JVC will participate in an event to support the recovery of the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which will be held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It passed 7 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake happened on March 11th 2011. JVC will exhibit photo panels, which show the current status of the recovery of the disaster area. You are very welcome to the event. From the organizer: On 11th March, do you still remember that day ? 7 years ago, in North-East part of Japan, it was huge Earthquake and Tsunami disaster. It past 7 years already but reconstruct the town still difficult. At this moment, NGO [Japan…
Cambodian People’s Faces As They Really Are (No. 9): Ms. Chanlaksmey (Accountant)
[Original by Asami ISHIYAMA, 2015 Cambodia Office Intern (September 12, 2016); Translated by Y. Nakamura/A. Senkoff] This time I would like to introduce Ms. Chanlaksmey, a graceful lady engaged in accounting at our office in Phnom Penh. Ms. Chanlaksmey is a Catholic in a country where Buddhism prevails, so I was able to listen to her interesting stories which differ considerably to the other staff members. Please read the contents of her interview now.
Film screening “Waste cooking”
About the film David, a journalist who aims at rescuing foods, travels through five countries in Europe by a kitchen car, which runs on waste oil. He travels by cooking waste foods. We live in a consumption society, in which we waste tremendous amounts of foods everyday. According to the World Food Programme, we discard about one third of produced foods, which amounts 89 million ton in Europe or 1.3 billion ton in the world every year. David meets many people who tackle food problems in unique ways. He serves them dishes made from waste foods, through which he tries to change the awareness of people about food. Title: “Wastecooking”…
Equal relationship and a hope beyond – ”PASHTO CLASS”
[Original by Asako SHIRAKAWA, a member of the JVC Afghanistan Volunteer Team (March 9, 2017); Translated by A. Shirakawa/R. Florea] Outline The JVC Afghanistan Volunteer Team has held “Pashto Class” once a month since August 2016. Pashto is one of the official languages in Afghanistan. As far as we know, there is no such a Pashto class in Japan. It is also our first trial of language course as an activity of the volunteer team. We already had 6 sessions, in which 7 to 8 members attended every time. The class is for two hours. In the first half, we learn basic Pashto from a Japanese teacher (Mr. Fujii or…
Towards “PEACE YARD” in August 2017
[Original by Emi NAKANO, Assistant of the Iraq Project (June 1, 2017); Translated by K. Adachi/R. Florea/M. Takahashi] The diverse ethnic groups such as Arab, Kurds, Turkmen, and Assyrian used to live together in harmony in Kirkuk prefecture located in the northeastern part of Iraq. Under the Hussein regime in 1980s, however, “Arabization” was carried out to immigrate Arabic inhabitants from outside and expel non-Arabic inhabitants, partly because of the rich oil resources. As a result, the tension among ethnic groups increased, and the security in this area was deteriorated. A local Iraqi NGO, INSAN, which means “human being” in Arabic, has been carrying out activity mainly in Kirkuk from…
Visit to Kesennuma City after five years of the Great East Japan Earthquake: Construction of the new houses and recovery-from-the-disaster festival
[Original by Harune TANAKA, 2016 Public Relations Intern (October 3, 2016); Translated by M. Kanai/R. Florea/M. Takahashi] Hello everyone, Good afternoon. My name is Harune Tanaka, 2016 Public Relations Intern, currently in charge of JVC’s website. I am a 4th year student at university and doing volunteer work at JVC Tokyo office as an Intern responsible for updating the website. Usually, my job is to put articles written by others up on the website. It is my first time to contribute an article myself, therefore I feel a little nervous. In August 2016, I visited Kesennuma City, which is one of the JVC’s operation fields, together with Ms. Ohmuro, Intern…
[closed] Welcome to the English volunteer team of JVC!
* Application to the English volunteer team is now closed. We thank all the applicants for their interest on this matter. The Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC) is an international NGO working in the fields of humanitarian aid and community development. The activities include post-conflict reconstruction, peacebuilding, medical care, rural development, forest preservation, and more. We are currently doing projects in nine countries, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Sudan, South Africa, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Korea (DPRK). We also work in Japan to support people in Kesennuma and Minamisoma who suffered from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. For further information, visit our website (https://www.ngo-jvc.com/en/). We are now looking for volunteers who…
ON THE 71ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF WORLD WAR II: A SENSE OF CRISIS IN THE JAPANESE DIPLOMATIC POLICIES
[Original by Hiroshi TANIYAMA, JVC’s President (August 23, 2016); Translated by Y. Nakamura] Modern war is protracted one Most of modern wars take the form of “anti-terrorism war”. An “anti-terrorism war” does not have a distinct front line of fight, and cannot always differentiate between a combatant and noncombatant. A characteristic of modern war is meant to be “a war fought among residents”. Consequently, civilians would be more liable to damages. Furthermore, it is very difficult to negotiate ending the war because the side of “terrorist” rarely has a chain of command like a state does. Therefore, the war is likely to be protracted. Learning from the case of Afghanistan…
WAR IN SOUTH SUDAN INTENSIFIED; IS IT RIGHT THAT SDF’S PKO KEEPS STATIONED?
[Original by Hiroshi TANIYAMA, JVC’s President (July 21, 2016); Translated by Y. Nakamura] Fierce battles happened in Juba, a capital of South Sudan, where Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) were dispatched under United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKO). More than 270 persons have been killed in gun battles which started on the 7th of this month. It is said that the actual number of civilian casualties was more than that. It produced more than 40,000 refugees. Food shops were looted, and transportation of goods was stopped by inspection. They were worried about food shortage. Both opposing parties, president’s supporters and vice-president’s, issued an order of cease-fire. However, there is still some possibility…
The Security Laws Enforced; Japan becomes an assailant in conflicts
U.S. Army’s Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and residents, Afghanistan.
[Original by Hiroshi TANIYAMA, JVC’s President (March 29, 2016); Translated by Y. Nakamura] The Security Laws were enforced on March 29, 2016, which makes it possible to exercise the right of collective self-defense for defending foreign countries by force of arms, and to support foreign forces anywhere in the world. Until now, JVC had set up “NGO Hisen Net (NGO NO WAR NETWORK)” together with about seventy other NGOs and has been strongly opposed to the Security Laws as a NGO involved in international cooperation. Japan becomes an assailant in conflicts. A hope for peace is about to be lost from the world once more. The Self-Defense Forces of Japan…