hunger Zero

During July and August this year (2013) we will be taking short-term volunteer teams to work in Rwanda, Bolivia, and Malaysia. Alongside learning about problems caused by extreme poverty in developing countries, participants will have the opportunity to serve as volunteer workers in the area. The dates and costs for the 2013 work camps are as follows:

Malaysia
Cost ¥178,000
Application Deadline:　Friday 7 June
Dates: Wednesday 31st July - Saturday 10th August
Number of Participants: up to 12

Bolivia
Cost: ¥338,000
Application Deadline: Friday 14 June
Dates: Friday 16 August - Wednesday 28 August
Number of Participants: up to 10

Rwanda (Study and Work Camp)
Cost: ¥338,000
Application Deadline: Friday 14 June
Dates: Monday 19 August - Saturday 31 August
Number of Participants: up to 10

Applications and Queries
For detailed information about any of the work camps, or in order to obtain application forms, please contact Mami Fukuchi at the Tokyo Japan International Food for the Hungry Office.
【 Phone 】 03-3518-0781
【 FAX 】 03-3518-0782
【 E-mail 】 jifhtokyo@gmail.com

We are also looking for participants for a Sponsor-Parent Visitation Tour!
We are also planning a trip to Uganda in August to visit the children sponsored by JIFH Sponsor Parents. We will be visiting the sponsor children and their families in the Kyoga, Namasumbi, and Misombwa areas, where the sponsorship program will be finishing, and would also love for you to be able to attend a ceremony which will mark the end of the sponsorship program. We would love for you to see the fruit of your support in these areas.

Feedback from Participants in the 2012 Summer Work Camps
Last year, volunteer work camps were held in Uganda and Malaysia.
Below are some photos of the camps, feedback, and snippets of things learned by people who participated in a work camp:

Participants in the Uganda Work Camp

"To start with, I was anxious about how I would spend the two weeks. Things like only having a simple toilet which was just a hole in the ground, having no internet access, and not understanding the local language made me a little worried. However, this time spent in a completely different environment to what I am used to in Japan was a very good experience for me. I was able to think about things I would not otherwise, and realized many important things. The thing that impacted me most was the smiling faces of the village people. Everyone was really shining and I realized that I didn't know how to smile the way they did. Now, upon returning to Japan, I still remember their smiles and desire to become someone who smiles in that way!"

"I was also blessed by the other participants in our work camp. We were able to share what we were being taught from the Bible each morning, and through being able to meet each other and talk about many things much was learned and there was much laughter. I am grateful for being able to truly enjoy every day of the camp. I participated in the camp because I hoped that, through it, I could learn more about poverty. However there is still so much I want to learn, and I want to find many more things that I am able to do to contribute and continue to be involved."

"Through actually going to Uganda, I realized that my personal values and ways of thinking and acting were very limited. In the Namasumbi village there were not many "things," but I found a "richness" in the way the people related to each other that is hard to find in Japan. One of the sponsored children in the Namasumbi village, who wanted to become an engineer, had been able to continue to study at University through the help of their Sponsor Parent. It was really good to be able to see how the support has been bearing fruit in this way. More than anything, the thing that impacted me was how the sponsor children think of their Sponsor Parents as if they are real parents to them."

Participants in the Malaysia Work Camp

"Even though the children in the village were living a life far more difficult than I could imagine, they were always smiling and laughing and seemed to be having so much fun. The languages we speak are different, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to communicate very well, but things went so well I forgot that I had even worried about it. For me, the ten days spent together with the other team members from Japan, a team of people I wouldn't have been able to meet normally in Japan, was a special experience for me."

"I felt almost the same thing at every place we visited; worried that the kids that appeared so bright and cheerful actually had skin infections from walking around in bare feet, and there were a lot of kids with runny noses and were clearly suffering from poor nutrition. Also, although I knew that high-level education was impossible for those living as illegal immigrants, I was surprised that when I interacted with those children they were very talented and smart kids. They would draw pictures on the origami shuriken without being instructed, they could remember how to make it after having only been taught once and would go on to make a second one, and would also draw intricate designs on their origami creations. I was left feeling very frustrated that there was, however, no chance for these children to further develop their talents."

"The thing that I was most shocked by was that during school-time there were so many kids who didn't go to school and played instead. I was shocked that, despite the school having been built for children who are unable to attend school, there were still a lot of kids who didn't attend. To me, going to school was a natural and normal thing, so to see kids who didn't think that way was a big shock. Furthermore, I had always hated going to school, so seeing these kids made me realize how lucky I was to grow up in such circumstances, and my way of thinking about school changed."