On September 26, representatives of the JOCV and Japanese American community JOCV members who returned to Japan were received by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress at the Imperial Palace, where they reported on their activities in the countries to which they had been dispatched. The meeting between the JOCV members and Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress has continued since the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) was established in 1965.
JOCV and JOCV members of Japanese descent who returned to Japan this time were affected by the global spread of the new coronavirus infection and were forced to temporarily return to Japan or stay in Japan, but overcame the coronavirus disaster and engaged in activities in their countries of dispatch.
Their Majesties were met this time by seven JOCV members and one JOCV member of Japanese descent who were deployed to countries in Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Latin America. Prior to the meeting, the JOCV members met with JICA President Akihiko Tanaka at JICA Headquarters (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo).
Front row from left: Mr. Beavers, Mr. Takahashi, Chancellor Tanaka, Ms. Sonoda, and Mr. Hamamoto,
Back row, from left: Mr. Otsuka, Director General, Office of the President, Mr. Sugimura, Mr. Tanaka, Mr. Shimomura, Mr. Tachibana, Secretary General, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), Mr. Wada, Deputy Director General, JOCV
Contributing to the improvement of students’ design skills and connecting their thoughts on peace through art
Ms. Yu Beavers (dispatched to Kyrgyzstan, occupation: design, from Kanagawa Prefecture) was assigned to a vocational training school in the suburbs of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where she provided technical guidance in graphic design to students aged 15 to 18 who aspired to become designers. In addition to advertising design, the students and local artists launched a joint art project and held exhibitions in two cities of works created under the theme of peace. We also collaborated with local companies to create products, contributing to the improvement of the students’ design skills and creativity. Socks designed by the students were commercialized, and a visit to the sales floor
Expanding the possibilities of physical education classes and sports opportunities for all students
Ms. Kanae Takahashi (dispatched to Thailand, occupation: support for children and persons with disabilities, from Fukushima Prefecture) was assigned to a special needs school for children with physical disabilities in northeastern Thailand, where she taught physical education classes with the aim of promoting sound development of students through sports. In the classroom practice, I worked with my colleagues to devise ways to provide more students with opportunities for exercise. We also discussed with local teachers the need for swimming lessons, which had not been offered before, and how to teach swimming lessons. Swimming lessons in physical education after exchanging opinions with colleagues
Providing opportunities to think about issues close to home through environmental education
Ms. Tamaki Sonoda (dispatched to Palau, occupation: environmental education, from Kumamoto Prefecture) was assigned to the Waste Management Division of the Department of Public Works and Industry in Koror, Palau, where she traveled to schools and communities to conduct environmental education and awareness activities to promote recycling. At a waste disposal site constructed with Japanese grant aid, she contributed to raising awareness among local people focusing on issues close to their hearts by creating waste learning materials for visitors and conducting experiments on the decomposition of biodegradable plastic bags widely used in stores. Resource collection taking place to encourage recycling collection and reduce the amount of waste thrown away
Support from startup preparation to post-startup, and work on human resource development
Yoshimi Hamamoto (dispatched to Paraguay, job title: Community Development, from Hiroshima Prefecture) was assigned to the New Business Creation Project Office at the National University in San Lorenzo, Central Province, Paraguay, where she provided support for prospective entrepreneurs who wanted to start a new business. In order to provide opportunities to learn basic knowledge about entrepreneurship, we focused on holding online study sessions on each topic, publicizing the program through our website, and creating educational materials. We also worked to improve the services provided by the company to which they were assigned by holding computer operation study sessions for local colleagues and providing support for improving business processes.
Financial education for elementary school students
Working with local people to disseminate information using SNS
Mr. Yusuke Sugimura (dispatched to Jordan, occupation: tourism, from Tokyo) was assigned to a historical museum in the ancient city of Salt, Jordan, which was registered as a World Heritage site in 2021, and worked to increase the number of tourists. The company also made efforts to strengthen the IT literacy of local staff. As a result of the efforts to familiarize local staff with the use of software and applications, information dissemination using SNS continues to this day, leading to the dissemination of Salto’s attractiveness as a tourist destination.
Taking photos to be posted on the tourism bureau’s social networking site.
Aiming to revitalize the coffee industry and contribute to the promotion of coffee tourism
Mr. Sho Tanaka (dispatched to Rwanda, job title: Community Development, from Kyoto Prefecture) was assigned to a coffee farmers’ cooperative in Karongi, Western Rwanda, where he worked to revitalize the coffee industry through group activities for young farmers and coffee tourism. Specifically, he contributed to the promotion of coffee tourism in the region by starting a model farm as an opportunity for young farmers to enter the coffee industry, creating new purchasing opportunities to expand coffee market share, and planning tours in partnership with hotels and travel agencies.
Lecturing hotel staff on how to brew coffee.
Helping to improve the rate of postpartum checkups, protecting the health of mothers and children
Ms. Sachi Shimomura (dispatched to Gabon, occupation: midwife, from Nagano Prefecture) was assigned to the Akebe Mother and Child Health Center in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, where she worked on motherhood classes, postpartum health checkups, and educational activities on unwanted pregnancy and young pregnancy. However, by creating a system where mothers could receive postnatal checkups after infant checkups, we created opportunities to check the health status of mothers and children and contributed to an increase in the number of examinees. Educational activities for unwanted pregnancies and young pregnancies
Worked hard to teach Japanese language and introduce Japanese culture at a school for the Japanese American community.
Ms. Rina Ichikawa (dispatched to Brazil, occupation: elementary education, from Aichi Prefecture) was assigned to a full-time elementary, junior high, and senior high school in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state in northern Brazil, where she taught Japanese and introduced Japanese culture. As part of the introduction of Japanese culture, she taught origami, yukata, kendama (Japanese summer kimono), kendama (Japanese bilboquet), calligraphy, and soran-bushi (traditional Japanese dance), and worked with local colleagues to create teaching materials related to Japanese culture, such as karuta, sumo, and summer festivals, as well as to revise Japanese textbooks.
Introducing the Japanese culture of “summer festivals” in an elementary school class and dressing students in yukata (summer kimono)
After the meeting, participants commented that they were impressed that Their Majesties listened to their activity reports with such enthusiasm, and that the words of encouragement they received gave them great encouragement for the future.
© Source JICA
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