Farewell to the Barbers

The Deaf Development Programme offers two years of non-formal education and then a year of job training. For the boys our most successful skill to learn is barbering. Today three of our new barbers left DDP after three years with us.

The boys’ parents and some brothers and sisters came to pick them up, and we tried to really welcome them and help them to feel proud of their sons. Too many families with deaf children see their sons and daughters who can’t hear as problems, so today it was good for us to emphasize to these parents that now their sons can set up a barber shop in the provinces and contribute to the support of the family.
These parents rode in a tuk-tuk for three hours to reach Phnom Penh before lunch so we planned to feed them before their return journey.
It was good for the other students to be part of the celebration, too, to encourage them with a recognition of the success and accomplishment that can be theirs in another year or two.
Then it was time to load the barber chairs and mirrors and barber tools into tuk-tuks for the ride home. It was a crowded ride for the families.
This family was able to arrange for a tuk-tuk with a rack on top so they had more room inside for the people.