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Loeur Saveth is not the typical second grade student at her primary school in Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia. That is because Saveth is a 22-year-old woman. Saveth, the youngest of nine siblings, was born deaf and does not speak. Growing up, she never attended school because there were neither specialized schools nor teachers who knew how to support students with hearing loss in or around her community.

Pausing from reading a book while sitting in a hammock, Thida* (name given by author to protect the child), a 13-year-old girl, told us that she loves her parents, especially her father because he is now taking good care of her and her siblings.

One morning, a young boy named Sela sits on the stairs at his home in Chamkar Ou commune in Pursat province. This was the first time we met him, but we could not communicate with one another. Sela is seven years old, and lives with profound hearing loss. The staff of Krousar Thmey, trained in Cambodian Sign Language, tried to communicate with him using signs, but still there was no response. He has never learned any sign language to communicate with people outside his family.

Mrs. Chab Chheng is a 68-year-old grandmother and resident of Sdok Khlouk village located in a remote district of Pursat Province, Cambodia. Mrs. Chheng is widowed, and she suffers from poor health related to complications from malaria contracted when she was a child. She has six adult children, but most of them live away from home. Mrs. Chheng lives next door to her second youngest daughter, Sreyhom, along with Sreyhom’s husband and their three children.

“I never believed that I could do it,” said Chhoeung Channy as she reflected on her path to becoming a community preschool teacher in her village in Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia. Channy did not have any experience teaching before taking the position, but she has quickly become recognized as the best and youngest community preschool teacher involved in the project in Kampong Chhnang. Although other teachers have more experience teaching, Channy’s passion, commitment, and dedication to her community have made her an outstanding preschool teacher. However, her journey to success required a great deal of dedication and hard work.