Pchum Ben at DDP

Cambodia now is celebrating a two-week Pchum Ben festival, the Khmer equivalent of All Souls Day in western Christian cultures.  During this time the Cambodian people pay special attention and respect to their deceased ancestors.  Next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are the three public holidays associated with Pchum Ben, but today was the last day of class for our students who must travel to the provinces to be with their families.  We allow them to go early because the transportation companies all raise their prices tremendously starting the two or three days before the public holiday.  To celebrate the festival at DDP, the students cooked a traditional Khmer meal at school and invited us the staff to eat with them.

DDP Meeting in Kampot

Today Keat Sokly (standing) and I, as co-directors of the Deaf Development Programme, went to Kampot Province to our center there.  Our unhappy task was to explain to the staff there that our project in Kampot will be reduced in size in 2019 because of budget cuts by funders and some of the staff will lose their jobs.

DDP’s New Home

At the end of this year, Maryknoll’s Seedling of Hope HIV/AIDS project will close and the Deaf Development Programme will move to the Seedling office building and grounds.  Today the management of DDP visited Seedling with the landlord of the property to discuss the transition.  A large fish pond is one of the notable features of the grounds.

Notable Quotes

 

 

 

 

Cryptocurrency, that supposedly revolutionary and transformative technology: “if its rate of growth continues, by next year Bitcoin alone will account for the same level of carbon output as the entire United States.”

~ James Bridle in The New Yorker (September, 2018)

The Voice of Experience

Today Ratanak (standing) came back to the Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme to talk to our deaf Year 2 students.  Ratanak went through our Education Project and Job Training Project and became a barber, and now has a successful barbershop in Kandal Province.  He spoke to the students of coming to DDP and getting education and training and how that has changed his life.  He was a great inspirational speaker for our students.