On October 13, representatives of JICA’s Overseas Cooperation Volunteers returned to Japan and were received by Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Akishino at the Akasaka Imperial Palace, where they reported on their activities in their home country.
The JOCV members who returned to Japan this time were affected by the global spread of the new coronavirus infection after January 2020 and were forced to postpone their deployment or temporarily return to Japan. However, during the standby period in Japan, the team overcame the Corona disaster and engaged in activities in the countries to which they were dispatched, including online support activities and capacity building.
Their Imperial Highnesses were met this time by five members of the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers who had been dispatched to countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America. Prior to their visit, they met with JICA President Akihiko Tanaka at JICA Headquarters (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo).
Front row from left: Ms. Risako Ishii, Ms. Sakiko Kanzaki, Chancellor Tanaka, Ms. Nozomi Usui, Ms. Ansa Izumi,
Back row, from left: Mr. Otsuka, Director General, Office of the President, Mr. Ryo Kitagawa, Mr. Tachibana, Secretary General, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV)
Contributing to improving the livelihoods of local residents by integrating Laotian and Japanese cultures
Mr. Ryo Kitagawa (dispatched to Laos, job title: Community Development, age 34, from Chiba Prefecture) was assigned to a forestation center established for forest conservation in the northern part of Nam Ngum Dam, Vientiane Province, where he was involved in supporting the center’s efforts to promote paper cloth and other handicrafts techniques for the purpose of improving the livelihood of the residents. The main activity was to strengthen the brand power of paper cloth weaving, which is hand-woven using natural materials and dyes, from the perspective of nature conservation, fusion of Lao and Japanese cultures, and SDGs, and to exhibit the products at many exhibitions. We also contributed to the development of business partners for our products. In addition, the Center’s staff members, who carry on the Marugame Uchiwa technique, were encouraged to be spontaneous and organized an Uchiwa-making workshop, providing an opportunity for a wide range of people, including elementary school students, to learn about traditional Laotian and Japanese crafts.
Producers and paper yarns being dyed with plants and trees
Educational Opportunities for All with Teaching Experience in Japan
Ms. Risako Ishii (Dispatched to Rwanda, Occupation: Elementary Education, age 30, from Saitama Prefecture) conducted an awareness survey on arts and crafts classes for children and teachers at 2&5 Christian Academy, a private school in the capital city of Kigali, to grasp the actual situation and propose a curriculum that local teachers could implement. The survey was conducted with children and teachers at the 2&5 Christian Academy. In addition to providing emotional education that fosters rich sensitivity and imagination through arts and crafts and physical education classes, we also provided training in special needs education and arts and crafts, as well as support for classes incorporating ICT education to improve the quality of education. In addition, we prepared teaching materials and instruction manuals to enable teachers to proactively conduct arts and crafts classes, and we worked to improve the learning environment by setting up an art gallery in a corner of the school so that many people can see the children’s artwork.
A lower grade class, teaching with hand games and other activities.
Communicate the importance of nutrition education for the healthy growth of children
Ms. Sakiko Kanzaki (Dispatched to Egypt, Occupation: School Health, age 33, from Wakayama Prefecture) worked at the Child and Family Department, Portside Branch, Ministry of Social Solidarity, located in Portside City, northeast of the capital Cairo. The Ministry of Social Solidarity has branches all over Egypt and is in charge of the welfare of the disabled, orphans, nursery schools, etc. The Child and Family Department at the branch office visits nursery schools to manage environmental sanitation and provide guidance to nursery school teachers. The Child and Family Department of the branch office visits nursery schools to provide guidance on environmental hygiene management and guidance to nursery school teachers. Three times during his term of service, he held training sessions for nursery school teachers at the branch office together with the Early Childhood Education Corps members who were working at the same assignment. These training sessions have continued since returning to Japan.
Training session for nursery school teachers in the city on nutrition education at nursery schools
Promoting childcare through play in the Japanese American community
Ms. Nozomi Usui (dispatched to Brazil, occupation: early childhood education, age 30, from Fukuoka Prefecture) worked at a Japanese-style kindergarten run by the Brazil-Japan Academy in Belém, incorporating the use, creation, implementation, and improvement (PDCA cycle) into the annual teaching plan so that the teachers themselves can create and implement childcare plans with a clear vision. In addition, the Brazilian teachers and the Japanese American teachers have been working together. In addition, to strengthen the handover between Brazilian and Japanese American teachers, a childcare logbook was introduced, which contributed to improving the quality of childcare. For parents, the school distributed school newsletters and disseminated information via the school’s SNS with the aim of understanding and spreading awareness of Japanese childcare (childcare through play). Activities were also conducted to provide opportunities for Brazilian teachers to learn about Japanese childcare by having them participate in sports events, cooking classes, and other events.
A scene from an exhibition of artworks on the theme of the Amazon River, created with the help of Japanese American teachers using scrap wood
Trained Japanese language teachers and engaged in ongoing instruction of students
Ms. Ansa Izumi (dispatched to Tajikistan, occupation: Japanese language education, age 73, from Hokkaido) was assigned to the Russian Tajik Slavic University to train local Japanese language teachers, working with local teachers to teach about 23 to 26 beginner-level Japanese classes per week. Specific activities included proposing a curriculum suitable for Japanese language students, selecting textbooks, and creating supplementary materials based on the selected textbooks. In addition, a Japanese speech contest was held every year in Tajikistan, and I taught the contest to students at my assigned institution as well as other universities and other educational institutions, and also provided instructional support to local teachers. After returning to Japan, we continue to offer online Japanese language instruction to students who are eager to learn Japanese.
Teaching together in a Japanese language class to train new Japanese language teachers
After the visit
After the meeting, participants commented, “I was nervous at first, but Their Imperial Highnesses’ thoughtfulness and warm atmosphere eased my tension,” and “Their Imperial Highnesses earnestly listened to my activity report, and I was impressed by their high interest in the activities of the cooperative corps.
© Source JICA
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