Trip to Europe: Day 2

[I’m sorry for the hiatus in updating this website.  I have been on the road in London and in Milan, and didn’t have access to the internet.  Now I have arrived at the Maryknoll house in Rome and will be able to do the updating every day–I hope.]

Monday, 18 June, I flew from Myanmar to the United Arab Emirates to the UK and met Justin Smith, my colleague from Cambodia who now lives in London.  I went to his house where I will stay for two nights with his family.  Click here to see my British arrival.

Good on ya, Colin! #2

 

Colin Allen in 2001-2002 was an advisor for the Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme in Phnom Penh.  Now he is president of the World Federation of the Deaf and president of the International Disability Association.  Here he is with Ms. A. Muhammed, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations.

Good on ya, Colin!

Colin Allen is the president of the World Federation of the Deaf which represents deaf people to the United Nations.  He is a real organizational genius, just the type of advocate leader the deaf community needs–and he was just recognized for his abilities by made a member of the Order of Australia in the most recent Queen’s List.

Coincidentally the guard at our Maryknoll office in Phnom Penh showed up wearing an old Colin Allen shirt!  Maybe fifteen years ago we made up some shirts for a birthday party for Colin when he worked at the Deaf Development Programme here–before he got to the big leagues.  I doubt the appearance of the shirt at this time was intentional–I have no idea how the guard got it and I’m sure he has no idea who Colin is–but it was a fortuitous alignment of events!

Another farewell

This week we had another farewell at the Deaf Development Programme as our social worker, Tay Vannarith (R), bade farewell to the rest of the DDP staff.  Vannarith set up our social work program eight years ago and has been a faithful and dedicated source of help to the deaf community that will be sorely missed.

Visitors from Malaysia / Tuesday

The visitors returned from Siem Reap this evening and we went to a final dinner together.  Click here for a photo from the restaurant.  Tomorrow morning early they fly back to Malaysia.

[Somehow, somewhere the photos from Thursday and Saturday have been misplaced!  If I ever find them on my computer, I’ll let you know!]