J A P A

V I E T N A M
No.1-2018

Nove mbe r 2, 2018

Appearance of Vietnamese Children
Isamu Ando

When I lived in an apartment in Tokyo’s Adachi

Vietnamese, just knowing only “Bao nhieu tuoi?”, soward, I constantly heard children calling friends to play

no conversation with them. No mothers or families toafter class. In our supplemental tutoring school,order them to help me was on the road so I couldn’t

children are running upstairs to the tutoring room andfind the reason why they took such actions for me.

playing when lessons are supposed to start. Indeed, it’s

When we arrived the village, these children werein the nature of children to play.

disappearing to join friends for play.

Kindhearted Vietnamese children, found in tour.

In Binh Phuoc province, there is a dormitory for ethnic

We visited a group in Bac Ninh where we haveminority children, operated by Catholic nuns. 105

supported fatherless families victimized by HIV/AIDS.

children from this dormitory are going to school in theThis year we provided scholarships for the children oftown. JAPA-Vietnam has donated to this cause andthese families. When we heard from young mothers on

every year we visit to observe and discuss the issues

daily life, disease and medicine, disparities on

and the current situation. Children always welcome us

education etc., I saw agony and sadness in thewith traditional dances and songs. This year Japanesechildren’s appearance, by my eyes.

university students joined us and played with theWe left there to go to next destination, whichyoung children.

located in the deep mountain side of ethnic minority

When I returned to Japan, I received a letter ofvillage. On the way to this village, we had to get off

appreciation from a nun.

micro-bus due to very narrow road, so I started walkhave brought smiles on the faces of Vietnameseslow steps on this steep mountain path. The around 10

children who once carried sadness. I would express myyears old children, walking together, suddenly took mysincere appreciation from deep within my heart. Pleasehand to assist my steps, sometimes showing to point

give my best regards to your colleagues.”“You and your colleagues

bumpy and dangerous area. I couldn’t speak
Vietnamese, just knowing only “Bao nhieu tuoi?”, so －1－
no conversation with them. No mothers or families to【Chao Vietnam／November 2, 2018】

About the project sub-headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City
Minoru Sakurai
Since last Autumn there has been discussion
survey the possibility of establishing a regional
headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City. I would like toconsider the justification of creating a regional
headquarters as well as issues with JAPAVIETNAM’ssupport activities.
After the Great Earthquake in East Japan, theearthquakes in Kumamoto, Osaka, and Hokkaido, thelandslides in Hiroshima and Hokkaido, the floods inKurashiki etc., these natural disasters have beensuddenly increasing in Japan. Therefore, it is easy tounderstand that the priority of giving aid to thosecalamity-stricken regions in Japan is a must.
These days the economy of Vietnam has been
growing at 6% annually and has brought upon thesurprising modernization of suburbs in big cities suchas Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City which has been on themove more than ever. There is also the increasing
number of Vietnamese tourists coming to Japan, that is
an example that the wealthy class in Vietnam is
growing bigger and bigger. I think that there are a lotof Japanese asking themselves why they should still
support a Vietnam that is becoming increasingly
wealthy.
Thus, this is the challenge that we face injustifying our activities..
Besides, there are only a few young people
willing to manage the activities of the organization andthe number of members has not increased as we hadexpected. If this continues, funding will be an issues
and, like a deflation spiral, there will be risk of getting
ourselves shrink. How can we boost our meaningfulactivities?
This problem was the root of the idea thatsuggested the establishment of a regional headquartersin Ho Chi Minh City.
After the 2018 tour of the places that we havesupported or are considering to support, I stayed in Ho
Chi Minh City for a month to survey the feasibility ofcreating a regional headquarters. With plenty ofVietnamese friends and acquaintances as well asJapanese residents in Ho Chi Minh City, I went aroundto visit Japanese and Vietnamese associations andcompanies to talk about JAPAVIETNAM’s activities【Chao Vietnam／November 2, 2018】

and invited them to join us. These efforts have resulted
to visit Japanese and Vietnamese associations and tojoin us. These efforts have resulted in 20 persons
agreeing to join us, so it’ much more than predicted
and so many thanks to say.
In Vietnam, the gap between the cities being
showered with the sunshine of progress compared to
the less fortunate provinces grow and the need to still
support disadvantaged places is still pressing. I thinkthat from now on, if both the Japanese and Vietnamese
people work together to help those disadvantaged andin need of our support and if we put in much more
effort, we can make the sun shine on those lives, even
if it’s brings just a small ray of hope. Although there
are still many other issues alongside obtaining
permission for our activities in Ho Chi Minh City, I
firmly believe that once each one is solved,
JAPAVIETNAM will have a new opportunity.
Having crossed Nguyen Hue Boulevard which
is surrounding by many skyscrapers and jogging nearto the Saigon River and thoroughly feeling Vietnam’s
modernization, by chance I saw the bronze statue ofpresident Ho Chi Minh which was also looking at theview as I was, I wondered
how he was thinking......I believed that we indeed havethe same thought "want to support the weak and thepoor". Last but not least, I hereby would like to express
many thanks to the people in Vietnam whojoined/supported JAPAVIETNAM this time.

