OCA REPORT 2022
Off Campus Activities under MRA Foundation

Fun, Making Friends, International ExchangeWhat We Want to Do Goal of Action１）International Exchange after COVID-19

We couldn't go abroad for 3 years due to the Corona
pandemic, and overseas people couldn't come to
Japan. In 2022, the number of new infections has
ﬁnally decreased, and the entry restrictions to Japan
have been eased. In August, a total of 17 Thai students and professors were invited to a summer campin Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi Prefecture with 50 participants including Japanese students. At that time,
the number of new infections in Tokyo was still as
high as 40,000 per day, so all participants were subjected to PCR tests, and all the people involved in theevent were also subjected to antigen tests.
However, it was a very stimulating and interesting
experience for the students to meet face-to-face forthe ﬁrst time in three years, have meals, and participate in exchange activities. (The below is a group
photo in Kobuchizawa.) Thai and Japanese friends
chatted late into the night.
After returning to Thailand, the Thai students
reported to the university oﬃcials that this summer
camp was a great program for making friends inJapan, so we have received requests from Chulalongkorn University (Chula) and Mae Fah Luang University(MFU) to organize this program every year.
Following the summer camp, we had a tour of Northern Thailand in October in Chuo, Saitama, and Chula,a CocoWA Project visit to Mae Kok Foundation (MKF)
in December, and a volunteer work camp in Keio,
Chula, and MFU in March. The students visiting Thailand from Japan were welcomed by Chula and MFU
students who had made friends at the summer camp,

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and were happy to see each other again.
We thought we could make a lot of friends throughonline exchanges, but this year made us realize once
again that going overseas and doing exchange activities together is much more exciting and interesting.

２）What We Want to Do

In 2023, we are planning a South Korea tour in April,a summer camp in August, a northern Thailand tourin October, a CocoWA project in December, and avisit to Japan by the MLF children in March.
Through these International Exchange Programs, wewould like to share the following ideas and ways oflife with everyone.
① Make close friends throughout the world
and think of the world as our home.
② Expand our views about world events andvoice our opinions.
③ Listen attentively to our hearts and follow
our own voices in honest ways.
④ Recognize that each person is diﬀerent,
accept diverse values, and love people
as they are.
⑤ Care and think about people's feelings.
⑥ Think about what is rightrather than who is right.
⑦ Always think of others andways to help society.
We want to embrace these ideas as we interact withothers, enjoy daily life and live our lives.

AugustSummer Camp
Aug.1-4, 2022

Brief Description

The Japan-Thailand Student Exchange "Summer
Camp" was held from August 1st to 4th at "Megami
no Mori, Goddess Forest" in Kobuchizawa. The global
pandemic has forced the cancellation of manyplanned OCA activities. The training program for Thai
students in Japan, which had continued until now,
was also canceled for three years, and it was a pitythat we could not have real face-to-face exchanges.
Meanwhile, immigration to Japan from overseas has
been eased, and the route to enter Japan from Thailand has become visible.
We welcomed 17 students and professors from Thailand, invited Thai students to Japan, and conductedexchanges with Japanese students at the "Megami noMori" facility in Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi Prefecture.
From Thailand, 14 students and 1 professor from
Chula, 2 students from MFU, 17 students from Chuo
University (Chuo), 2 students from Saitama University(Saitama), and 10 students from Keio University (Keio)participated. It was an exchange meeting with 50
people in total, including 4 staﬀ members.

self-introduction and grouping, the 4-day exchange
meeting started.
On August 2nd, we had a farming experience at the"Megami no Mori" organic farm, which implements
eco-friendly farming and food safety that does notrely on pesticides. For lunch and dinner, each group
had a culinary competition using vegetables harvested from the farm and foodstuﬀs we had purchased.
On August 3rd, a talk session was held by Thai students. This is an extension of the Thai study groupthat started in April this year, and it is a study groupwhere you can ask Thai students "problems that theywant to ask but are diﬃcult to ask".

Activity Content

On August 1st, the participants from Thailand took abus directly from Narita Airport to Kobuchizawa. At
15:00, they joined the Japanese students, and thesummer camp started from the orientation. After
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Theme 1"Why is marijuana legal in Thailand?"Many questions were raised by Japanese students
about the recent legalization of the cultivation of cannabis in Thailand. A Thai student introduced photos ofmarijuana-infused drinks sold at convenience stores andmarijuana-infused menus in Japanese restaurants. Japanese students were surprised at the explanation thatthe cultivation of cannabis is for medicinal purposes andthe sale of marijuana cigarettes is illegal.

