幸せの集い in YUASA

お元気ですか？

桜、鶯の鳴き声、新緑、暖かな気候が春を感じさせてくれますね。四季折々の美しさを感じられる日本に私たちは住むことが出来ありがたいことですね。温暖化現象や建物や道路建設の発達で、生き物が住みにくくなって来ていますが、私たちが生きるそして後世に自然や文化は残していけるようにしたいものですね。

さて、今回のメールの件ですが、７月の２０日（予定）に湯浅町で楽しく皆さんで集まってわいわいしようと計画を立てています。私は自分が生まれ育った湯浅が大好きです。しかし若い人達の活躍できる場が無く都会に出て行く傾向で、町の商店街は寂れ、せっかくきれいに再建されても使われていない家屋、役所や一部の組織と町民の間にある壁などさまざまな課題があります。美しい自然が残り、伝統や歴史のある、おおらかで人情味のある人々がいるこの湯浅活性化したい。この町に来て、スローライフを体験し、癒しや幸せを感じて生きる楽しさを取り戻して欲しいと願っています。新たな風を吹かせるために、想いついた詳細案は以下のような感じです。その参加者や、これからの話し合いとお手伝い参加者を募っています。興味がありそうなお友達(もちろん外国の方もOK!外国の方には湯浅はお勧めです！）にも宣伝お願いいたします！共存できる世の中作りを是非自分達の手で小さくても、ゆっくりでもやってみませんか！連絡お待ちしています（－：

幸せの集い　in YUASA

　日時：　７月２０日（月：祝日）　＜－まだ決定ではありません
　場所：　湯浅町内

”伝統や文化の残る、どこか一昔前の日本を感じさせてくれる町、湯浅で集まり、忘れかけていた人と人との温もり、想いやり、気使い、挨拶、感謝の気持ちなどを、思い出し、その大切さをもう一度見直しませんか？”

以下のキーワードでどれか一つでも満たしていれば参加していただけます！
「手作り、有機栽培、オリジナル、他では役立つ物（単に自分が要らない×）、Eco、フェアトレード、愛情いっぱい」

＊ボランティアさんやこの企画を一緒に話し合って善いものにしていってくれる方募集！
何と何とおボランティアさんには、お気持ちとして、Maiko　Yogaのレッスンといっぷくでの飲食代が　３０％オフになるクーポンを差し上げます！！

この企画に際するお問い合わせは
Maiko：０９０－２１０２－３５７７まで

report from Smile Group about Eco paper bags making(-:

Dear Maiko,
i send you some information about those families who joining your project in VN. For me i think it's really good one to help them improve themself and their life in some way. But i also agree with you that we help them to have better life in the future but by themself, not just only rely on our group.
We started making paper bags from March but it's just the first step to see how their work and how to find the output in Japan.
There was 3 famillies.
Family 1: Mr Huynh Thach - 70 years old live in Long An (1 hour and a half from HCMC). He and his wife are taking care of 2 grand child whose's parents died by AIDS few years ago.
He sold noodle by the past but now he is too old to do this and after the parents of thoes 2 boys died, he has to take care of them more, one of the boy is sick.
His wife just also stays home and helps to do house work for neighber sometimes.
Family 2: Mrs Le Thi Ngoc Minh, lives in district 8 with her 4 childrends. She was fired after her boss knew that she was sick (from her exhusband). She stays home, doing glass-bead and her child bring to their school to sale to classmate sometims. She also does house work for a neighbour.
Familly 3: Mrs Huynh Thi Tuyet, who living with 6 grand-childs. She does many things to earn living such as washing cloth for other, making glass-bead, peeling onion-garlic...

from News Letter vol 2.

In summer 2008, I made step to Vietnam as the place for me to challenge how much I could make a real action. My first time to visit Vietnam was when I was 19 years old, since then I have continued to support children and adults who are disadvantaged. As I speak my Vietnam’s experiences to people, they always ask me,” Why Vietnam?　What made you to start doing humanitarian work?”
I met a Vietnamese woman when I was in the United States as a student and she shared me about the reality in Vietnam, many people were poor and needed help. I was looking for the opportunity to see the reality in developing country as having been born and raised in Japan. It was common to go to school, have choices to buy clothes and to eat, sleep in the house and have parents. However, as I was a child, I doubted about what I had been able to do as normal. I was curious about other children who were born and raised in developing countries. “Don’t they think to commit suicide? What’s in their mind everyday? If I were them, how possible I could live… ” I just wanted to find the true answer by myself, not just from media.
In 2001, I began to go into the humanitarian work. Same as now, I do not like to work under any organization. However, Thao Dan dropping center for street children was the place for me to understand about those children’s real lives. Some of them were orphans; some came to city to find a job from poor provinces. Poverty made them become street children. I had tried to spend time with them to build a close relationship as much as I could. I cared and loved them because I felt what they want was that. To research about the reality of street-life, and poverty I often walked around the street. Many people from very young age sell lotteries, flowers, being robbers, being a shoe-shiner, or prostitution. The issues of drug-users and HIV/AIDS have never been gone. Moreover, I visited many locations of those people’s places to live. Every time, it was hard to accept what I saw is real. If I did not go out from Japan, I could not understand there are so many people live without having clean running water, enough food, cloth, space to sleep, to cook and hygiene.
The more learning about the reality of people who were born next to poverty, the more I felt pain
as realizing of helplessness. Also, I often felt anger to the society of unfairness.
In 8 years, I have learned a lot about what is the reality in this world and what is the fate for my life. I do not want to conclude after my experiences that I have a passion to share what I have seen and felt from my true experiences.
In Japan, I have many opportunities to share my experiences, at schools, events, newspapers, radio and just in my daily lives. It is very important to make them what we can do in our daily lives is miracle. Many people have complains all the time, but once they know about the fact of Vietnam, they remember what important caring about others and appreciating for what we have.
Although thinking to move to Vietnam to challenge how much I could devote my energy to people who extremely need help. However, I found the positive possibility to make their future better by Vietnamese people; I could realize Japan has much more serious issues. Because I am Japanese, love my tradition and beautiful nature, now I have a strong will to devote my ability and energy to my people. Nevertheless, I do not mean I completely leave the connection from Vietnam; I love and appreciate Vietnam a lot, without true experiences in Vietnam (including Dengue fever!hahaha) I could not be who I am now. I support people, who are extremely poor by providing the chance to work to make Furoshiki. That is “Furoshiki project.”