 Hang Kimchhoun (second right) is the principal of Krousar Thmey deaf school. He is new, just in the job five months, but seems to be a competent and energetic leader. |  Veasna, a well-known face in the deaf community, is on the teaching staff at Krousar Thmey. Here he fills in for the regular teacher who was on leave this day. |
 This is Veasna's first grade class. Because education for deaf people has only been offered in Cambodia since 1997 and because so many families with deaf children don't even know the schools exist, Krousar Thmey has a policy of taking any student at any time during the year. Note the age (and size!) range in this classroom of first-year students. |
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 This is Krousar Thmey's newest classroom at the school, a pre-school group. Their teacher is deaf herself, the first former student of the school to be invited to become a teacher. She trained with a French volunteer who spent several years at the school and she has become an excellent teacher for the little children because she knows their situation so well from her own experience. |  Krousar Thmey recognizes the value of deaf people as teachers and role models for their students, and they are encouraging other deaf people to become teachers even though the Ministry of Education will not allow people with disabilities to be trained as teachers. These six former students are now receiving on-the-job training. |