Expanding Support for Disabled People from Poor Households
AKP Phnom Penh, July 30, 2020 --

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation has launched the implementation of the policy to support people with disabilities in four capital and provinces.

The update was shared by H.E. Nhek Vannara, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Social Affairs in the opening ceremony of the Dissemination Workshop on the Implementation of the Policy Regime for the Poor and Disabled in the Community at Kep province yesterday.

The four capital and provinces, he added, are Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk, Kep and Koh Kong, and the support policy aims primarily at disabled people from poor and vulnerable households.
- AKP

Note: This is posted for information, but is not an endorsement for the hospital by Cambodia Expats Online. If anyone has personal exerience with this hospital, please share.

37 deaf-mute patients cured
Long Kimmarita | Publication date 01 December 2020 | 23:03 ICT
Specialist doctors working at the Preah Ang Duong Hospital in Phnom Penh have successfully operated on nearly 40 deaf-mute patients and they can now hear and speak nearly as well as any average able-bodied person.

In light of these ongoing achievements, one of the hospital’s directors has urged all Cambodians to have greater faith in the quality of the medical treatments that are now available in the country.

Those who are deaf-mute are typically born with the condition, unable to speak or hear. The Preah Ang Duong Hospital is the first in Cambodia that can operate on deaf-mute patients and effectively cure them of their condition by almost fully restoring their hearing and speech.

They accomplish this miracle by utilising the latest in advanced medical technology – a machine from Austria that boasts a 100 per cent rate of success in curing those suffering from muteness and deafness. The first four deaf-mute patients in Cambodia were successfully operated on using this machine in 2018. The procedures were done free of charge.

Yos Sophoan, deputy head of the Ear, Nose and Throat Division of the Preah Ang Duong Hospital, told The Post on December 1 that the hospital had successfully operated on 37 deaf-mute patients since the programme began in 2018.

She said that having the surgery at the hospital cost significantly less than similar treatments available in Thailand or Vietnam while still achieving the same positive results.

“We treat deaf-mute patients at our hospital every day and this allows the parents of other deaf-mute children to see that our treatment is effective and it gives them the confidence they need to go forward with it here in Cambodia,” she said.

Sophoan added that beyond the surgery itself, the most effective treatment of patients who are born deaf-mute is highly dependent upon the individual patient and the various factors that may have contributed to their condition. When the patient is very young, the treatment’s overall effectiveness tends to be quite high, because they are then able to begin learning to speak in the same manner that other children do, rather than having to undergo the specialised training that is often necessary for deaf-mute people who are cured as adults and who have therefore never developed any language skills previously.

“After undergoing the surgery, children who have deaf-mute illnesses from birth can be taught how to speak faster than older people, because a child’s brain is very flexible and quick to adapt. In contrast, older people who have deaf-mute illnesses from birth take a long time to learn to speak a language because an adult’s brain no longer has the ability to be as flexible or to adapt as easily,” she said.

Lou Lykheang, the director of the Preah Ang Duong Hospital, told The Post on December 1 that in Cambodia the number of deaf-mute patients was very high given the size of the country and its total population.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... ents-cured

Cambodia to Issue Driver’s Licenses for People with Disability
AKP Phnom Penh, December 12, 2020 --

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport will issue driver’s licenses for people with disabilities.

The decision was announced recently in the ministry’s joint statement with the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation.

The release of the licenses for people with disabilities aims to enable them to enjoy their rights, which is a priority of the Royal Government of Cambodia.

People with disability, underlined the statement, will undergo tests to get the driver’s license, based on their disability levels – minor, medium and severe.

The statement also indicates that whether the vehicle used by people with disability will require some modification or not also depends on the disability levels.

The license for the Cambodian people with disability will be valid for ten years, while that for foreigner will be valid only for one year.

By Nch
AKP

Kampong Cham: Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Hor Namhong (Pic. 1) cuts red ribbon while he was presiding over the inauguration ceremony of a dormitory for blind and deaf-mute schoolchildren and the opening ceremony of new academic year (2020-2021) in Kampong Cham provincial city this morning, 11 December 2021.

