School Registration Day

Kampong Speu Province

28 October 2002

As part of the reorganization of the Deaf Development Program, literacy programs were restarted for deaf children and adults in five provinces in Cambodia. Today was registration day in the province of Kampong Speu where children and adults came to sign up to learn sign language and basic literacy and mathematics. Because of a budget cut by our primary funder, these provincial programs had been dropped, but a grant from CIDA, the Canadian International Development Agency, allowed us to reinstate them.

Registering for school under the trees Registration was held under the trees at the office of NCDP, the National Center of Disabled People. Mothers and fathers and their children gathered an hour before we arrived at 8:00 AM.

DDP staff explain the registration process DDP has one deaf and one hearing teacher in Kampong Speu, and today Virak, our teacher team leader, Liza Clews, an advisor, and Charlie Dittmeier, program director, came from Phnom Penh to assist with the enrollment.

Playing a game during the registration To keep the children occupied while their parents signed them up for classes, the DDP staff led them in a game.

Signing the application with a fingerprint There really isn't much need for it in a literacy program for children, but Cambodian culture demands that each child "sign" the paper with a fingerprint. Classes start Monday after the three-day holiday for the King's birthday!

Go to Cambodia Deaf main page
Go to Charlie Dittmeier's home page

As part of the reorganization of the Deaf Development Program, literacy programs were restarted for deaf children and adults in five provinces in Cambodia. Today was registration day in the province of Kampong Speu where children and adults came to sign up to learn sign language and basic literacy and mathematics. Because of a budget cut by our primary funder, these provincial programs had been dropped, but a grant from CIDA, the Canadian International Development Agency, allowed us to reinstate them.
	Registration was held under the trees at the office of NCDP, the National Center of Disabled People. Mothers and fathers and their children gathered an hour before we arrived at 8:00 AM.
	DDP has one deaf and one hearing teacher in Kampong Speu, and today Virak, our teacher team leader, Liza Clews, an advisor, and Charlie Dittmeier, program director, came from Phnom Penh to assist with the enrollment.
	To keep the children occupied while their parents signed them up for classes, the DDP staff led them in a game.
	There really isn't much need for it in a literacy program for children, but Cambodian culture demands that each child "sign" the paper with a fingerprint. Classes start Monday after the three-day holiday for the King's birthday!