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,…

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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…

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Introduction of local staff in South Africa: Dudu, Moses, and Philip (Part 2)

[Original by Airi KAMIYAMA, Intern (July 7, 2022); Translated by E. Miyazaki/A. Taguchi] Hi everyone! Following the previous blog, I will continue to report on the interview with our South African staff, Dudu, Moses, and Phillip. I was able to hear very interesting stories such as what they pay attention to at work in JVC, what they gained when working with people from different countries and so on. Please take a moment to read about Dudu, Moses, and Philip’s strong passion. Why did you decide to join JVC? Dudu: At first, I only thought that I had to find a job for myself and my family. However, I came to…

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Introduction of local staff in South Africa: Dudu, Moses, and Philip (Part 1)

[Original by Airi KAMIYAMA, Intern (July 7, 2022); Translated by E. Miyazaki/A. Taguchi] Hi! I am Kamiyama, an intern. Today, I would like to introduce Dudu, Moses, and Philip, our local staff in South Africa. We used to hear from the Japanese staff on similar occasions, but we did not have opportunities to hear from the local staff. Because I wanted everyone to know about our local staff, I interviewed these three staff. I will report my interview with these cheerful South African staff in two parts. In the first part, I will introduce their hobbies and the South African culture to you. Please introduce yourselves! Philip: I am involved…

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COVID-19’s Impact on Our Activities in South Africa

[Last updated on March 19, 2021] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, our partner organizations in South Africa were left with no other choice but to temporarily close the childcare centers that they operate. The “Drop-in Centers” (DIC) that we set up in order to support “Orphan and Vulnerable Children” (OVC), whose complex family situations resulted from the absence of parents, often influenced by AIDS and poverty. The DICs are operated by care volunteers, who are mainly local women. JVC has provided a variety of training initiatives to provide the care volunteers with the knowledge and skills necessary to care for the OVC. Following the closure of the…

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REPORT ON OFFICIAL TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA NO. 3: PREPARING FOR OUR ACTIVITIES AFTER THE FISCAL YEAR 2018

[Original by Naoko WATANABE, South Africa Project/Manager of the Community Development Group (February 28, 2018); Translated by Y. Nakamura/S. Altman] In continuation of the previous report (No. 2). JVC South Africa is preparing for expanding our experiences and outcomes of activities from our current operating places to neighboring areas after the fiscal year 2018. Based on our experiences up to now, we anticipate that many difficulties are sure to arise in new areas of our activities. We asked people around us and obtained their advice about how to overcome such difficulties. We will make good use of it in investigating and making our plans from now on. An interview with…

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REPORT ON OFFICIAL TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA NO. 2: MEALS IN SOUTH AFRICA

[Original by Naoko WATANABE, South Africa Project (February 27, 2018); Translated by Y. Nakamura/S. Altman] In continuation of the previous report (No. 1). When explaining JVC’s activities in South Africa to people, they often ask me, “What do you eat during your stay there?”. Since JVC’s local office serves as accommodation too, Dudu, our local staff member, is usually living in the office. This is because her house is very far away in Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa. When I went to South Africa on an official trip, I also stayed in the office and cooked with Dudu every day. Previously, Dudu had rarely cooked during my stay because…

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REPORT ON OFFICIAL TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA NO. 1: WE ARE NOW HAVING A CONFERENCE FOR OUR ANNUAL PLANS!

[Original by Naoko WATANABE, South Africa Project (February 26, 2018); Translated by Y. Nakamura] Hello, my name is Naoko Watanabe. I am in charge of the South Africa Project. Now, our staff members of the Community Development Group are visiting our local offices overseas and holding conferences for our annual plans. We are scheduled to have conferences at the end of every fiscal year in order to review that year’s operation results and draft next year’s operation plans and budgets in accordance with each project. I have been likewise occupied in this conference together with our local staff members in South Africa day after day. When we were reviewing operation…

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