March/April 1999

Medical Support for Cambodia!

Short supply for medical equipment and medicines Found

Soon after arrival on March 22, they met the president of a hospital in rural area in Cambodia. (Photos, left; the team members looking stock in the shelf, right; Mr. Ishikawa talking with doctors.)

After handed their medical supply, they looked around the hospital facilities including a Tuberculosis sanatorium and maternity department and talked with doctors. Medical equipment and medicines were absolutely in short supply. This has caused chronically insufficient medical care.

On March 23, they talked with representatives of Cambodian NGO and had some information about NGO activities in Cambodia and discussed the problems that had faced Cambodia now.

A letter of Appreciation for Contributions of Piano and Organ

Letters of appreciation were given to the Mayors of the governments by Cambodian Art School.

Letter from Dean of the Health Department for Kobe University

Quote, We really appreciate it that you have been very helpful for our medical support activities for Cambodia.

Eight of our staff and students had joined from the medical department of Kobe University. We, the health section of the medical department, have tried to train the students to be doctors who will be willing to work and play a significant role in world community.

This experience in Cambodia seems to have brought them confidence to be active in the world community.

We would like to keep sending our undergraduate/graduate students to such activities. We want to always keep our eyes opening to find out what we can do, and will do our best.

In the Health Section we have several courses for medical specialists such as nursing, medical examination, and physical and occupational therapies where we have aimed to train highly skilled medical technicians.

Our curriculum also includes world health and environmental epidemiology which have some field study activities in their task.

Through such field study we would like to send our students to foreign countries such as Cambodia where many people still fight against poverty and starvation.

We hope they will see the site carefully and have correct information what is really needed in the site.

Many students are ready to give their helping hands. And I am very happy that young people are interested in the UN's support systems and are willing to participate in the activities and have some experience.

The Health Section of Kobe University has just started to join the UN's support system. And we need your assistance. Again, I would like to thank you.

FSUN Kyushu Branch Starts, Led by Prof. Koichi Ikari of Fukuoka Educational University.

In Fukuoka-City has been established FSUN Kyushu Branch, the 12th branch of FSUN in Japan on March 28.

Before proceeding with agenda, Hideo Navasota, Acting Chief Director of the Board of FSUN, said "Ever since foundation of FSUN, we had worked hard and been so successful on the basis of our five principle and are going to keep active and try to keep further expanding from the NY headquarter to all over the world."

Yasunori Hori, an Advisor of FSUN, who is fonder of FSUN's scholarship foundation called "Dream Bank," talked about the reasons and purpose of the establishment of the foundation said "we would like to succeed this operation in order to bring young people bright future."

Chinese graduate student from Uighur studying in Kyushu University presided the meeting. (See Photo above.)

They elected Mr. Norio Baba, an accountant, as a chairman and proceeded with some routine agendas such as opening sub-branches, establishing the rules and policies for the group, and election of some secretaries.

There was friendly atmosphere toward Chinese people in the meeting because some pictures of the village people in Uighur, China, were displayed.

The main activities are: 1. to ensure easy access for children and senior citizens, 2. to have workshop for the members, 3. to establish friendly relationship with foreign countries and further supportive system, 4. to have horizontal relationship with other groups, 5. to deal with environmental problems, and 6. to hold charitable activities.,p. The branch leader Mr. Ikari mentioned, "the 21st century being about to come, there were so many unfinished tasks we had faced. And also he stated, "We would cooperate each other and work hard to achieve our bright future."

Mr. Ikari is a psychiatrist from Kyushu University and has an idea "the society where the young and old live together will have good society" and has long performed field study with students in rural village in Uighur.

FSUN will further expand its activities into Asian countries from this Kyushu branch.

NY-809 Plaza Building Being Remodeled

First he had a pleasant talk with the students of UN study tour group over lunch in UN dinning room and dinner at Chinese restaurant.

