T he US Agency for International Development (USAID) has signed a grant agreement with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) to fund an expanded project to help integrate Cambodians deported from America.

The three-year Returnee Integration Support Program (RISP), launched October 1, with a budget of $800,000, will provide orientation materials and offer counseling to returnees and their families.

VVAF has appointed George Ellis, a doctor of clinical psychology, to be project manager.

Hing Channarath, country director with Veterans International Cambodia, said 138 Cambodian citizens had been deported from the United States since March 2002, but another 100 to 150 Cambodians are expected to be deported within the next year.