－2－

Visit on destinations in North Vietnam
Yoshitada Murayama
Our visits in Northern Vietnam included four stops:

due to the narrow road, we spent the rest of the journey

Tan Tri village in Bac Ninh province, and Dai Tu town

hiking up the mountain path which included passingin Thai Nguyen province, as well as Phinh Ho village

through a breathlessly steep and red slope before

and Ta Lanh village of Yen Bai province.

reaching the center of the village. While there, we

Our efforts at Bac Ninh Province are focused on

assisted in the plan to draw water from a nearby river toscholarships for the children of fatherless families that

supply to each household. The village laeders werewere victimized by HIV/AIDS. Two of our stops are aeagerly explaining us details while sharing theirpart of that effort: at Tan Tri village we met a group indrawings of the proplsal. I was exited to imagine thatwhich such families strive for self-sufficiency throughnext year that I could see water running from the faucet

vocational training such as sewing work while at Dai Tu

amids the tall peaks of red soil that surround this village.

town we met with members of a group called
Sunflower. The leaders of "Sunflower" touched upon
the difficulty of connecting HIV patient families that arescattered in the mountains, which moved our hearts.
Although it was outside our schedule, we decided toaccept Mr. Ando’s proposal and utilized JAPAVIETNAM’s resources to support Sunflower group’sactivities.
Returning to Ha Noi, I met Vietnamese support
group. Their progress was the construction of a newschool each year in ethnic minority communities thanks
to funds raised at the charity golf competition held on
International Women’s Day (March 8). Among theleaders we met, I was moved to here there was a person
responsible for the practical application of progress
which

includednegotiating

withtheprovince

administration was also from an ethnic minority.
In Yen Bai province, our first stop was Phinh Ho

I saw drastic change since my last visit to Tanvillage where JAPA-VIETNAM supported theTri village 3 years ago. The paddy field is stillpurchase of tea equipment last year. The tea businessextensive but a rebuilt house could also be seen, yet

is going well and we were informed that sales havethere were no sights of ducks from the rice field nor

been made to various places via the Catholic church.

papaya that were once planted in the ridge.

We also passed by Nghia Lo town and forest villages

Perhaps one could imagine the trends of a farmer’s

which are arranged as settlements narrowly appearing

income has changed. In Ta Lanh village, the ethnic

here and there along the road before the view returns

minority in the district where we started our hiketo the mountain again. Passing through a village

were from Dao tribute while the group who arewhere the cut rocks line up, we arrived at Ta Lanhdifferent from the Hmong tribute that werevillage. Since our minibus could not enter due tosupported by JAPA-VIETNAM.

－3－【Chao Vietnam／November 2, 2018】

(From the Editors room)

Welcome to JAPA-VIETNAM
We are very excited to receive new members

CHAO VIETNAM - Tieng Anh. We have printedof JAPA-VIETNAM from Vietnam. This summer

CHAO VIETNAM twice a year in Japanese to

we started a new program to expand our activities

update Japanese members of our activities. Thein Vietnam to share our objectives and ideas tonew CHAO VIETNAM - tieng Anh will be issued

individuals in Vietnam in hopes of having them

4 times a year and will be based on the articles ofjoin us. A very happy milestone has been achieved

CHAO VIETNAM’s Japanese edition alongsideby the introduction of 20 new members who joinednews for members outside Japan.

us after our one-month trip to Ho Chi Minh City

We hope you will enjoy CHAO VIETNAM -and visiting various people there.

Tieng Anh.

Taking this opportunity of our new

Thank you

Vietnamese members, we decided to publish

To assist us with fundraising, you can donate via bank deposit to:- Japan Post Bankaddress; 1-8-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-8798, Japan
BIC (swift code) JPPSJPJI
accountee; JAPA VIETNAM
account No.00100-8-118761- MUFJ Bank Ltd.

Tokyo-Joshiidai Sub-Branchaddress; 9-1 Kawadacho, Sinjuku, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan
Swift code; BOTKJPJT or BOTKJPJTXXX
accountee; JAPA VIETNAM representative ANDO Susumu
account No.315-3544236

JAPA-VIETNAM(Office) Kibe Hall 4F, Jesuit Social Center 6-5-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo 102-0083 Japan
Phone: (81+) 3-5215-1844 / Fax: (81+) 3-5215-1845
E-mail: japavietnam2014@gmail.com FaceBook: JapaVietnam【Chao Vietnam／November 2, 2018】－4－