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DDP has become quite well known in the deaf world since 1997 and many deaf people–individuals and groups–come to see us. This past week, Hosanna Church in Busan, Korea visited. They are a deaf congregation and we had a good visit.
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““A church without charity and mercy is no longer the church of God.” ~ Pope Francis |
Krousar Thmey and the Deaf Development Programme jointly sponsor a sign language committee tasked with researching and promoting Cambodian Sign Language. The committee was supposed to receive training six or seven years ago but it didn’t work out.
Now Aaron Wong, a deaf man from Hong Kong, and Keat Sokly, the co-director of DDP, are offering three weeks of training. Both are trained sign language linguists.The committee members are meeting at DDP and are off to a really good start.
This past Sunday I had a special mass for the Salesian Sisters who were just finishing up their week-long retreat and also celebrating the 146th anniversary of their community. The retreat must have had a good effect because they were in a joyous mood at breakfast after mass!
It’s a good thing she has her helmet. In case of emergency, she won’t have to go home to get it.
The sun is bright and hot in Cambodia and people cover up themselves and their vehicles. Click here to see some of the cover-ups on Phnom Penh streets.
One of the more joyful and life-giving schools in Cambodia is the Marist Brothers’ LaValla School for children with physical disabilities. They have done such an excellent job in welcoming these young people, giving them a positive identity, and equipping them with a basic education that allows them to go on to a government secondary school. Last Wednesday was graduation day for this year’s top class and it was definitely a day to celebrate the accomplishments of the students and the school.
I’m in Kampot this afternoon for a meeting at DDP in the morning. When I was walking back to the guesthouse this evening, I saw a burger joint with this sign.
I don’t think so….
There was no way the ruling party–the CPP, the Cambodian People’s Party–was going to lose the election last Sunday. The CPP-controlled legislature and courts had the main opposition party declared illegal and forced into exile or imprisoned the opposition leaders.
One of the opposition leaders in exile in France called for a boycott of the election but that was a dismal failure because the CPP made a big issue of the “clean finger” campaign (the index finger is dipped in ink when a person votes) and basically threatened to prosecute anyone who didn’t vote, and they know the person didn’t vote if there’s no ink on his or her finger. (There’s no law that says a person must vote but that’s irrelevant to the CPP.) Also the CPP can see which villages or other area had a low voter turnout and then that area could say goodbye to any hope of a new school or road or other service.
The only alternative left for those who wanted to protest was to go to vote but then invalidate the ballot by marking no candidate or several candidates. The headline above shows that is what nearly 9% of the country did. Approximately 600,000 ballots were declared invalid. In the last election in 2013, only 1.6% of the ballots were invalid. Everyone knows what the huge jump in invalid ballots means but the government can claim that they had a large turnout that makes the one-party election “legitimate.”
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“It is time for Christians to lift up the truth over falsehood, as a way of life. To defend public service over political tyranny. And to always protect the increasingly vulnerable. It is time to reclaim Jesus. Jim Wallis.” ~ Jim Wallis, Sojourners |