Autumn Term AY2024

This summer has been exceptionally hot once again. This summer, 46 students participated in the International Service-Learning Program in India, the Philippines, Indonesia, and South Africa. In addition, six students participated in the Community Service-Learning program, working in Nagasaki City, Gojome Town in Akita Prefecture, Fujiyoshida City in Yamanashi Prefecture, and Tokyo. After a fulfilling and memorable month of activities, the students entered the fall semester and deepened their learning through discussions with other students and faculty members in the “Reflection on Service Experiences” class. In this issue, we have compiled the experiences of the students who completed their activities, the voices of the host institutions, and a report from the SLC director who visited the activity sites. We hope to convey the passionate summer of service-learning.

Contents

• Community Service-Learning AY2024
  ・Voices of Participants
  ・Voices of Host Institution
  ・Overview Tour, Nagasaki
• International Service-Learning AY2024
  ・Voices of Participants
  ・Voices of Overseas Partner Institutions
• Introducing New Member of Service-Learning Ambassador
• Message from the Director of SLC
• Editor's note

Community Service-Learning AY2024

This summer, five students participated in the Community Service-Learning program. Two students joined the program in Nagasaki, one participated in the Dochavengers program in Gojome Town, Akita Prefecture, and two students independently developed their own activity sites. This year, for the first time, we held online exchange meetings during the activities, where participants exchanged experiences and opinions with last year’s participants. At the exchange meetings, it was impressive to see the students deepening their learning by confronting their own positionality and questions and thinking deeply through the activities in the field. We would like to express our gratitude to all the host institutions that provided the students with opportunities to engage in activities and learn. The Japan Summer Service-Learning Program, which has been held every summer, will take a slightly different form this year and be held in December. Two students from Lady Doak College in India and two students from Silliman University in the Philippines will come to Japan for two weeks of service activities near Mitaka City. We are looking forward to meeting them.

Voices of Participants

See the Community Service-Learning Testimonials AY2024

Voices of Host Institution

We are grateful to the many organizations that cooperated with us this year. Here are some of the comments we received from the host organizations.

General Incorporated Association Dochavengers

Mr. Ishii came to Gojome Town, Akita Prefecture, in the middle of the summer for service-learning. It was his first time in Akita and his first time living alone. At the welcome party the first night, he looked worried and said, "I don't know what to do." He lived in an empty house that used to be a bicycle shop overlooking the 500-year-old Asaichi Street. On the day of the morning market, he opened the shutters and talked to people passing through the market, asking, "What will start in this shop from now on?" In an effort to remember the faces of the local people, he kept looking for people and calling out to them, and ended up exchanging greetings with more people than he could count on his hands. When I asked him the day before his return how he felt about staying here, he said, "One month isn't enough, I need at least three months." He had found something to work on and his confident smile was very impressive.

The Community Welfare Division of Mitaka City

This time, the Community Welfare Division accepted a student who was interested in community activities with local citizens. For two months, the student was involved in all aspects of community welfare work, including preparing for and participating in events such as meetings and salons of the “Community Care Network”, which aims to create a system of mutual support with the participation of local residents, and street PR for the “Campaign to Brighten Society”, which aims to create a community free of crime and delinquency. She also created leaflets that were easy for everyone to understand from a student's perspective. We hope that she also had a good experience by actively interacting with citizens of all ages, from children to the elderly, and realizing the power of the local community. We, the staff, were also inspired by her.

Chisae HANDA, The Community Welfare Division of Mitaka City

The Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace

The Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace is a public-interest foundation that, with the cooperation of its members and citizens, works toward the goal of "the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of permanent world peace," which is the wish of the A-bombed city of Nagasaki.

This summer was very hot every day, The students spent about a month learning about the reality of the atomic bombing through visits to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and other A-bomb sites, listening to accounts of the bombing, etc., as well as learning about the issue of nuclear weapons through attending lectures at RECNA of Nagasaki University and participating in a peace-related symposium.

They also worked with youth peace volunteers which convey the importance of peace, and participated in the management of a forum attended by peace delegations sent b y local governments from all over the country.

I hope that they will share what they've learned about the experiences of A-bomb survivors and the reality of the atomic bombings with the people around you in order to contribute to the creation of a peaceful world without nuclear weapons.

