Reflections from the Field, July 2024

DSI's training program provides much-needed disability information and inclusive education strategies to local leaders, teachers, and parents. In Cambodia, children with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often neglected by an already strained educational system. DSI’s partnerships with local agencies assist teachers and parents who are working to improve the lives of children with disabilities.

In July 2024, Lisa GIebink and Maria Hermanson, Minnesota-based speech-language pathologists, traveled to Cambodia with DSI’s Executive Director, Jennie Wendland, to train our cohort of twenty Master Trainers, who have successfully completed our first two modules. During this training, we introduced DSI's new (third) module that focuses on developing communication strategies, which Lisa and Maria had helped design.

Although not new to travel, this was the first time Lisa and Maria had been to Cambodia. We asked them each to reflect on their experiences as skilled volunteers with DSI.

Eager to expand her professional and personal experiences, Maria Hermanson, a speech-language pathologist with Mounds View Schools Early Childhood Special Education program, spent nearly a year preparing for the trip. She and DSI’s module development team (Jennie Wendland, Mick Wendland, and Lisa GIebink) met regularly for eight months to create the training materials. Listening to the stories Mick and Jennie told about their multiple visits to Cambodia got Maria thinking about the possibility of traveling there herself, so when she had the chance, she says she was “all in!”

Maria admits she expected classroom conditions to be bleak, with bare walls. But she was “blown away” by teachers who “loved their students” and students who “enjoyed being at school.” While recognizing that there are “huge challenges,” Maria was impressed by the teachers’ ability to engage students in learning activities. She spent time observing classrooms and then answering questions from teachers. Parents of children with disabilities were invited to participate in these discussions as well, an experience Maria found particularly powerful. She explains,

“The challenges parents face just to get their kids enrolled in school and then transporting them to school daily humbled me tremendously.”

One situation Maria describes as “wild” was teaching the speech sounds for a language she doesn’t speak. Khmer alphabet puzzles helped, but Maria recalls, “I was simultaneously trying to learn some Khmer speech sounds while teaching how to teach students how to produce speech sounds.” Language was also a consideration when translating training materials and methods from English to Khmer; English words and phrasing were not always easily translated, so Maria reports the need for creativity and extra time.

Away from training sessions, Maria appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. “Going to both the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields,” she says, “will stick with me for the rest of my life.” She does, though, have fond memories of traveling in a tuk tuk - scary at first but “no big deal” by the end of the visit. “Also,” she concludes, “the Cambodian people will always bring a smile to my face. From the tuk tuk drivers to the teachers to the children to the hotel staff–what amazing and kind human beings.”

Lisa GIebink, a retired speech-language pathologist, never planned to go to Cambodia. Inspired by DSI’s mission, she was happy to be part of the team developing training materials for the new communication module. So when Jennie and Mick asked her to make the trip, she was “excited but nervous.” Fortunately, the DSI Volunteer Travelers Orientation Module guided her to resources that she calls “vital” to her understanding of Cambodia. Perhaps of equal importance was a trip to a Cambodian restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she (not usually an adventurous eater) sampled the food.

Not knowing what to expect, Lisa embarked on the trip with an open mind, ready to learn a lot, meet great people, and be hot. She was not disappointed. Although it took her three days to adjust to the heat, she did enjoy the weather and the food. She says she met “educators with hearts full of love and caring for their students and co-workers,” adding that “the Master Trainers, Thy and others, were amazingly gifted, knowledgeable, and kind.”

Lisa reports that she did indeed learn a lot:

“These educators stretched my professional and personal growth in ways I will never be able to fully express,” she enthuses.

She praises the teachers’ eagerness to learn and support their students. Lisa also identifies language as an invitation to creativity, explaining that she feels “challenged to better synthesize my content in a way that [is] both helpful and concise. I feel as if I am a better trainer having had this experience.”

Asked to name her favorite thing from the journey, Lisa instead provides a list that testifies to the incalculable value of taking an occasional unplanned trip. Some of her highlights include: “The warm reception by the staff and students at the schools we visited. The joy and huge hearts of everyone there who support children with disabilities. The awesome spirit of those who are within the DSI community.”

DSI thanks Maria and Lisa for sharing their knowledge, expertise, and kindness - we couldn’t do what we do without such skilled volunteers. If you’d like to get involved, visit our get involved page to learn how to help us improve the lives of children with disabilities around the world.

We also created this photo slideshow to share more glimpses of what this field experience and training time with our Master Trainer cohort included: