In this edition of SEAtizens, we’re featuring the Disability Development Services Programme (DDSP), a Cambodian NGO in Pursat province, as they provide opportunities for people with disabilities while contributing to saving the environment.
The DDSP is a rural, non-profit organization founded in 2003. The goal is to empower and strengthen the welfare of persons with disabilities by providing sustainable opportunities through partnering with select organizations.
And today, we feature DDSP’s plastic recycling project. It started in September 2019 with the team consisting of six members with disabilities who are deaf, mentally unwell, paralyzed in one hand or both legs and visually impaired in one eye.
Kak Sreymom, a project supervisor and special education teacher, shares the process of the disabled team and their hard work of turning trash into treasure. First, they take turns to round up plastic bottles from shops and public areas in Pursat town.
The collection has various types of waste: lotion containers, water and shampoo bottles, plastic bags, and more. Any kind of plastic, you name it, they got it. After massing the materials, they are rinsed with water to clean them.
Then, the waste is cut into smaller pieces with scissors and fed to a grinder to make them finer. Next, they get dropped into an oven to melt and fuse. Lastly, the melted products are poured into moulds of various shapes. When cooled, the outcomes become garden fences and wall decor.
“I am thankful that the programme provides employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities like me. In some other places, I frequently encountered discrimination, and they didn’t provide me with job opportunities. Now, thanks to the programme, I can earn a living to support myself,” said Cheam Phanith in an interview with the Phenom Post.
Today, the organization has two machines that act as dissolvers and crushers. And now, there are also 20 members of the plastic recycling project. Despite the struggles that DDSP faced during the height of COVID-19, they maintained their self-sufficiency.
“Recycling plastic waste offers significant benefits. It prevents plastic from becoming littering, reduces overall plastic use, benefits the environment, and provides income opportunities for people with disabilities,” said Pen Sina, director of the DDSP’s Inclusion Training Centre during an interview.
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SEA Wave magazine’s SEAtizens initiative is a series of inspiring stories of people in Southeast Asia who champion the human spirit by demonstrating courage, ingenuity, generosity, and selflessness.
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