Theme 2
“What do young people in Japan think about LGBT?”
Thai students asked various questions about LGBT.
Japanese students also introduced their friends' experiences and expressed their own opinions, which madethe discussion lively.

After the talk session, we went out to the garden andplayed a game that each group came up with. At night,
Everyone enjoyed a barbecue party and ﬁreworks display. A big success!
We were deeply moved by the fact that we were able
to implement a face-to-face exchange program that had not been possible for nearly three years. In the midstof the global pandemic, technical exchange methods have certainly developed and enjoyed the eﬀects, butthese four days were a real sensation of how wonderful it is to be able to actually meet and talk face-to-face.
The sight of everyone trying to understand each other's cultures, lifestyles, ways of thinking, learning about
each other's cultures, noticing their diﬀerences, and trying to understand them was irreplaceable. Not only thediﬀerences between Thai and Japanese, but all the people gathered here should know the diﬀerences between themselves, think about those diﬀerences, respect each other, and cooperate in one thing. The wonders
of being able to complete it. We feel that it was a summer camp that we were able to share that.

Participant Comments

Throughout, there were many events, but all of themwere very good activities for deepening friendships withboth Thai and Japanese students, and I was able toenjoy them very much. Also, I was surprised that I wasable to deepen our relationship with each other morethan I thought while working as a family. I am glad that I
participated in the camp. (Raimu)
It was the best camp of my life. We had a great time
camping with everyone. We were able to discuss andshare our joys and sorrows together. Through thiscamp, I was able to build an irreplaceable relationshipwith the students. (Tah)This camp allowed me to grow and regain my child's
mind, and I was able to gain curiosity. I think it has
become a guidepost that shows what kind of things I
should be conscious of in my future life. (I'm not overestimating it!!!) (Izumi)
I think it was a very valuable experience to hear theopinions about the Thai royal family because Thai students came to Japan. After the talk session, I asked
several students for their opinions, and they were very
diﬀerent from Dr. Piti's opinion. I thought it was wonderful that each person had a strong opinion about how
the country should be. (Kento)

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Summer Camp Photos

OCA Report 2022

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October

Northern Thailand Tour
Oct. 23-30,2022

Brief Description

The "Northern Thailand Tour'', which had been suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic, was heldfrom October 23rd to 30th for the ﬁrst time in three
years. From Japan, 13 Chuo University Komoriya
seminar students, Professor Komoriya, and two from
Saitama University participated. Considering measures against Coronavirus infection, 3 staﬀ members,
6 students and 2 staﬀ members from Chulalongkorn
University participated, making the tour a total of 27
people. In Chiang Rai, 10 students from MFU and Dr.
Rapipong participated and spent time together in
MKF, an orphanage.
Although the Coronavirus has calmed down, this tour
was carried out with the highest awareness andeﬀorts of the participating students, considering theutmost caution and countermeasures. Thanks toeveryone’s eﬀort, we were able to complete the tour
without anyone infected or having a fever.
Also, on this tour, Chula and MFU friends who participated in the "Summer Camp" held in Kobuchizawa"Megami no Mori" in Yamanashi Prefecture in August
this year welcomed us and acted together until theend. gave. It wasa tour where thefrie n dships that
we re f o r m e d a t
the summer camp
blossomed again.

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Activity Content

So far, the students participating in the tour have held
study sessions about Thailand through the Internet,
and have studied the problems of economic disparitiesin Thailand and the actual conditions of ethnic minorities in northern Thailand. The day after we arrived in
Bangkok, we visited the community of Onnut, one of
the slums in Bangkok, guided by Mr. Teruhiko Sekiguchi, Director of the International Labor Foundation
Bangkok, who was indebted to us as a lecturer at thattime.
Students from Chula also participated in this. One student from Chula knew that there were slums in Bangkok, but said, "Knowing that we are forced to live in aharsh environment like this, I see a new perspective on
this country. I'm glad I was able to do it," he said.
After visiting the community, we moved to anotherlocation and heard from M r. Sekiguchi about theincome disparity in Thailand, the challenges faced byslums, and the current situation. The reality is that theeconomic disparity between urban and rural areas inThailand is severe, and due to the economic development of Thailand, there is always a labor shortagearound Bangkok, and migrant workers from rural areas
and foreign workers from surrounding Myanmar, Laos,and Cambodia gather in slums. They are engaged in a
tough job called 3k. The children there are also poorly
educated. Even under severe circumstances, they continue to live in the slums rather than returning to theirown country. About two million people, one-ﬁfth of
Bangkok's population, live in nearly 2,000 slums.

