Kampot Graduation

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 deaf students receiving her certificate from Charlie Dittmeier.
An official from the Provincial Ministry of Education gave a talk.
A picture of all the students and their teachers.
After the ceremony, we went to our hostel, DDP House, for lunch together.

Hua Hin Meetings (Wednesday)

The retreat ended yesterday and today we started the meeting portion of our gathering in Hua Hin.  The morning was given to an exercise we called Open Spaces where people were allowed to post topics that were listed on the board and people were free to choose which topic session they would like to attend.  Participation was rather sparse, partly because Obama was giving his farewell address as president.  In the afternoon all the Maryknollers from all the different countries met as Maryknoll Asia South to discuss and plan retreats and schedules for the next two years.  Click here for some photos.

Notable Quotes

 

“The reason why Trump was able to attain power is not because he had better ideas, made better arguments, had greater organizational capacity, or even spent more money. The reason he was able to win was because those charged with opposing him offered no hope, but the status quo, in a country where inequality between rich and poor and black and white is growing.”

~ Gary Younge in The Nation