Autumn Term AY2023

Contents

• Community Service-Learning AY2023
  ・Voices of the participants
  ・Voices of the host organizations
• International Service-Learning AY2023
  ・Voices of the participants
  ・Voices of the host institutions
• New SL Ambassador members
• Editor's note

Community Service-Learning AY2023

Eleven students participated in community SL this summer: five in JSSL, two in Nagasaki SL, and four students self-arranged their host organizations. Perhaps due to the resume of the International SL, the participants in the Community SL were smaller than in the past few years. On the other hand, JSSL accepted ten international students and had a three-week program in Mitaka City and Tenryu Village. It was an opportunity for the international students as well as ICU students to learn more about Japan. This summer was extremely hot, and some participants (including myself) became ill, but I am very happy that all the students completed their activities safely. What is called "global boiling" made me think that we need to be more careful of extreme heat than before.

(Kenji Ishihara, Community Service-Learning Coordinator)

Voices of the participants

A total of 15 ICU students participated in Community Service Learning activities during the spring semester and summer vacation. Eight of these students have sent us testimonials about their experiences.

Please click on the links below to read the testimonials.

Click here for "Community SL Testimonials"

		Camera shy
Ayana KAWADA Japan Summer Service-Learning	Haruka AIZAWA Nagasaki University/Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace	Nanami KANAI AIU X ICU Service-Learning	Hosana NAGAO NPO Houboku
Yuri SUZUKI Meisei Elementary School, Setagaya, Tokyo	Hagumi HORI Shigencafe WakuWaku	Ayana KAMIJIMA NPO Kidsdoor	Natsu KIMURA Chardjou Nishi-Aizu Farm

Voices of the host organizations

We are grateful for the cooperation of many organizations this year. Here are some of the comments we received from some of these organizations.

Mr. Shoji Wakahata

Shigen Cafe WakuWaku (Non-Profit Organization "WakuWaku-kan")

I had no knowledge of ICU's service-learning program, but having previously worked as a university faculty member, I viewed it as little more than a volunteer activity during vacations. However, when I actually accepted the program, I was surprised to find that it was a very rich program in terms of the number of hours and the content of the activities. The student who participated in the program was very sincere in their motivation and attitude, which was a great stimulus for us and a truly wonderful opportunity for us.

Mr. Toshiyuki Hirosako

Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace

　Students who participated in the Nagasaki program attended lectures at Nagasaki University, endured the intense mid-summer heat, and learned about the atomic bombing by touring facilities and A-bombed remains, while also spending time experiencing Nagasaki's unique history and culture. They also participated in the organization of the "Youth Peace Forum" held on Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Days, August 8 and 9, mainly for junior high and high school students from all over Japan. Unfortunately, the August 9 event was cancelled this year due to a typhoon, but we hope that the students will make use of their unique experience in Nagasaki in the future.

Mr. Tomoshi Okuda

Non-Profit Organization "Houboku"

We are a Kitakyushu-based organization that has been working since 1988 to create a society in which people can live together by providing support for those in economic distress and social isolation by supporting their self-reliance, improving their social treatment, and stabilizing their lives in the community.
We want to create a society where no one is left behind. We want to create a society where everyone is accepted as they are. We will create a society where people can say, "Help me," without worrying about anything, in a climate of "self-responsibility" and the growing role of the family.
In order to inform the public about these activities, we are actively accepting interns, scholars, and embracing tours. (Text by Ms. Hidemi Morimatsu)

International Service-Learning AY2023

During the summer of 2023, SLC collaborated with eight partner institutions in six countries across Asia and Africa to implement international service-learning programs. The program witnessed the highest participation of 61 students in SLC's history. We proudly sent 16 students to Silliman University in the Philippines, and 14 students joined a seven-country joint program at Petra Christian University in Java, Indonesia, after a four-year hiatus. In Sulawesi, Indonesia, 11 students participated in a new program with Dari K, a social enterprise. Additionally, two students served in South Korea under the supervision of Prof. Lee in the Department of Linguistics. Other programs included two students at the Amity Foundation in China, eight at Lady Doak College and Union Christian College in India, and eight at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Despite the increased health and safety risks in many countries during the post-pandemic era, the students' passion and energy flourished once again this summer, as evident from the numbers and respective reports. We express our sincere gratitude to all of our partner institutions for their cooperation and support. Thank you for an energetic summer!