October 25: Visited Chulalongkorn University. We werewelcomed by Professor Sirima of the Faculty of Economics and other students, and held a seminar with
Chuo University. As part of the Chuo University Komoriya Seminar, three groups gave presentations on
their research in Japan. After the seminar, a campus
tour was conducted under the guidance of Chula students. Visited a historical museum that explains thefounding of Chula and the library with the latest design.
The Japanese students were particularly interested in
the sophisticated library. After the campus tour, we had
a welcome dinner party prepared by Chula. We had agreat time and got to know each other better.
On October 26, eight students from Chula participated,
and the group left for Chiang Rai from Bangkok on an
early morning ﬂight. Visited MFU in Chiang Rai. MFU
students gave presentations on the university and thehistory of Chiang Rai. Before dinner, Mr. Sekiguchi
became a lecturer and talked about hill tribes in northern Thailand, the disparity between cities and rural
areas, education problems for children, discrimination,and poverty, and the discussion progressed with thestudents. Children dressed in national costumes performed a dance. After that, we all stayed at the riverside of the Kok River and raised khom loi (lanterns) in
the night sky where the stars were shining, and continued to interact with the children through ﬁreworks andother activities.
On October 27th, we rode elephants on the opposite
bank of MKF and visited a minority hill tribe village.
After lunch, we said goodbye to our MFU friends andleft for Chiang Mai. Compared to 3 years ago, the roadconditions were improved, and it took about 6 hours totravel by bus. After settling down at Hoshi-hana, which
is run by Ban Rom Sai in Chiang Mai, the group got up
early the next morning and inspected the morningmarket (Hang Dong His Market). While having breakfast there, we observed the people who live in thisarea.
Returned to the Hoshi-hana and visited the adjacent
Ban Rom Sai. This is an orphanage for children of parents who have suﬀered from HIV infection and children
who are forced to live in poverty in the community.
The Japanese students received an explanation from
Ms. Miho Natori, the daughter of Ms. Miwa Natori, thefounder of Ban Rom Sai, with whom they have beenconnected through online study sessions. Miho-san
rushed from Japan to coincide with our visit. She wasvery happy to be able to talk with students who could
only talk online and welcomed us. We then playedsoccer and badminton with the children at the facility
who had been looking forward to our visit. The students were amazed at the children's soccer skills. Afterlunch, a Chula student guided us to Chiang Mai. We
visited "Doi Suthep" temple at an altitude of 1080m,
which is the main mountain of Chiang Mai. Built in1383 by King Kuna at the time, it is a large temple thatis still worshiped by people today. From here you can
see the city of Chiang Mai.
On October 29th, we returned to Bangkok in the afternoon and went sightseeing in Bangkok city with friends
from Chulalongkorn.
On October 30th, there was a farewell party (review
meeting) that will also serve as lunch in the late afternoon.
The memories of the tour so far and the feeling of gratitude to Chul alongkorn's friends who have ac ted
together with each other were talked and exchanged,
and the story never ended.
After the "farewell party" where we reconﬁrmed ourfriendship, the tour group returned to Japan on a latenight ﬂight that day.

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2022 "Northern Thailand Project" Participants
Chuo
University

Shunto Uchiyama

Miku Yamamoto

Hikaru Yamaguchi

Miyu Ishida

Yusuke Nakajima

Mizuki Sakai

Hyoma Matsushita

Sara Shimada

Seina Otokozawa

Kohei Miyamoto

Miharu Suzuki

Ryo Higashida

Ryotaro Hishikawa(Professor)
Yoshimasa Komoriya

Tetta Nishiguchi

Shinya Nakayama

Aimee Potjanapitak

Punnawith Sripaeng

Supanath Chameekornkul

Yanin Prasoptham

Sirawich Wijaithammarit(STAFF)
Shongrak Thongsom(STAFF)
Auwat Chalemecheep

Nobuyuki Takahashi

Koji Okumura

Yuka Shimabayashi

Saitama
University

Chulalongkorn
University

Chatpimuk Luangaram

Staﬀ Members

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Haruna Kobayashi

January - August

Online Japan-Thailand Student
Exchange and Study Group
Comments from
Each Teacher

Brief Description

In the midst of the global pandemic caused by theCoronavirus, three times on June 17th, July 5th, andAugust 10th, Chulalongkorn University, MFU, Chuo
University, and Saitama University used Zoom to holddiscussions. We implemented an online exchange
program between students to make friends. With noend to the Coronavirus in sight, we called on each
student to have an opportunity to have exchanges
between Japan and Thailand, and there were over
185 applications for participation.
The contents of the three programs are as follows.
June
17th
July
5th

