[Original published on December 13, 2024; Translated by J. Tsuchiya/A. Taguchi] Hello! We are Ishikawa, Tsuchida, and Fukami. We work for JVC as interns. This time, we interviewed Mr. Takeru Higashi, the representative of the Laos Office. Please read until the end! Q1. What kind of a man is Mr. Higashi? He was born in Tokyo and raised in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. He became interested in environmental issues while growing up in an area surrounded by nature. He majored in pedagogy at university and sociology in graduate school. After graduating, he became an elementary school teacher, which had been his dream job. But after the assault on Dr. Tetsu Nakamura…
Life Goes on Even in Internally Displaced Persons Camps
[Original by S. Kutsukake, 2024 Intern (December 26, 2024); Translated by S. Yoshihara/K. Takemura] “Children’s Place” or “Child Friendly Space (CFS)” projects are being carried out in the Rahba and Rajhi internally displaced persons camps in Yemen, where people who were driven from their homes in the civil war take shelter. This article will tell you about their lives as internally displaced persons. The harsh life of internally displaced persons What the residents of Rahba complain of is the harshness of life in tents. Because there is no air conditioning inside, it is hot while the sun is out and cold at night. In this environment with daily temperature differences,…
Beyond repeated retreats: What I must do
[Original by Mona Hassan, local staff at the Sudan Office (March 5, 2025); Translated by K. Tanimoto/J. Santiago] From the outbreak of battle to a life on the run The battle began in April 2023, just before the onset of the post-Ramadan holiday break. At that time, I wasn’t home in Khartoum—I had traveled to El-Obeid to visit my husband, who was working there alone. Even in El-Obeid, fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was intense. Airstrikes and shelling occurred close to our home. We hid under the bed more times than I can count. Eventually, we escaped to a nearby village where my relatives…
Building a Children’s Place in Yemen: The World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis
[Original written by ITO Tokiko and IMANAKA Ko for the project fundraised by READYFOR (October 30, 2023); Translated by J. Tsuchiya/K. Tanimoto and A. Taguchi] Once called “Happy Arabia”, Yemen used to be prosperous through trade. Situated in the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula, the country is now facing the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” This is due to the “forgotten war” that has continued for eight years since the aggravation of conflicts in 2015. Even children have been affected. •Two-thirds of the nation’s population, about 32 million people, are in need of some kind of support. •About 4.5 million are internally displaced persons (domestic refugees). •More than 2.7 million…
Women living through war in Sudan – A year since the outbreak of the vicious conflict in Sudan (1)
[Original by Ko IMANAKA, Sudan & Yemen Projects (March 14, 2024); Translated by K. Tanimoto/J. Tsuchiya, A. Taguchi] Greetings, this is Ko IMANAKA from the JVC Sudan Office. The war in Sudan is approaching its first anniversary since the civil war which started on April 15 last year. Even though Ramadan began, the war continued. As of February, according to reports from the UN and other resources, 13,900 people have been killed, 1.66 million fled to neighboring countries as refugees, and 6.32 million are said to be internally displaced. Approximately 24.8 million people, which is almost half of the nation’s population, are urgently in need of humanitarian assistance. International media…
Vegetable garden program in South Africa
[Original by Alicia TURNER, 2023 Public Relations Intern (June 29, 2023); Translated by A. Turner] Hi everyone! My name is Alicia and I’m an intern with JVC. This report will detail the vegetable garden program at the Drop-In Center in South Africa, which myself and my fellow intern, Moeka SANO, held an interview with Dudu, a local staff member at the JVC South Africa office, to hear the details of. Those who are interested can read the reports on the volunteer carer and guardian training sessions as well as the Scouts and Cubs programs, which will soon be published! About the Drop-In Center (DIC) JVC is partnered with the DIC,…
Residents Realize Successful Management and Use of Natural Resources
[Originally written by Miki GOTO and published in the JVC Newsletter “Trial & Error” (No. 353, April 20, 2023); Translated by Y. Miki/A. Turner] JVC’s Laos project relocated its base of activities from Savannakhet Province to Sekong Province in the southeastern part of the country last year. As rich natural resources are in danger of disappearing due to large-scale development and the cultivation of cash crops, we are engaged in activities that allow residents to manage and use these natural resources on their own. In February 2023, I made a business trip to Sekong, and would like to share with you some of their activities and the town around the…
Training programs for volunteer carers and parents in South Africa
[Original by Alicia TURNER, 2023 Public Relations Intern (July 13, 2023); Translated by A. Turner] My name is Alicia and I’m an intern with JVC. This report will detail the training programs offered to volunteer carers and parents of the children attending the Drop-In Center (DIC) in South Africa, which myself and my fellow intern, Moeka SANO, held an interview with Dudu, a local staff member at the JVC South Africa office, to hear the details of. About the Drop-In Center JVC is partnered with the DIC, a voluntary organisation based in Limpopo, South Africa, that was established with the aim to break the cycle of abuse and neglect present…
It has been one month since the outbreak of military combat in Sudan. What happened in Kadugli, the city in the southern part of Sudan?
[Original by Ko IMANAKA, Sudan & Yemen Projects (May 25, 2023); Translated by J. Tsuchiya/A. Taguchi] Kadugli, the capital city of South Kordofan State, which is JVC’s activity site, is about 600 km from Khartoum. It became the site of the bloodiest combat in the battle that broke out on April 15, 2023. It has then remained calm even after battlefields scattered over many places in Sudan. But even though there are no sounds of airstrikes and gunshots, it doesn’t mean there is no influence of conflict. How did it affect the people and what do they think about them? Effects of the war on Kadugli in the South Kordofan…
We strongly oppose the Official Security Assistance (OSA), a military aid that denies Japan’s non-military principles in international cooperation
[Original issued by NGO No War Network (June 6, 2023); Translated by A. Turner/K. Takemura] On the 5th of April, the Japanese government announced the implementation of Official Security Assistance (OSA), a means of providing defense and military equipment to the armed forces of like-minded countries. Set out in the National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and Defense Build-Up Program (hereafter “Three Security Documents”) all released in December 2022, OSA represents a major shift in Japan’s international cooperation strategy. The NGO No War Network was founded in 2002 in opposition to the Iraq War. As civil society actors who are conducting international cooperation activities, we have since raised our voices…