Yamanashi Prefecture Fuji Science Research Center, Environmental Education and Exchange Department

With the aim of preserving, managing and utilizing the outstanding universal value of Mt. Fuji, we are engaged in activities such as investigative research centered on Mt. Fuji and awareness-raising activities through learning opportunities. The student who participated had previously attended public lectures and other events at the Research Center and was interested in preserving the natural environment. As such, we got her involved in a variety of activities, including public awareness and education activities, as well as field surveys, research, and problem-solving initiatives. During this time, we've been inspired by her positive attitude toward challenges.

We hope that she will realize the importance of activities such as environmental protection and the importance of cooperation with society for implementation and make use of what she has learned from this experience in the future.

Overview Tour, Nagasaki

Under the dizzying evening sunlight, in the steaming heat surrounded by the hills, I arrived at a bus stop near Peace Park, where people of different colors were bustling around. I was honored to spend this special period of time in Nagasaki, thanks to Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace, which hosted two ICU students for 30-day Service-Leaning (SL). I had an inspection of their last two days, the highlight of their activities. The major task for the students was to assist, with other 100 volunteers including Nagasaki citizens, Youth Peace Forum on August 8 and 9, giving guided tours to A-bomb related spots or hosting workshops for about 400 children and youth from around Japan. Prior to the event, the students spent a month attending preparatory meetings, studying at RECNA (Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition) of Nagasaki University, and researching on their own themes.

In the morning of August 9, I saw people putting their hands in prayer in front of a black monument in Ground Zero Park. Beside the site was the Peace Park known for a giant blue statue, where the 79th memorial ceremony of A-bomb took place. At 11:02, the students and I bowed our heads in prayer. The occasional breezes coming into our tents were felt like souls of people killed by the A-bomb. In the afternoon, the second-day program of Peace Forum took place. The participants actively exchanged their opinions on essential questions such as “Why do fights and wars occur?” under the skillful facilitation by student volunteers. After 7 p.m., ICU students finished their services and received certificates. Next day, I visited Urakami Cathedral by myself. Once demolished by A-bomb and later reconstructed, it still had burned statues of saints, some heads chopped off, in front of the building. Although Nagasaki’s decision of not inviting Israel to the ceremony this year led to controversies, it suggests many of its citizens feeling the same heat, pain, and anger to the attacks on Gaza as in the A-bomb attack on their city. Furthermore, the medical-legal inequality between “A-bomb victims” and “those who experienced A-bomb” was not solved this summer. My hope is that ICU students continue SL in Nagasaki as long as possible, to directly feel and learn the endless aftermaths of nuclear weapons.

International Service-Learning AY2024

This summer, we sent 46 students to participate in service-learning programs at four partner universities abroad. The program at Silliman University in the Philippines hosted the largest number of students, with 16 students participating in activities with different organizations and communities each week. At Petra Christian University in Indonesia, 13 students participated in the Community Outreach Program, staying with Muslim families in rural villages and working with local students as well as students from other Asian and European countries. Six students stayed at Lady Doak College in India, where they first attended faculty lectures on Indian culture and society and later participated in educational support activities at local schools. We also sent our largest group to date—11 students—to the University of Cape Town in South Africa. They spent a month immersed in the majestic natural beauty of Africa while learning the reality of how current social structures are deeply connected to history and contemporary politics.

Our students gained invaluable experience and learned a great deal in each location. Many of them described it as a "life-changing experience," and this would not have been possible without the support of our partner universities. We are deeply grateful for your continued support and look forward to working together to continue to improve these programs. Thank you again for your tremendous support.

Voices of Participants

See the International Service-Learning Testimonials AY2024

Voices of Overseas Partner Institutions

We are grateful to the many overseas partner institutions cooperating with us this year. Here are some of the comments we received from the partner institutions.

Petra Christian University, Indonesia

We give thanks to God for each of you who contributed to the success of the International Service Learning Activities, as part of Petra Christian University's International Community Outreach Program (iCOP) 2024.

From July to August 2024, students from seven universities across six countries collaborated to serve local communities in Mojokerto Regency, East Java, and West Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. Together, we engaged in a journey of mutual learning and growth with these communities. The entire process, from preliminary surveys, discussions, and program planning, to the implementation of activities, was managed effectively. We are thankful to the unwavering support of you and all our partners and the local governments. We are deeply grateful for this collaboration.

The efforts of the iCOP participants have left a lasting impact, addressing key issues in the villages where they worked. They taught children, built sanitation facilities, renovated water reservoirs and filtration systems, developed tourism areas, and conducted soft skills training—all as part of their learning and service. One of the most poignant pieces of feedback we received from the villages was, "We are grateful to have worked alongside the iCOP participants. We now have cleaner water, which greatly improves our health and daily lives."