August10

Person in charge

Content

Preaw,
Din,
Kamoshita,
and Dainan

Opening talk, introduction of Japanese and Thai universities, school
life, introduction to part-time jobs,
and Thailand's conscription system

Pennie,Tan,
Miyazaki,
MasudaFavorite sports, places you want totravel, popular music, group talk

Cookie,
Nice,
Fukui

Games created by the student s ,favorite food, introduc tion toorigami, topics related to the Olympics, group talkComment from Professor Sirima,
Chulalongkorn University
I think that this program has proposed a new way of student
exchange during the Corona pandemic. It proved that the fact thatthe participants are far away fromeach other or that the time is different is not a problem for theexchange program. I participatedin the ﬁrst and second times of
the Japan-Thailand Online Student
Exchange Program. The program
was very well organized and thestudents who participated actively spoke out. I wasespecially surprised to see the Japanese and Thai
student representatives cooperating in the planningand implementation of the program. Both Japaneseand Thai students are usually shy and tend not toparticipate in discussions. The program had a veryrelaxed atmosphere in which the students often
talked and participated in discussions. I think thisprogram was a great opportunity for us to get toknow each other and become good friends throughconversation. Even in the breakout room, Japaneseand Thai students were divided into small groups
and talked well. I would like to thank the Japaneseand Thai student representatives who were in chargeof this project. I believe that the student representatives held several meetings to discuss freely andcreate an atmosphere of mutual understanding. I believe that the student representatives, the OCA, andthe participating students created a new approach to
student exchange activities in an environment where
they could not actually meet.
Comment from Chuo University
Professor Komoriya
This four-university online exchange meeting wascharacterized by the fact that the students came up
with a plan for each session, without any academic
elements. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost allinternational exchanges continue to be conducted
online. Even so, it is wonderful to be able to implement a new trial, and I am very happy to be able toparticipate in that trial. I also participated in all threemeetings, and even though there were variations inEnglish proﬁciency, it was an exchange meeting
where each participating student enjoyed something
and gained something.
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4 Universities Online Seminar

On January 27, 2022 (Thursday), Chulalongkorn University (Chula), Mae Fah Luang University (MFU),
Chuo Universit y (Chuo), and Saitama Universit yjointly held a seminar with Prof. Takao Goto from
Chuo as a lecturer. The title of the lecture was "TheCurrent Status and Issues of Transportation in Thai-

land and Japan - Focusing on Road Business and Railways". Discussions were held from the perspective of
economics, such as methods for privatizing road andrailway businesses in both countries, measures toeliminate road congestion, and construction of highspeed railways to replace air routes.
<Excerpts from questionnaire responses from students>
・ It is diﬃcult for me to create opportunities to interact with people from overseas, so it was fun to participate in this kind of project.
・ It was interesting to learn about the situation andcountermeasures in Japan and other countries,
where I had not paid much attention to traﬃc conditions, and to think about them.
・ Rather than discussing the content of the discussion, it felt more like an exchange of information
about each person's current situation and lifestyle.
It was very interesting.

Thai Study Session▼ No.1: March 9th Mr. Teruhiko Sekiguchi's Seminar
titled "The Current Situation of Slums in Bangkok"
We learned about income disparities in Thailand,
how slums exist in Bangkok, and how people live
there.
<Student’s impression>
I felt deeply that Thailand's economic disparities,
slums, immigrant worker problems, etc. are built
within the Thai social system and cannot be easily
resolved. Despite the fact that workers who migrated
f r o m n e i g h b o r i n g c o u n t r i e s ( M y a n m a r, L a o s ,Cambodia, etc.) are treated badly and exploited,
they think "I'd rather live in the slums of Thailand thango back to my countr y." From today's seminar, I
learned that life in Thailand’s neighboring countries
are even more diﬃcult, and I became interested in
the reality of the countries.
▼No.2: May 19th Mr. Teruhiko Sekiguchi's Seminar"The Current Situation of Mae Kok Foundation and
Hill Tribes"
We learned about the eﬀorts of Mae Kok Foundation(MKF), a facility in northern Thailand that provides
e d u c a t i o n a l l i fe s u p p o r t fo r c h i ld re n , a n d t h e
problems faced by the surrounding hill tribes.
<Student’s impression>"It was very interesting to hear stories that we could
not obtain from the information we could research." I

