Difficulties in Providing International Support for People with Disabilities in Cambodia

Abstract

Cambodia’s domestic policy towards supports for people with disabilities is not well-developed, and support from abroad has been historically essential. However, support from overseas is not yet sufficiently advanced, nor has it been consistent. In this study, we interviewed three people engaged in support activities to identify the factors that are causing difficulties for foreign supporters or support groups in developing supports in Cambodia. The following five points were identified as the main difficulties in developing education and welfare support for people with disabilities in Cambodia: 1) inconsistent understanding among the Cambodian people of the significance of educating and providing welfare to people with disabilities, 2) difficulties in interpreting technical terms and concepts that do not exist in Cambodia, 3) 3)unestablished professional positions of people with disabilities and their supporters, 4) difficulties in identifying local leadership, and 5) difficulty in developing activities due to the closed nature of relationships. The interviews in this study do not only highlight the above issues in case studies, but also provides successful examples of how to solve these problems. The findings will be useful in planning and developing future support for the education and welfare of people with disabilities in Cambodia.