AKP
Photos: Chhay Moth

Official: Draft law on rights of persons with disabilities 'inclusive'
Ry Sochan | Publication date 29 April 2021 | 17:24 ICT

Cambodia has shrugged off concerns by two UN special rapporteurs over the current draft law on the rights of persons with disabilities, which they said is not in full compliance with international human rights laws and standards.

In a joint letter, Rhona Smith and Gerard Quinn – special rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Cambodia and the rights of persons with disabilities, respectively – said the bill should be more conclusive and fully aligned with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

"We are concerned, in particular, about the fact that the draft law does not include a number of rights recognised by the CRPD, nor does it articulate the State's responsibilities as duty bearer to implement such rights.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... -inclusive

Disability Center’s Construction Obstructs Access for Workers With Disabilities
5 min read

Keat Soriththeavy
| Thu Nov 4, 2021 6:38 pm

Workers with disabilities at a wheelchair workshop are struggling to get into work due to the construction of a new governmental disability center.

Mekong Wheelchair Production is currently surrounded by rocks and flooding due to the under-construction National Rehabilitation Center for People With Disabilities along National Road 4 in Kandal province.

Kim Moun, a 40-year-old from Takeo province whose legs are both paralyzed, said she has worked at the wheelchair workshop since 2002. She comes to work from a rented room nearby on a three-wheel motorbike, but since last year she has not been able to get all the way to her workplace.

She parks her vehicle outside the compound’s gates, and receives help from colleagues to walk her in.

Sitting on a wooden chair attaching spokes to wheels, Moun said that when she tried to drive in, she fell over on her motorbike. “I called brothers to help me,” she said.

“With my paralyzed legs, it’s already difficult for me to work. But it’s become harder since the landfilling in the area.”

Op Kea, 50, has worked for a decade at the workshop. He is a former soldier who lost his left leg during fighting.

He pumps water away from the workshop at all hours to prevent machines from flooding. “I’ve heard they are developing a new disability center, but I have no clue what is going on,” Kea said.

The site was formerly the Jesuit-run Banteay Prieb training center for people with disabilities, but the center relocated in 2019. Since that time, the government has been constructing its national center. Mekong Wheelchair Production was part of Banteay Prieb, and is the only facility still operating at the site.

General manager Keo Sovann said the workshop could not move due to heavy equipment that would require cranes. The ministry had suggested they relocate to newly constructed buildings, but those buildings do not have electricity or running water yet.

“I told the ministry, we can’t move right now. I pointed out the road to them. There is no way to go to the building,” Sovann said.

He said there was no solution, and water threatened to flow in from everywhere.

“I’m stressed. I force myself to work, and we are trying to finish a project to build 1,000 wheelchairs this year.”
Full article: https://vodenglish.news/disability-cent ... abilities/

Work in progress...

Construction of National Centre for Disabled Persons to be Completed in Late 2022
AKP Phnom Penh, December 13, 2021 --

The construction project of the National Centre for the Disabled Persons has been now over 40 percent complete and is expected to end in late 2022.

The update was shared during an inspection visit by H.E. Vong Sauth, Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation to the construction site in Kandal province last weekend.

Initiated by H.E. Minister, the project is aimed to gather all services with high technical standards for people with disabilities.

The project, located on an area of over 6 hectares in Chhak Chheu Neang commune of Ang Snuol district, include rehabilitation building, admin building, trade building, football court, theatre, canteen, dormitory, and so on.

The National Centre for the Disabled Persons will become another achievement in the social affairs sector, after the Rehabilitation Care Centre for Mental Disorder and Youth Rehabilitation Centre in Kandal Stung district, Kandal province.
- AKP

Pum Sreyphea, Passionate about Teaching Students with Autism
By Ou Sokmean September 14, 2022 2:12 PM

PHNOM PENH – In the Tuol Kork primary school’s campus, claps and nursery rhymes echo when approaching a building occupied by the Rabbit School, a Cambodian NGO that provides education to children with special needs*.

Inside the classroom, 10 children with autism sing along and dance under the guidance of their teacher, Pum Sreyphea, the true conductor of that special troupe of students.

At 25, the teacher takes her mission to heart and intends to give her students the same education as other children would receive. Dressed in a light blue short-sleeved shirt and a black pleated skirt, Sreyphea, along with another teacher, sings and dances in front of the disabled children, to accompany them in their education.