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was very interested in all the themes, but if I had tomention one, I was very interested in Ms. Anne's
story because I was able to learn about the problems
and reality of Thai society. I regret that I was a little
reluctant to ask questions. Also, I was very interested
in the MKF dinner that came out towards the end! I
think that the time spent interac ting with Thai
students will be more meaningful through this study
group, so I would like to actively participate in thisstudy group in the future.
▼ No.3: September 14 Miho Natori and Kentaro
Toda's seminar "Ban Rom Sai and Social Contribution"
We learned about the history of the establishment of
the orphan living facility "Ban Rom Sai" in Chiang Mai,
which was established by Ms. Natori, and the social
contribution activities that the facility conducts.
<Student’s impression>
I wasn't sure what the facility in Ban Rom Sai waslike, but through the video broadcast, I thought it
was a very clean and relaxing place. It made meeven more excited to actually go, and I wanted to
go to various places and play with the children. In
the story, there were episodes where I had a lot of
trouble. Hearing that HIV is not widely known andt h a t t h e r e i s s t i l l p r ej u d i c e , I t h o u g h t i t w a simportant that we should also learn about HIV andteach it to the people around us in order to spreadknowledge about HIV to many people in the
future.

March, 2023

Work Camps of Keio, Chula, and MFU
Mar. 24-29, 2023
Completion of the waterproof wall! The names of Keio, Chula, and MFU are written.

Brief Description

Following the nor thern Thail and tour of Chuo,
Saitama, and Chula Universities at the end of October 2022, the students from Keio, Chula, and MFU
who became friends at the summer camp in March2023 visited Mae Kok Foundation (MKF), Chiang Rai
for a work camp. MKF suﬀered extensive damage tofarms, ﬁsh farms and guest houses due to the ﬂooding of the Kok River last August. This time, a total of
32 students from Keio, Chula, and MFU and OCA
staﬀ members visited MKF and held a volunteer work
camp to help with the concrete construction of thewaterproof wall that was washed away by the ﬂood.

Reunion with students from Chula

Activity Content

Nine Keio students arrived in Bangkok on March 24thand visited Chula on March 25th. We reunited with
10 Chula students, had a campus tour, a walk around
Bangkok, and had a dinner party.
After that, 6 Chula students ﬂew to Chiang Rai with
Keio students and entered MKF. During this period,
Chiang Rai had severe air pollution due to the burning of ﬁelds by surrounding farmers and Myanmar
farmers, and it was an environment where people
had to wear masks all the time. The sky was cloudy
due to air pollution from burning ﬁelds, so we didn't
have a chance to see the many stars in the clear
night sky and the shooting stars that we usually see.

Students listening to Ms. Anuluck explaining about ﬂood damage
OCA Report 202210

Dirt piling and transport work

Cement Bucket Relay

On March 27th, the students visited MFU in Chiang Rai
and were welcomed by MFU students and 20 otherstudents who came to the summer camp. MFU tourism
ambassadors, mainly Myanmar international students
from MFU, gave a campus tour, and after that, MFU
students guided them to visit the White Temple andother parts of the city of Chiang Rai until the evening.

Keio students waited at the airport until the morning ofthat day and headed for Narita via Seoul early the nextmorning. It was a short visit, but many things happened,
and we overcame those problems together with the Thai
students.

March 28th is volunteer work at last. The studentschanged into work clothes, put on work gloves, andworked together with the MKF children. We divided up
the work of ﬁlling bags with sand and carrying them tothe foundation construction site, and bucket relaying thematerials that were kneaded with concrete and sand to
the site. In March in Thailand, the temperature is 35 to
37 degrees even in northern Thailand. It was quite atough task for the students who were not accustomed
to the Thai climate. The children from MKF were moreaccustomed to the work and had more stamina than thestudents from Tokyo and Bangkok, so they continued
working without worrying about it. When everyone was
exhausted after the work, Ms. Anuluck, the person in
charge of MKF, provided us with handmade ice creamand everyone took a break. In the evening of that day,the ﬁres that had been burned by the surrounding
farmers spread to the forest, and the mountains behind
MKF caught ﬁre. This is the dry season in Thailand, so
the dry grass catches ﬁre, and the ﬁre approaches with aloud banging sound. Depending on the direction of thewind, there was a possibility that MKF could catch ﬁre,so when we consulted with Professor Rapipong of MFU,
the MFU headquarters instructed us to evacuate thestudents from this area, so the MFU prepared a bus. We
decided to go to the MFU student dormitory. Soon after
that, a ﬁre engine came and extinguished the ﬁre, but it
was a busy day as we had to quickly get ready and headto MFU by bus.
We were relieved to meet the children in MKF on them o rning of M arc h 29 th . O n this day, we e njoye delephant riding at an elephant camp near MKF, and after
enjoying lunch with Ms. Anuluck, we all had a looking
back session and a farewell part y. We hugged thechildren of MKF and regretted saying goodbye, andh ea d e d to t h e a i rp o r t . A m o n g t h e s t u d e n t s w h oparticipated in the summer camp in Bangkok, Chula
students who could not participate in the tour this timecame to see us and reunited with old friends. Because
the return ﬂight to Narita was suddenly canceled, the11

