Education for disabled children in Cambodia

Introduction Australian assistance The Children of Salla Lavalla Working hard and fast The teachers are also disabled Salla Lavalla is an example others can follow Introduction Poverty in Cambodia means many families have to make choices about which of their children they can afford to send to school. Parents of children with disabilities have even more difficult choices, as they struggle to pay for medical treatment, special equipment and transport. Some parents of disabled children believe that their children will never earn a living and contribute to the upkeep of the family, so sending them to school is seen as a waste of time and money. Some Cambodians hold a religious belief that a disability is a punishment. For them this means that a disabled child is shameful for a family. Quite often disabled children are kept at home to do nothing, or sometimes abandoned on the streets to make their own way how ever they can manage. Without an education, it will be almost mpossible for these children to ever get good jobs, earn money for themselves, be independent of their families and lead happy lives. Australian assistance The Australian Government's overseas aid program, together with Marist Mission Centre and the Marist Brothers of Australia, made a decision to try and change this situation for disabled children. In 1998 they established a special school, called Salla Lavalla, for physically disabled children in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh. The Children of Salla Lavalla In 2004 there were 80 physically disabled children, ranging in age from 10 - 15 years, attending Salla Lavalla. Coming from many parts of Cambodia, they live at the school and work long hours to catch up on their schooling as quickly as possible. Most of the children haven't had the chance to go to school, or had to stop going to school because of a range of difficulties such as lack of money, an absence of transportation, or the negative attitudes of others. Students at Salla Lavalla have a break from their intensive studies Many of the children are disabled because of polio. Some have mild cerebral palsy, while others have had to have limbs amputated because they have stepped on landmines or were unable to get good medical treatment when it was needed. Let's meet two of the students: Min Vet, a polio victim uses his left foot for drawing Min: Min Vet is aged 15 years old. He developed polio when he was a small child. The disease left him very disabled. His arms are wrapped almost completely behind his back and his legs are permanently in a sitting position. Min's left foot is the only part he can move. He uses this foot with great skill, and, at Salla Lavalla, does all his writing and drawing with it. His aim is to become an illustrator. Everyday, with pencil between his toes, Min is creating new characters and simple stories. Chet: Before coming to Salla Lavalla, Chet, aged 13 years, had never been to a school. He has cerebral palsy, is confined to a wheelchair, and has difficulty talking. Before coming to Salla Lavalla, he spent his life begging for money on the streets with his stepfather. Although, at his age, Chet should be in secondary school, he is only now just learning to read, write and count. He is doing the equivalent of Year One in primary school. Working hard and fast For these special students, the schoolwork they undertake is very intensive. Most have missed out on a lot of schooling, and the aim of the school is to help them catch up as quickly as they possibly can so they can get into regular schools. They aim to fit six years of primary schooling into one or two years. In order to achieve this, the students work very hard. The school day is two hours longer than in regular schools, and students often have classes in their school holidays. Once the students complete the primary course, they are then able to sit for the entrance exams into secondary school, or enter vocational training programs such as mechanical or woodwork courses. Students, who are able to get into a mainstream school or centre, have the chance to obtain qualifications and skills to get a good job. The teachers are also disabled There are 16 staff members at Salla Lavalla, including teachers, tutors, drivers, cooks and guards. The five class teachers at the school are all physically disabled themselves. These teachers have been especially hired and trained because they personally understand the needs of physically disabled children. Also, seeing their disabled teacher working is a constant example for the students that it is possible to be very successful despite having a disability. A large part of the Australian government's funding for the school supports the employment and training of these teachers. Disabled teachers provide a helpful role model for their students Salla Lavalla is an example others can follow One of the important objectives of the Salla Lavalla project is that helping these students to become successful will encourage other organisations, especially the Cambodian Ministry of Education, to copy this model of schooling for physically disabled children in other parts of Cambodia. It is hoped that Salla Lavalla will provide a successful example for others to follow. Going further Marc Bonnet of Handicap International, Phnom Penh, provides a general overview of the needs of physically disabled people in Cambodia in his article Motor Disabled People in the Agricultural and Rural Sector in Cambodia which can be found at: http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/sustdev/PPdirect/PPan0011.htm