(Atsuko Kuronuma, International Service-Learning Coordinator)

Voices of the participants

A total of 61 ICU students participated in International Service-Learning activities during the spring semester and summer vacation. Eight of these students have sent us testimonials about their experiences.

Please click on the links below to read the testimonials.

Click here for "International SL Testimonials"

Satsuki NAGAHARA The Amity Foundation, China	Haruka ISHIDA Union Christian College, India	Rei NEGISHI Lady Doak College, India	Kae WAKABAYASHI Dari K, Indonesia
Kaede OSAWA Petra Christian University, Indonesia	Soma AZEGAMI Silliman University, Philippines	Runa INOUE University of Cape Town, South Africa	Hinaka TANABE GBS Farm, Korea Faculty-Led Course: Prof. LEE, Seunghun

Voices of the host institutions

We are grateful to our partner institutions for their cooperation again this year. Here are some of the comments we received from our partner organizations.

Ms. Airi Kikugawa

Dari K Co., Ltd., Indonesia

Dari K Co., Ltd. is a chocolate brand using cacao from Sulawesi, Indonesia.
In this summer's service-learning program, the students worked on the task of "developing products that promote local production for local consumption" using local cacao. The staff members were positively stimulated by their attitude of actively engaging with local people with curiosity and respect, and by their fresh and lush product ideas. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who participated in the activity with a sincere attitude.

Dr. Justin Nayagam

Union Christian College, India

Service learning as a pedagogical practice perfectly aligns with the vision and mission of Union Christian College, India, and gives priority to whole-person education. There were eighteen partner institutes for 2023 SL. The diversification has enabled the center to expand its activity and brought it closer to achieving the goal of making service learning part of every degree course in the college. The activities of the SLC at UCC are spread across four areas such as education, women empowerment, environment and culture.

Service-Learning Centre at UCC has tie-ups with educational institutions right from pre-primary to higher secondary. The schools are located both in urban and rural areas. Special emphasis is given to the institutions for the differently-abled and those encouraging experiential learning.
The center focuses on women's issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective and documents their life stories. Interaction with women from different socio-economic backgrounds is geared towards gaining a practical understanding of problem-solving, leadership, and decision-making at the grassroots level.

The rich bio-diversity of our campus has been studied and mapped through environmental service learning. Exploring the flora of the campus deeply embeds environmental consciousness in the student community and appreciation of ecological diversity.
Belonging to a land of cultural diversity, doing service-learning related to food culture, religion, history and art forms goes a long way in building inter-cultural and inter-religious harmony.

Ms. Nicola Latchiah

University of Cape Town, South Africa

The Global Short Academic Programmes (GSAP) unit within UCT International Academic Programmes Office (IAPO) hosted a service-learning programme on Basic Education in South Africa for 8 students from the International Christian University during the period 9 July - 10 August 2023. The purpose of the programme had three objectives for the students, namely:

- To serve formal and non-formal school settings to explore and implement value-based education in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD),
- To understand the concepts of ESD by sharing, comparing, and contrasting ESD in the Japanese and South African contexts; and
- To reflect on service activities so that they will be able to create and act on new forms of ESD in Japan and beyond

Through the experiential learning in Primary and High Schools, and volunteering in non-profit organisations, the students were able to impact on local communities in Cape Town as well as make comparisons with their own contexts in Japan.

Mr. Denny Haryanto

Petra Christian University, Indonesia

"Keep blessing the nation!"

Keep blessing the nation! This COP tagline grounded in the belief that it is our calling as civitas academic to carry a quest to give back and care for our society. We are thankful to God that the International Service-Learning Activities organized by Petra Christian University, the Community Outreach Program (COP) 2023 had been well carried out.

For around one month, July to August 2023, students from ten universities in seven countries, namely Petra Christian University, Indonesia; International Christian University (ICU) Japan; St. Andrew University (Momoyama) Japan; Dongseo University (DSU) South Korea , Inholland Netherland; Singapore University of Social Science (SUSS) Singapore, Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU) Taiwan, Hongkong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Hong Kong, Wira Wacana Christian University Indonesia; Widya Mandira Catholic University Indonesia were collaborated to serve local communities. We were all learning and growing with local community in Mojokerto Regency, East Java province and West Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara.