OCA Report 2022

Finally, we would like to introduce a comment of thepar ticipant s of this work camp. " Ever yone who
participated in this tour said it was the best trip, and I
was able to create many memories that will last alifetime. There were a lot of happenings along the way,
but it was all interesting and a lot of fun.
In addition, Chula and MFU students and MKF children
were all very kind and I was able to get to know themvery well. Thank you very much for giving us such a
wonderful experience. It was a great pleasure to meetall of you from OCA.
Kento Mizuno, New Junior at Keio University”

Wildﬁres approaching MKF

with MKF children

Work Camp Participants from Keio, Chula, and MFU
Keio
University

Momoka Tokuda

Miyako Takase

Kento Mizuno

Aoi Takagi

Ayumu Sato

Miki Yamasawa

Mana Fukuzawa

Shiho Anzai

Keita Maejima

Pang Ka Yee

Khing

Ploy

Belle

Chair

Web

Zee

LukyeeMax

Fei hung

Da

Pond

Chulalongkorn
University

Mae Fah Luang
University

Cooky

Sirima.B

Gingphai

Mud

Preaw

Staﬀ
Members

Dio

Rapipong Promnart

Tetsuya Koinuma Yuka Shimabayashi Haruna Kobayashi
(OCA)
(OCA)
(OCA)

Anuluck Chaisurin Nobuyuki Takahashi Akemi Takahashi
(OCA)
(OCA)

Akiko Takizawa(OCA)

Jiro Tobe
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May/June

Asian Beat Project

Brief Description

The AsianBeat Project has moved its activities online
due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This May marks
the fourth time that the event has been held, and thecircle of friendship that has involved Asian countries
has expanded. A total of 34 people including staﬀ
members participated. Friends from various countries
such as Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand,
Taiwan, Nepal, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia sp ent the days get ting to know each otherthrough singing, dancing, talk time, etc., and aim forthe day we can meet someday.

ABO4 Activity Report

Impressions from participants (staﬀ) from Thailand
Hello everyone! It's Mindi from Thailand.Last year I participated as a cast member in Asian Beat Online a.k.a.
ABO. Being invited from Yukachin (Yuka Shimabayashi,program moderator), this year I decided to be a part of
ABO4 as a staﬀ member. It’s been two months since 10
staﬀ members from Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea
met up every Tuesday night via Zoom. These are mythoughts about the program that I would like to share soyou will understand what ABO is and how awesome it is!
We got to know each other more through sharing our
personalities. It was amazing that everyone shared
their impressions of each other, and I found that everyone has their own unique points. Something that you
think might be a weakness of yours, it could actually
be a good quality to others.
The Cast Orientation was held on 23,24,30 April 2022.
Staﬀ members planned for various activities whichmainly focused on self expression and hopefully thecandidates could feel ABO vibe. This was my ﬁrst timerunning activity! Super nervous but it went pretty okay.
I can clearly see that all staﬀ members put their eﬀorts
to make ABO4 lively and meaningful. Couldn’t bebetter when candidates said that they had a goodtime during the orientation.

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OCA Report 2022

After the Cast Orientation was over, we continued
planning for the main program. Cast and staﬀ members
from all over Asia will experience 3-weekend activities
w h e re we c a n e x p re s s o u r s e lve s a n d le a r n n ew
cultures. Participants will be divided into families (small
groups of people from diﬀerent countries) and do family
missions together. Unlike other ABO programs, this timeeach family has an opportunit y to make their own
performance. I really look forward to this!
If you ask me what makes ABO so special, well.. I canfeel that we have something in common. Perhaps an
open - minded personalit y. During the meeting, weusually express our thought s and feeling s andeverybody just mindfully listens. We are willing tovolunteer and support each other. Even though wecome from diﬀerent life backgrounds, it seems like weare family.
3 words describing ABO
・Cheerful・Unstoppable
・Friendship
Apart from online activities, the staﬀ members decided
to send one card to everyone’s houses. I’m so excitedabout this as well! And also this June, the program will
be held on-site in Kyoto so all ABO members can meeteach other in person! Unfortunately I couldn’t join thisevent but I truly believe that I will receive a warm
welcome next time when possible.
At ﬁrst, practicing communication skills was my aim tojoin this program. However it turned out that making
long-lasting friendships would be my main goal instead!
I wouldn’t regret spending my spare time with thisprogram. Being an ABO member is my best experienceduring the pandemic. And I hope it will do so to you.

