Priest Gives Ear to the Deaf in Cambodia

Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme (DDP) is the only organization in Cambodia that provides job skills to the deaf people. Headed by a diocesan priest from Louisville, Kentucky in the US, Father Charles Dittmeier has been doing his bit for the past 19 years.

Father Dittmeier said when he first started off, there was nothing for the deaf. He said Laos and Vietnam had sign and language and deaf schools, and Cambodia had nothing. In Kentucky, Father Dittmeier worked with the deaf community and was inspired by a colleague to take up volunteership in Bangalore, India. He grew in love with Asia and dedicated his life to it. Then after 13 years of working in a Catholic school for the deaf in Hong Kong, he moved on to Cambodia. Back then, he says, government support for the disabled was very limited and assistance for Cambodians unable to hear was nearly non-existent.

"Development of the small community started with the creation of their own sign language which was supported by money and expertise from Finland," Father Dittmeier recalled.

The DDP has been able to help thousands of hearing impaired Cambodians. However, many remain isolated by their affliction as family members often mistakenly regard them to be mentally unsound. Father Dittmeier said the DDP has a team going around the villages in Cambodia. "When they ask a village chief if he has any deaf people in his village, he is like: 'No, but we got this crazy girl that makes all kinds of strange noises and doesn't listen to her parents.' They don't know what deafness is. And they have no idea that there is an education for deaf people."

The Father explained that the NGOs were doing their best to uplift the deaf in Cambodia by educating them. "They learn to communicate, they develop friendships and finally get a life." He added there was a need for continuous awareness in the community.