I have made great friends with my co-workers here in Phnom Penh at Deaf Development Program. My closest co-workers are the seven interpreters who I admire greatly. While I am supposed to be a trainer, I have learned a great deal from them. The men, Phirom and Donh have taught me a great deal about comradeship especially because Khmer men can be very physical between themselves in a way that Westerners cannot.

I have become good friends with the lead, Vichet (second from left), Maly and Veasna (who I have been able to observe working at Mit Samlanh (the school for street kids beneath my bedroom window.)



I'm grateful to have been able to meet interpreters from across Southeast and South Asia. At the interpreting conference in Kuala Lumpur I was able to meet and befriend folks from Malaysia, the Maldives (islands southeast of India), and the Phillipines. What a great privilege to work in the same field as such pioneers.




Justin Smith is DDP's deputy director. I work with him and his staff at Deaf Community Center to document the organization's oral history on video. He came to DDP like myself as a volunteer and now is responsible for much of the actual program work of the organization. He is leading the effort to develop a stable community among Deaf people. Recent events here have shown that Deaf people have primarily their own individual interests at heart and haven't really grown a sensiblity of Deaf co-0peration. He's leading programs to develop a team spirit among them.


Charlie Dittmeier is DDP's director. He is a diocesan Catholic priest from Louisville, Kentucky who works as an associate of Maryknoll Missioners. Many of you may know that I was adopted by Japanese Americans who were raised by Maryknoll Sisters and I myself went to elementary and junior high school under Maryknoll Sisters. It's a privilege to work with such forward thinking men and women. Charlie has been working among Deaf people for almost 30 years in India, Hong Kong and now here. He's a jack of all trades and is the principal fundraiser, computer network fix-it guy and social worker at DDP.