Asian Beat Online in Kyoto

On June 18th and 19th, we held a program called"Japan A ssembly" where we met friends who hadparticipated in AsianBeat online in person, and theparticipants gathered in Kyoto and had a great time! We
planned to gather participants from overseas, but due
to the situation with the new Coronavirus, it was diﬃcult
for them to enter the country, so this time it was held
on a small scale, with only participants living in Japan.
Even though it was only for people living in Japan, wewere able to spend time with a diverse group of people,
including not only Japanese, but also people from thePhilippines, Indonesia, and the United States. There
were no major problems, and it was a time when we

experienced the wonderfulness of actually meeting andworking, saying, "It's nice to be able to meet and talk!
Thanks to the online connection, it's ﬁnally coming tofruition!" From now on, face-to-face activities will also
increase. Please enjoy the blog written by one of theparticipants along with your expectations for the future.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Hello everyone! I'm Hiroyuki Yagi (Yagi-chan) from Japan.
I live in Tokyo, but I took a Shinkansen (bullet train) to
Kyoto to participate in the Japan Assembly! I usually
only meet ABO friends online, but what is it like to meetin person? With my heart pounding, I headed to themeeting place at Kyoto Station. I felt uneasy if I mightlose my way to the meeting place, but there was noneed to worry. Because there was a group in front of me
that seemed to be having fun. After saying hello, thevaccination certiﬁcate and negative test were done, andwe were oﬀ to the city of Kyoto. First, we headed to
Higashi Honganji. It was a large temple, and a part of thehall in front of the gate was open to the public.
Checked in at our accommodation! After putting down
our luggage, we all went shopping for dinner. There
were quite a few foods that some people couldn’t eat
for various reasons (Participants from Indonesia said thatthey could not eat pork for religious reasons.) It wasvery interesting for me to feel diﬀerent cultures when we
discussed what to buy for ingredients so that everyone
can eat with peace of mind. When we got back to our
accommodation, we all worked together to make dinnerthat recreated our own home cooking and the taste ofour home country, and we enjoyed eating them! Detailsof the upcoming real tour were announced, and it was agreat excitement. Unlike online, we talked to the person
who wanted to talk, and one person talked about
picture books around the world with the real thing in
one hand. We really had a great time. The next day,those who got up early in the morning meditated, went
for a walk, etc. After that, we all had breakfast, changed
places, and talked about the future of AsianBeat. "It wasa very meaningful time with various ideas."

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March/September/December

Support for the Mae Kok Foundationin Thailand

Support for the Mae Kok Foundation (MKF)

The MKF was founded by the late Mr. Pipat Chaislin, thehusband of the current representative Anuluck Chaislin,
together with Mr. Jiro Tobe, who was a teacher at Seigakuin Junior and Senior High School at the time, andProfessor Shigeru Takehara of Reitaku Universit y. It
started with holding a“study tour”for students andworking people to visit the farming villages and hilltribes of Chiang Rai and experience their lives. Whilelearning about the current situation in northern Thailand
at the time, problems such as drugs, poverty, prostitution, and education came up. Among them, drug addiction was a serious problem because of the long historyof drug cultivation, and caused many secondary problems. After that, Mr. Pipat established a rehabilitation
facility for drug addicts and started activities aimed at
eradicating drug addiction in the village. His activities
bore fruit and were taken over by the Thai government.
He came to the idea that educating children is importantto create a drug-free society. At that time, the guardiansof many children in the village died of drug addiction orwere imprisoned, and there were many children withoutparents. Those children were left in the care of relatives,
but many were unable to receive adequate food, clothing, or education. The children in such situations weretaken care of and sent to school together, and thenumber of facilities was gradually increased, resulting in
the present form of the MKF. In 2021, OCA members,
OCA Thailand friends, Make a Diﬀerence who are active
mainly in Nagoya, charity projects centered on the castof AsianBeat, etc. supported individual donations. We
were able to build a long-awaited "computer room" forchildren. MKF was damaged by ﬂooding in 2022, butparticipants in the CocoWA project in December of thesame year helped them repair the riverbanks.

