Category: Deaf

People and activities in the Cambodian deaf world

Homegrown

Life is simpler in Cambodia in many ways. Here a group of deaf students and their teacher really celebrate picking a jackfruit from a tree on the DDP grounds and just enjoying it together!

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.

Sign language class

Today Ms. Korn Maly (with microphone) began a new class teaching Cambodian Sign Language and I was invited to give a welcome to the students. I emphasized how important it is for more people to know sign language so that deaf people can be more included in the day-to-day interactions of life.

WIG Visitors

Several months ago some DDP staff attended a meeting of the Women’s International Group to talk to them about deafness and the work of DDP. They invited us to apply for funding through them, and this week a delegation from WIG came to visit DDP and discuss our work. We were very pleased to welcome them.

Women’s Day 2023

The Deaf Development Programme always celebrates Women’s Day as one of its special days and this year we moved the celebration to this Sunday so more people could come from the provinces and join in the fun and camaraderie.

This was the first big celebration we had since we moved from our old office grounds where we had big open areas. Today we used the eating area for our hostel and it was cramped but not so crowded as to be uncomfortable.
Our celebrations always have an array of simple games which people really enjoy. Here a young woman flips a water bottle to see if she can make land upright. If she does her paper is stamped and she gets a prize.
Another game challenged participants to blow a ping pong ball across glasses of water.
Another game used a water gun to shoot balls off the cups.
Those who were successful at the games brought their stamped games slips here to claim a little prize.
The games were fun but perhaps the most enjoyable part of the day was eating lunch together and then just talking to and catching up with friends not seen for many months.

Birthday Surprise

This afternoon I was surprised when most of the staff working in our new building appeared in my office with a birthday “cake” made of sliced fruit. I was out of the office much of yesterday, my birthday, so they rescheduled for today, unbeknownst to me. A wonderful bunch. The two women on the left (next to me) and the two men on the far right are deaf.

Caritas Visitors

Today a team of management from Caritas Australia and Caritas Cambodia came to visit the Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme. Nou Chanthea (2L) is Caritas Australia’s Asia Manager based in Sydney.

Cleaning Day

DDP has moved its Phnom Penh office from a larger office building to a smaller new building in the same compound, a cost-cutting move. But before leaving the old grounds, we had a general cleanup of the yard and the old building with all the staff participating.

Some broken and unusable tables and other pieces of furniture were gathered to be hauled away to a dump.
We found some old student desks behind a building at the rear of the property. Why the old desks were saved in the first place really isn’t clear but they’re gone now.
After a couple hours work, it was time for a break.
Although we had separated items to be disposed of into two piles, one pile for the landfill and the other to be recycled, plans were changed when the landlord unexpectedly showed up and asked us to throw all the landfill-destined materials into the fish pond which he wants to fill up.

Very Welcome Visitors!

Today I had a wonderful visit from three new friends who share a common background with me. During part of the time I was in Hong Kong, they were in Macau, working with the Lutheran School for the Deaf, and we have many friends in common. (L-R: Mrs. and Mr. Bush, Charlie, Thomas Dunseth)

Moving in…

Most of the staff were off from work today, making use of their remaining days of annual leave, but students from our barber shop came to help the maintenance man in our new building. Probably a whiteboard is going on that wall.