Last week I found myself back in Poipet and staying with Elise as participants from both our districts were attending a 4 day workshop on Disability Training there. Jon and Richard, 2 other volunteers, were also there with more participants from Battambang province and the Trainers from Phomn Penh. Despite suffering a bad cold (yes, in this country!) at the beginning of the week, it was great to have a change of scenery and although Poipet isn't the most desirable of locations, I have decided that it certainly has more to offer than Sisophon, the provincial town. It was also great to see some other volunteers and spend time catching up.
The training itself seemed to be a hit with the participants and they also enjoyed the change of scenery and excitement of staying in a guesthouse away from home.
The training came from the Ministry of Education, has been revised several times and is really good stuff. However, it was hard not to think that it would be a very small drop in a very large ocean. It is really difficult for teachers, directors and DOE staff to think about how to include children with physical and mental disabilities when the basic understanding of how children learn in the first place is lacking. I almost laughed (it was either that or cry), when it was suggested during one session that teachers write IEPs (Individual Education Plan) for children with special needs so as to identify what their needs were and how they could be met by the teacher. I mean, the teachers I have observed in my district (God bless them) barely write a lesson plan, let alone an IEP. They are more concerned with where their next meal is coming from than doing any paperwork! I know from my own experience of teaching in the UK that successful IEPs can be tough to write and often even tougher to follow through.
I really don't have the answer (but will gratefully accept suggestions please...) but felt quite downbeat this week and really struggled with this particular training. Perhaps it's because I know at the back of my head it should be my job to help support the implementation of this training back in my district and I just can't see where to start!
I think it was also really hard for the trainers to raise the issues of disability where such a strong cultural attitude is felt about disabled people. There is next to no mental health care in this country, a country still dealing with the aftereffects of war and trauma. Amongst many there are notions that disability is punishment for some wrong doing in a previous life or due to making the spirits angry. Both the physically and mentally disabled are often treated like second-rate citizens, children are abandoned as they are difficult and expensive to care for. And sadly these attitudes are not going to change overnight but perhaps one drop is where change begins...
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