While some students follow, some do not. But after two years of teaching, she learned that patience is key when it comes to dealing with her special students, whose behavior can change from quiet to aggressive, irritable to joyful in a blink of an eye.

“I love teaching so much and have compassion for children with disabilities. This is why I decided to teach them although it’s more difficult than ordinary children. After studying with me, I want them to be as good as normal kids,” she said.

Teaching has been Sreyphea’s dream career for as long as she can remember. After she finished her studies at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, she started teaching in regular public schools. But she quickly decided to dedicate her professional life to children with disabilities, after she realized that autistic children often suffered from discrimination, including from teaching institutions – mostly private schools – that close the door on them.

“We give them love, hugs, and kisses as if they were our children. When we teach them to write letters, we hug them and hold their hand to write and paint pictures. We follow their progress regularly, day after day, month after month,” she said.

Born in Kampong Thom province, Sreyphea is proud of her job. Even though she earns only $150 a month, which is less than the regular income of a teacher in a public school, she doesn’t want to teach in public schools again.
https://cambodianess.com/article/pum-sr ... ith-autism

*For information:

The Rabbit School Educational Program

The Rabbit School Educational program is designed to help develop Children with Intellectual Disabilities and to take work towards their integration into society.
Children are accepted into the Rabbit School program from the age of 4 years and are supported until the age of 25 years.

At each stage of the Rabbit School’s program our students are assessed, supported and educated in in a way that is specifically designed to cater to the individual needs of the student.
https://www.rabbitschoolcambodia.net/our-program

December 3, 2022
More than 9,000 disabled people working in the public and private sector

Prime Minister HE today called on the government and private sector to do more to encourage suitably qualified disabled people to join the workforce and enjoy their right to work without discrimination.

In a message to mark the 24th National Day of Persons with Disabilities, Mr HE noted that as of this year, a total of 9,587 people with disabilities are working in public and private sectors nationwide.

As for the private sector, Mr HE said 5,839 persons with disabilities, including 3,836 women, have jobs in banks, microfinance institutions, hotels and factories among others.

He noted that during the Covid-19 pandemic, 64,709 people with disabilities received cash benefits provided by the government.

Mr HE said that the government has launched the National Strategic Plan on Disability 2019-2023, with a focus on increasing employment and economic security for disabled people, in order to reduce poverty by promoting appropriate employment growth and career expansion for them.

He called on the Disability Action Council to continue to promote the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Disability 2019-2023, the Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and national and international policies for the welfare of the disabled.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501195841/ ... te-sector/

December 6, 2022
‘Close Your Eyes’: Phnom Penh exhibition invites guests to explore blind people’s everyday lives in Cambodia

An innovative art exhibition of tactile art and sensorial experiences entitled 'Close Your Eyes' aims to showcase blind people's everyday lives in Cambodia and how they explore the world around them through other senses.

Collaborating with nine trainees and Ms. Nika Tath with the main objectives to raise awareness on blindness and the lives of PwD (Persons with Disabilities), the exhibition addresses issues of inclusion and accessibility, celebrates diversity and represents PwD in a positive and empowered manner.

Furthermore, it addresses the wish that blind people want sighted people to understand and give time and patience when dealing with them; it wants to show the general public that people with disabilities can also go out and have fun, enjoy hanging out in public places or doing common activities, while having a career and being independent.

“I dream all of us are given the opportunity for employment, social engagement and communication. I want everyone to value and recognize our abilities more than our disabilities.”
Nika Tath.

The blind art exhibition will give the audience a brief experience of what it means to be blind in various positive and negative situations. Participants will taste food, receive a short massage, navigate simulated streets in Phnom Penh and more!

This activity is meant to build empathy for them and encourage the public to mobilize to support their needs and fight for better inclusion.

"At first, it was hard and terrifying to walk into the gallery because it was dark, not able to see anything - but the experience has made me more aware of emotion, understanding and respect for people with visual disabilities,” a participant said yesterday.

“Close Your Eyes and See” will be open to the public from December 4th-December 10th from 3:00pm-6:00pm at A.I.R Gallery of the Factory Phnom Penh.

Facebook event link:
More here: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501197316/ ... -cambodia/