Junko Suzuki's family and friends were worried about her safety
when they learnt in 2005 that she was going to be a volunteer in
China.
The decision, in the first place, was not hers. The kindergarten
teacher had just got married in Tokyo, and wanted to go to an
African country when she registered with the Japan International
Cooperation Agency to China (JICA) to be a volunteer.
Two years later, Suzuki feels more than happy; she feels a sense
of fulfilment teaching children between three and five in a
Chongqing kindergarten. The joy of demonstrating them how to fold a
sheet of paper into an animal, a bird or a flower is overwhelming
for her.
And her happiness has rubbed off on her family members and
friends back home.
"People in Chongqing are very friendly, and my colleagues in the
kindergarten do their best to make me feel at home," Suzuki told
China Daily. "I feel I'm needed by the kindergarten and the
kids."
Suzuki was one of the 103 young volunteers sent by JICA to China
in 2005. She is supposed to return home in November. "I can't think
of bidding goodbye to the children. They all love me so much and I
love them, too."
The other Japanese volunteers, like Suzuki, have also enjoyed
their two-year stay in China. They said it was one of the most
colorful times of their lives.
A government-sponsored organization, JICA sent 632 volunteers to
China before September 2006. These dedicated young people get only
a small sum for their expenses but still give their best in the 28
Chinese provinces and municipalities they work in. Many of them
have even stayed in poverty-stricken areas, JICA sources said.
They followed the first four Japanese volunteers who reached
China in 1986. Dozens of JICA volunteers have chosen to return to
China in the past two decades, drawn by the friends they had made
among the local people.
Manabu Hatta, a cricket "coach" and a University of Tohoku
graduate, is one of them. During his first visit, he became the
first cricket coach in the history of No 4 Middle School in Baoding
in North China's Hebei Province. Also, he was probably the only
cricket teacher in the city.
After his short stay ended last June, Hatta went back to Japan
but returned a month later to Baoding. "I have a whole team to take
care of in Baoding and they cannot do without me," he said with
pride in the eyes.
Kyoko Takahashi, a volunteer who works as a nurse in the
hospital attached to the Wenzhou Medical School, is also
considering coming back after her service ends next June.
"I have taught my colleagues what I learned in school and
whatever I know about nursing. They in turn have shared their
experience with me," she said. "I communicate with my colleagues
and patients very well."
(China Daily April 12, 2007)