COP has benefitted and impacted the Mojokerto local community in holistic way, such as: supporting some villages to create and manage their identity as local resort areas. Through non-physical programs, this COP has shared inspiration and opportunities to develop entrepreneurship mentality in the community. The creative approach the COP participants use to teach young kids has become inspiration to the local children to pursue well education. Meanwhile, the young adults in the community have learnt how to use technology wisely through the sharing session from COP participants. For the physical development program, the community has benefitted with plumbing system development for clear water and brandnew look renovated public facilities.
Of course, the participants faced various challenges, such as cultural barriers, characters differences, weather changes, and food adjustment. However, the collaboration has built resilience and agility among participants which help them to cope up with the challenges and design meaningful activities to address several problems in the villages where they live.

COP has directly support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals for a better life in society. In so much excitement, the next opportunity to join this quest is open.

Keep Blessing the Nations!

New SL Ambassador members

SL Ambassadors are current ICU students who are involved in promoting Service-Learning on and off campus. Twelve of the ICU students who participated in Service-Learning this year are new SL Ambassadors.

Miko Kuze

Nagasaki University/Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace AY2023

Service-Learning and I

I participated in service-learning program in Nagasaki in 2023. I chose Nagasaki because of the opportunity to combine my interests in international relations with the curatorial process in which I am currently enrolled. In partnership with the Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace and Nagasaki University RECNA, I have learned firsthand about the current international situation regarding nuclear weapons and the reality of peace education in Nagasaki. The most impressive experiences are the discussions with the curators of the Atomic Bomb Museum for a better museum in the future and guiding the atomic bomb-damaged remains as a Peace Volunteers with local junior and senior high school students. As an SL Ambassador, I would now like to write newsletters and share the beauty of service-learning with younger students. Service-Learning will help them to clarify the kind of learning they want to pursue, and even if they are not interested in the subject, they may be able to find a path to study or something they want to be involved in in the future through participating in it. I hope that my future activities as an SL Ambassador will be for my own benefit as well as for the benefit of younger students, and I would like to spread the learning system of "service- learning" at ICU.

Message from the Director of SLC

Etsuko KATO, Professor

Cultural Anthropology
Director, Service-Learning Center

Was it Post Corona for this summer? Or was it With Corona? The Service Learning (SL) Center first felt "post-Corona". The international travel ban was lifted, 61 students participated in international SL, 12 in person in community (domestic) SL, and 15 in the spring semester; the JSSL program welcomed students from the Philippines, India, and the U.S. for the first time in four years, and seemingly everything went back to the way it was before Corona.
Ms. Kuronuma and I also attended the Asian SL conference in India. However, both of us developed a fever immediately after returning to Japan, and to our surprise, we had a "With Corona" in India. Around the same time, international SL students reported feeling ill one after another. Fortunately, all of them returned home safely, but I realized how my body, which had spent three years wearing masks in clean Japan during the pandemic, had lost its immunity to the different climate. What was even more intense was that the temperature was about the same as my own body temperature, which was affected by corona, i.e., earth boiling. Please take care of yourself and the earth.

Editorʼs note

This summer, I visited India (Bengaluru) for the first time to attend the Service-Learning International Conference. I had intercultural experiences during my short stay there through building relationships or negotiating with local people. I currently enjoy re-exploring Indian society and culture by watching a popular Indian drama I found in a BBC article.

It was a extremely hot summer that made us aware of global boiling. It made me think that heat stroke alerts should also be used as a guideline for safe activities. I am concerned about what the summer will be like in 10 or 20 years from now.

JSSL was held in-person for the first time in several years this summer, and I was more than happy to see students from Asia and Middlebury College visiting Japan and enjoying themselves. On the other hand, we also felt a sense of crisis in working during the daytime in Mitaka City in the extreme heat. We will need to take more precautions against the heat.

At the end of August, the SLC office moved to the Administration Building. When I was at the Dialogue House, I had to move around the campus, but now I can do almost everything in the Administration Building, which is convenient, but at the same time, I have to sit all day long. I started to commute by bicycle to get some exercise.

Even though it is after-Corona, I was anxious about sending more students to the International SL than in the programs before-Corona , given the unstable global situation. However, I was relieved to see the students return home safely, supported by the stable management of the partner institutions. Thanking our partners, I also pray that the world will be at peace.