipa Temple’ in Rhymney have been a huge success. All the visits went extremely well and for the first time, children were able to go inside the temple and experience first-hand a completely different culture. The children had the opportunity to learn different phrases, meditate and ask questions. It was a rewarding experience for everyone involved.”
More school visits have been arranged for the new year.
Earlier this year, the temple was the focus of a controversial BBC Wales documentary which sparked complaints from the Rhymney community over its portrayal.
The documentary profiled Monk Sawat and his experience of Rhymney. It described him as living next to a “difficult” housing estate and depicted youths riding around the streets on motorbikes. It also interviewed residents who described some of the crime that is experienced in the community.
It also showed how there was an attempt to break into the temple and the subsequent security measures Sawat undertook including padlocks, alarms and CCTV.