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People and activities in the Cambodian deaf world
Today we had the third and last of our Education Project graduations, this time at our main office in Phnom Penh. Actually this event centered more on the new incoming class of students who just started their education this week.
On Monday this week we went to Kampot Province for the graduation of our DDP students there. On Wednesday we attended a similar graduation in Kampong Cham Province.
Today we had a graduation ceremony for the students who finished our two-year non-formal education program in Kampot Province. Quite a few staff from the DDP office in Phnom Penh were there for the occasion.
One of the worst aspects of deafness is isolation, not being part of all that is going on around you, even in your own family. That creates great interest among deaf people for getting together whenever they can. The Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme has a Deaf Community Center (DCC) in Phnom Penh and in Kampot and Kampong Cham Provinces and they are open on Saturday and Sunday for deaf people to drop in and play games or participate in various activities. This group is playing dominoes.
Inside the center this group is playing Uno.
Tay Vannarith (middle) is the social worker at the Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme. Since March he has been participating in a training program about the sexual abuse of boys. Here he receives a certificate in a ceremony marking the end of the ten months of training.
Today I received some photographs from the trip of the DDP staff to a floating village on Tonle Sap Lake. Click here to view the added photos from the last day of the staff retreat.
I had to miss most of Day 4 with the group because I had to return early in the morning to Phnom Penh to be home for a special occasion this evening. I was only able to get a few photos before I left in the morning and will depend on some other staff to supplement those with pictures they took during the day while I was in the van coming home. Here are my pictures from the morning before our departure and the others will come as soon as I get them. Click here and then click on Friday for the first batch.
Today was the last full day of the annual staff meeting and it was definitely a full day. In the morning we talked about what it means to be a deaf-centered organization and how to achieve that, and then in the afternoon we talked about personal goals and a goal for DDP. Click here to see the photos and text I could not add last night.
Today, the first full day of the annual staff meeting, we focused on budgeting and management’s response to a survey of staff concerns. That was in the morning and then in the afternoon we focused more on team building. Click here.
Today about 70 of our 85 staff journeyed from Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham and Kampot Provinces to the Metta Karuna Center in Siem Reap for an annual staff meeting. We will be here four days. Click here to see the activity of this first day.