Through iCOP, we continue to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, working toward a better and more sustainable future for all. With this shared vision in mind, we warmly invite all partners to join us once again for COP 2025.

The Iziko Museums offered students the opportunity to engage with experts to learn more about the historical and current social context. Students learnt about apartheid and colonialism and the role of the museum and “brave spaces” for dialogue.

The Callas Foundation is a community-based organization that deals with food security and gender-based violence. Students were able to offer community-service and engage with other community outreach activities in the surrounds.

Introducing New Member of Service-Learning Ambassador

Service-Learning Ambassadors are current ICU students who are involved in activities to promote service-learning on and off campus. Sixteen of the ICU students who participated in Service-Learning this year are new members.

New Member Michiru JITSUHARA

I had the opportunity to participate in a program called COP, which is run by Petra Christian University in Indonesia.In this program, 22 students from 5 countries (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Indonesia) stayed with host families in a village for a month and engaged in various activities such as cleaning and repairing water tanks and water reservoirs, making the village a tourist attraction, repairing public toilets, and cultural exchange with the villagers.Through the month-long activities, my sense of values changed and I gained hope for the future.This experience was a turning point in my life, and I have built invaluable memories.Above all, I learned the importance of having the courage to challenge and take action.Participating in the service-learning program was a big challenge for me, and I gained valuable experience by actually taking action.In addition to the prescribed activities, I was able to gain new insights by actively engaging in interviews and other activities during the activities.

I am very happy that I was able to establish a "second family/place to stay" in Indonesia.I would like to express my gratitude to all the people who were involved during the activities for making this wonderful experience possible.

Through my activities as an ambassador, I would like to share what I have experienced and spread the courage to take on challenges.

Message from the Director of SLC

Professor Etsuko KATO

Cultural Anthropology
Director, Service-Learning Center

I thought, “SL students in India and Southeast Asia must be having a hard time because the heat is a matter of life and death, even when they go outside,” but then I heard from a Filipino living in Japan that “the humid Japanese summer is even harder.” This summer, there were 252 heatstroke deaths in Tokyo's 23 wards of Tokyo, 243 of which occurred indoors, 158 of which were due to non-use of air conditioning, and 58 of which were due to non-installed air conditioning. Since 90% of the victims were over 60 years old, it is assumed that the problem is that “the elderly do not feel the heat and do not use air conditioners”. But isn't the problem that there are no people to take care of them, and that they have no choice but to endure because they can't afford to pay their electricity bills? When hundreds of people die unnoticed in the center of the country just because summer is coming, isn't Japan already in the global south? At the SL Conference in India last summer, I told a person from Calcutta that there are no slums in Japan. But when I told them that there were also parents and children who were ashamed to receive public assistance and starved to death in their apartment, they were surprised. Charity begins at home (Mother Teresa), and home means “anywhere near you”.

Editor's note

This year has brought boiling heat waves, and we can't be too happy about the fewer mosquitoes. At a time when Hawaiian tourism has become an option for relief from the heat, I feel that autumn has reached the summer levels of decades past. "Out-of-season" has become the norm, affecting our sense of the four seasons.

This summer, I planted zinnias (mainly from Mexico) in the sunniest spot in my garden, and they bloomed beautifully. The flowers that had been growing in the same spot the previous year all withered away, so I looked for flowers that would be able to withstand the heat. The flowers in the flowerbeds change deeply affected by the weather.

When I was a child, catching cicadas was my daily routine during summer vacation. The sight of dozens of cicadas emerging all at once in the twilight park was mystical and unforgettable. I just remembered the cicadas seemed quieter this extremely hot summer. As a cicada enthusiast, it felt like a slightly lonely summer for me.

When I was a student, on my way home from watching fireworks with friends, I remembered of my grandmother who had passed away in the previous year. Both of my parents will follow her , and I will be the same. For the first time, I was terrified of "death." I walked sadly through the dark residential streets. But I forgot about it once I saw the faces of my family.

When I think about summer, the song of Yosui Inoue's "Shonen-Jidai" comes to mind. As soon as this song starts playing in my head, I feel like I have slipped back into my childhood. It finally got cooler and made us feel relieved, but I also feel sad when it comes to an end. That's summer, isn't it?