NATIONAL 4 - (Spotlight Weekly)

‘Children Everywhere Should Be Able To Receive The Same Level Of Education’

—TOSHIKO ARIIZUMI

Toshiko Ariizumi is the president of the Ariizumi Corporation, Japan and a volunteer at the SAME Japan International — a group of Japanese nationals working to promote education and health in rural parts of the world. Ms. Ariizumi recently led a delegation of SAME volunteers to Nepal on an observation tour of education and health projects the group has been running in some villages of Mahottari district with the help of a Nepalese NGO, Women in Environment. Ariizumi spoke to SANJAYA DHAKAL about the projects. Excerpts:

Could you elaborate on the activities of your group?

SAME International consists of 5,000 Japanese and 5,000 foreign members. We are modeled after such organizations as UNESCO [the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]. We feel that children everywhere should be able to receive the same level of education. For this purpose, we have been building SAME international schools. We have already built eight SAME schools in different villages of Mahottari district in Nepal. We have also built one community health center, as we were aware of the health needs of the people there.

How many other countries have you built such schools in?

We have built such schools only in Nepal. But we have been sending Japanese students to the United States, Canada, England, Thailand and other countries. Likewise, we are also accepting several members from Nepal and elsewhere on exchange programs.

How do you manage your resources?

We manage the resources by ourselves. First, we advertise in local newspapers in Japan asking for donations. Many people are quite moved after reading about such nice projects. Many members even want to make their own schools. For example, the Koma Koko (koko in Japanese meaning senior high school) alumni people collected money and helped build SAME Nepal Koma Koko school. Likewise, people from Yamanashi prefecture collected money by selling empty bottles gathered for seven years and helped build a junior high school in Nepal. People always want to be involved in such nice projects.

How long has the group been involved in Nepal and what has been the experience so far?

The SAME group has been involved in Nepal for the last five years. The experience has been very, very good. All of our members were moved after we made a trip to our schools in Mahottari. It's nice and exciting. We would like to continue this kind of help in the days to come.

How is the response of the local people?

It is totally wonderful. The people here are so nice. They have so pure eyes that we cannot forget them. Some of our members were so moved that they did not want to return home. For instance, Mr. Michihiko Yoda, one of our members, this time helped build one school called SAME Nepal Yoda school. He is a retired senior high school teacher and has promised to come back here as soon as possible and teach music to students here.

Why did the group choose to help Nepal?

We were advised to build such schools in countries like Nepal and Cambodia. But in Cambodia, other members had already built schools and hospitals, so we chose this country.

Are you going to continue your help here?

Sure. As students graduating from the SAME Nepal senior high schools would like to continue their education, we are planning to open colleges as well.