Focus Group Determines Future Priorities for Deaf People in Cambodia
On Tuesday, Deaf Development Programme hosted a focus group with attendees from Epic Arts and Krousar Thmey to discuss the various issues deaf people in Cambodia face and to plan for the future. This is the first time deaf representatives from all three groups has come together to discuss the issues they face and how they think these issues should be addressed.
The morning began with a welcome message from Fr. Charlie Dittmeier, Director of Deaf Development Programme, instructions from Justin Smith, outgoing Deputy Director and a greeting from Sokly Keat, incoming Deputy Director, then the participants introduced themselves to each other, beginning with Sreytin Thoeung, DDP teacher.
First, participants from all of the NGOs serving the signing deaf people of Cambodia went around the room introducing themselves, explaining which NGO they work for and what they do there.
A teacher from Krousar Thmey, who also works on the CSL development committee, introduces himself.
Over the course of a full day, fortified by short breaks that included coffee and sweet treats wrapped in banana leaf, this group of about 30 people from Kampong Cham, Kampot and Phnom Penh listed the priorities they think DDP should focus on in the upcoming years. The first activity of the day was to list the challenges deaf people in Cambodia thought they should address. The participants split into four groups and brainstormed, then wrote words in Khmer or drew pictures of the most important issues they wanted to address as a collective.
A deaf participant from Epic Arts explains to another deaf participant from Phnom Penh the problems he sees in Kampot.
At the end of the day, fluttering pieces of paper covered an entire wall of the meeting room. The afternoon was devoted to determining priorities and brainstorming solutions for how the identified problems could be addressed. The group brainstormed solutions or the various processes they needed to undertake to arrive at a resolution. It was a long but inspiring day.
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