In the 809 UN-Plaza building remodeling works have started. It will have some offices for FUN and room for meeting next to a 12F concourse.

Along with Ben Haraguch, Chairman and Mr. Ohohashi, manager who have been taking care of the transaction in the US, he met bankers to proceed with the business.

Mr. Watanabe also visited Ambassador Sato in his official residence on the night of next day and talked about the inaugural party for 809 UN-Plaza building to be held in autumn of 1999.

Mr. Sato told him that he hoped FSUN would play a significant role in International Women's Conference held in 2000.

UN Study Trip ; Comments by participants

We met UN staff and had some information about the current situation of UN; especially words of a staff from OSSD impressed me: "The standard of value varies from country to country in the world.

So you have to have your own standard of value when solving international problems." This study trip to UN made my eyes open toward world.

* I need to study foreign languages more.

We saw both favorable and unfavorable aspects in New York. We learnt a lot of things happening in the world in details.

These problems are happening to us not everyone else. I also thought I needed to study foreign language more.

* This trip made my eyes open. This trip became the start of my new life. I had had only little knowledge of UN before but was given some detailed information in orientation meeting held by DPI/NGO by UN senior staff.

* More language skill needed!

This was my first trip to the US. When attending all the programs I felt my language skill was far shorter than I needed. Absolutely did I need English skill as communication media.

* I would like to have some more chance to meet them.

This trip gave me a good opportunity to think about my future. The briefing by UN staff inspired me a lot. I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe and FUN.

* My dream

I have a dream to work in UN office to solve the violation of human rights. The reason I joined the trip is this could be first step for realization of this dream. The dream has become more reality after I met a lot of staff in UN.

* This trip gave me good opportunity to think my future.

I was inspired by talks by UN staff. This study trip gave me a good opportunity to think my future seriously. I would like to thank Mr. & Mrs. Watanabe and the staff of FSUN.

* I was so impressed.

I spent a very valuable and significant week. I was impressed by Mr. Watanabe's word, "You, young people, have a mission to defend 'human right in 21st century'"

NPO Activities, the Resource of State's Energy

1. There are about 1.2 million non-profitable organizations where about 10 million people work and make their living. Many Americans take the idea of a free market and fair competition as a matter of course, whereas there are a variety of volunteer groups where many people work for "public benefit," without any thought of profit or interest. This helps, in a sense, the American society keep away from moral decay, side effect of competition society.

2. In Japanese aging society the future prosperity is largely depending on whether you regard senior citizens as burden or as social assets. Senior citizens can be social assets because they might solve social problems through their great deal of experience.

3. Not only senior citizens, but also middle aged working in public work can bring the young to participate in social work. Since the law for NPO came into force in December of 1998 in Japan, people have increasingly known NPO activities.

In reality, however, the number of applications for corporative NPO groups has less increased than expected due to the reasons such as; details of the activities have to be publicized and complicated documentation is required when a group wants to be qualified as an official NPO organization and, even if qualified, not so much preferential tax credit for the organizations is granted as for those in US.

4. Now we have to think about the meaning of "public." Since abolition of draft system after World War �U, we tend to think that we contribute to public welfare by just paying tax but it is wrong.

Each individual has responsibility for creation of better society and have to share the burden to build such society by offering our knowledge and labor.

5. The federal Government of the U.S. has spent $1.5 billion for 3 years to provide financial aides for education for 100 thousand students who volunteer for public service activities for more than 2 years.

This is called "Public Service Program." This is the good example that the expertise from social engineering was used to establish favorable social system.

Ark branch gave T-shirts to Cambodia

Branch leader donated T-shirts to Cambodian children.

Comments by editor

We also summarized the article in daily news paper Mainichi in which a director of a major company talked about comparison of volunteer activities between the US and Japan.

His argument was very convincing that the activities by1.2 million NPO groups and 10 million people in the US supports are supporting this society's dynamism. (K)