Hope School

A selection of portraits from Hi Vong (Hope) School for hearing impaired children in District 8 of Ho Chi Minh City taken in 1996. The children were doing a photography class which focussed their visual skills as a means of communication. The course included a couple of field trips the result of which were interesting, but that’s another story. The group was photographed in one session at the end of one of the morning photography classes. The selection features mostly primary school aged kids but there is an older student and one of the teachers in the series.

On a point of detail, the kids in these pictures are wearing a harness to hold their hearing aids. This equipment left plenty of room for improvement. Aside from the cumbersome nature of the entire rig, it was prone to damage with the most common problem being broken cords connecting the ear pieces. The school made a priority of raising funds for replacement cords. Despite all this, the place was run with great dedication and integrity. The teachers showed genuine care and warmth toward the kids and the kids were positive, keen and constructive. The school still gets raps today – google it!