10th January 2020 To: Mr. Toshimitsu MOTEGI (Minister for Foreign Affairs) and Mr. Taro KONO (Minister for Defense) Tensions rose between Iran and the U.S. following a U.S. strike that led to the death of the major general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on January 3rd, 2020, and as a consequence, the safety of those living in Iran, Iraq, and surrounding areas has been threatened. In the Middle East, repeated wars have created many refugees and displaced persons, and people have been exhausted by a chain of violence. The recent U.S. killings as well as Iranian retaliation have invited further destabilization to the region. The US has been strongly…
We dug a reservoir!
[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (June 4, 2019); Translated by M. Goto/M. Hajjaj] Hello, I’m Omura from Cambodia. Today I would like to report about the reservoir which I reported in “Where should we dig a reservoir?” and “Behind the meeting.” After narrowing down the candidate places in the meeting with villagers, we interviewed residents about the access condition to water, conducted a geological survey, and consulted with the village headman and the local administrative officer. We finally decided the place to dig a reservoir at the end of January 2019 and held orientations for villagers to explain the rules on how to use it. For instance: “Do not…
Behind the Meeting about “Where should we dig a reservoir?”
[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (February 14, 2019); Translated by M. Goto/A. Taguchi] Here is the inside story of the meeting about “Where should we dig a reservoir?“, which we have reported on recently. Two members of the JVC activity area named Somach and Pok planned and facilitated the meeting that was held at the end of December 2018. Pok is a daughter of a farmer whom JVC has supported. By looking at her mother who had been enthusiastically attending the training organized by JVC, she got interested in JVC and applied to become a staff as well. They have been working here as assistants for a few years…
Event Report: The Pyongyang we Witnessed. Let’s Share Ideas about it with Journalist Jun HORI (October 11, 2019)
[Original by Risa FUJII, 2018 Public Relations Intern (November 19, 2019); Translated by T. Yamauchi/J. Sparks] After finishing the internship on public relations in March 2019, I came back to JVC as a part-timer. I am pleased to have an opportunity to write a blog on JVC again. Today, I will report on the event The Pyongyang we Witnessed. Let’s Share Ideas about it with Journalist Jun HORI, which was held on October 11, 2019. In this event, JVC invited journalist Jun Hori, who attended the Japan-North Korea Exchange Program for two consecutive years. He reported his findings on his visits to Pyongyang, and the participants discussed the importance of…
Coriander Challenge Part 1- Observation at Siem Reap
[Original by Mariko OMURA, Cambodia Project (November 20, 2019); Translated by E. Miyazaki/M. Hajjaj] I have an achievement that I would like to write about that as a blog on social media networks. I will start sharing that as series from today. Since I regularly update these stories also on Facebook, please would you follow up them also on Facebook (in Japanese)! Study tour to Siem Reap The story goes back to March. There are several farmers of JVC’s project sites, who succeeded in expanding their vegetable gardens and grow their vegetables. Ms. Bopper is one of them. She usually sells her surplus of the vegetables to a middleman, but…
Challenge! Peace Action in Tora Bora (1)
[Original by Maki KATO, Afghanistan Project (September 2, 2019); Translated by M. Goto/K. Takemura] One day in February, I got a Skype contact from Sabirullah, the representative of the local office in Afghanistan. He said, “Maki, finally!” Today is a very special day in our peace action activities. Seven villagers of the Kuz Kunar district, where we have implemented our projects, are going to visit another area with JVC staff and experience interaction with the villagers there! This program required long time for preparation, since the area is so insecure that even the transportation of people is difficult. The destination is an area called “Tora Bora” in the Pachir Wa…
Zubaida, a New Female Staff Member
[Original by M. KATO, Afghanistan Project (July 29, 2019); Translated by H. Ueda/J. Sparks] Unfortunately, the female staff member I introduced to you in my previous blog left our office at the end of March, 2019. It is hard for local staff members, especially for women, to work for a long time under the current social circumstances. After recruitment efforts, however, we found a new female staff member that joined us from June, 2019. Female staff members are indispensable to us given the participants in our literacy program that we are now working on with our partner organization, YVO (Your Voice Organization), are mostly female. Zubaida, please introduce yourself. Hello,…
Major Incident Occurs at Mangaten Camp 1. Influx of Over 3,000 Refugees?!
[Original by Takayuki YAMAMOTO, Sudan Project (November 12, 2019); Translated by J. Sparks] Camp 1 Population Doubles In September of 2018, at the refugee shelters operated by the UN (hereinafter referred to as UN facilities) on the outskirts of Juba, a conflict broke out between the refugees, and the JVC supported Mangaten Camp 1 experienced an influx of over 3,000 refugees. This largely increased the number of children and families in the camp, which led to new tents being put up for the refugees. “The number of people living in the camp has grown to 7,500 (the actual number is unknown, though is estimated at roughly 5,000), and living space…
PICTURES DRAWN BY AFGHAN CHILDREN (Vol. 2)
[Original by Asako SHIRAKAWA, Volunteer for Afghanistan Project (November 11, 2019); Translated by K. Otake] Thanks for your support, here’s the second series of the pictures drawn by Afghan children. They did their best to draw these pictures for New Year’s cards that JVC produces every year. This time I would like to introduce some pictures of dogs, sheep, and monkeys from zodiac animals. 〇I can’t take my eyes off this one. How cute this whining dog is. It looks like a fluffy plush dog. What is it at the end of its tail? 〇Among the pictures of sheep, this is drawn in the most realistic way. What is this…
Women in Gaza move forward with their heads held high despite many difficulties confronting them, living their lives with a positive attitude
[Original by Yoriko YAMAMURA, Palestine Project (July 30, 2019); Translated by M. Kanai/M. Hajjaj] Scorching hot summer has started in Gaza, during daytime people will be soaked in perspiration if they merely walk down the streets. In Jerusalem, I can walk around wearing short sleeves. However, in Gaza it is considered inappropriate as is customary for women to show their skin in public places, so that I also cover up myself with a thin long-sleeve shirt when I go to work. In this report, I would like to share with you a story about Palestinian women living in Gaza. Due to stress arising from the blockade, considerably high ratio of…