Charity Run

The opening ceremony was held on Saturday, March

15

OCA Report 2022

26th, and it got oﬀ to a great start. The participation
fee of 25 people was directly sent to MKF as a donation. The amount collected was 60,500 yen. With thegoal of "Running a Cumulative Distance of 1,000 km
with all Participants," the participants encouraged eachother as they walked and ran every day. We are sobusy with our daily lives that we tend to forget to takecare of our physical health. We were able to take advantage of this opportunity to work on our exercise.

Charity Cooking"Enjoyable International Contribution!" Series Cooking
Corner, Global Charity Cooking Thai Vol.2 was held on
September 3rd. We received a total of 55,000 yen insupport from the 12 participants.
This time we made a dish called "Pad See Ew". It was amenu that the management staﬀ, Ms. Kiriha Megumi(Kiri-chan) loved. Some ingredients and seasonings
were diﬃcult to obtain in Japan, Mindi, the instructor,
and Ms. Yuka Shimabayashi, the operation staﬀ, discussed in advance and sampled the food, so we prepared what we could prepare in Japan. (Actually, there
were ingredients that didn't appear in the preparation,and I forgot to write eggs in the recipe... It was a mess,but it's cross-cultural exchange that makes me laugh!)Thanks to that, all the people who ate it were surprised and delighted. One of the participants also gave
this impression. "I've always made stir-fried rice vermicelli and ate it, but the taste was completely diﬀerent
and delicious. Why? When we think about it, we thinkthat we added a procedure to season the ingredients.
It seems that there was also a new discovery.
After the meal, we enjoyed a quiz prepared by Mindi.
Everyone struggled with quizzes related to Thailand,such as the population of Thailand and the number ofprovinces. It was a fun time full of laughter. Thanks toall of you, we were able to welcome the 5th edition ofthe "Enjoyable International Contribution!" series.

CocoWA ProjectThis project actually visited MKF at the end of theyear. We decided to call the participating members"crews" with the idea of "creating together throughtrial and error, having the awareness that they aresailors on the same ship." After a thorough online
preparation period, the crew gathered in Chiang Mai.
In addition to MKF, we also visited Ban Rom Sai in
Chiang Mai (another orphanage established andoperated by Japanese people).
After leaving Ban Rom Sai, we traveled from Chiang
Mai to Chiang Rai by bus for 3 hours, and ﬁnally to
MKF. The children who welcomed us enthusiasticallyfrom the moment we arrived blew away the fatigueof traveling long distances. We prepared several
activities for the children, and among them, thechildren listened intently to the toothpaste lesson,which included a puppet show, despite our clumsy

T h a i . We h a v e b e e n p re p a r i n g t o c o n v e y t h eimportance of brushing teeth so that children canhave healthy teeth. We tried to ﬁgure out how toconvey our message properly, and when we put
together things we could do, such as picture-story
shows and puppet shows, we were able to convey
the message to the children in a fun way.
Not only did we tell them something, but we also
learned a lot from the children . In the work of
repairing the riverbank washed away by the ﬂood,
we had to do it with only our bodies and the spirit ofdoing our best, because we had enough manpower.
The children knew how to work eﬃciently and taught
us how to make cement and sandbags. Even though
we didn' t understand each other's language, we
communicated with each other using gestures andthe words we knew. We were exhausted, but we had
fun and sweated together.

O n N ew Yea r 's Eve (12 /31), we h a d b rea k fa s t ,entertainment time, cooking Japanese food, crew
talk, and New Year's Eve party. The breakfast was
porridge. This was exquisite and gentle on the body.
We al so ate toast, boiled eg gs and vegetables.
(Porridge is al so famous as a Thai dish. Thai
cucumbers are very delicious.)
For the entertainment time, the children gathered at
Cherry Hall (a ﬂat space where events can be held),and began with a dance to the song Jumboree
Mickey, led by crew member Taisei Ito. We all had fun
dancing and running around until we were exhausted.
After that, it was time to create a dance which wasvery unique and interesting to use ideas from children

and create dances on the spot. The New Year's Eve
party was ﬁlled with games, dances, gift exchanges,
and more! The most exciting event was the candy
Kusudama (a large decorative paper ball) splitting.
We did it in the same way as watermelon splitting.
This is also hard to crack... This play is fun even if it
cracks or doesn't crack. When it broke, the candies
inside were scattered and everyone jumped at them.
A f t e r t h a t , w e c e l e b r a t e d t h e N e w Ye a r w i t hﬁreworks, a barbecue, a bonﬁre, and a toast. The
crew members jumped on New Year's Eve. It may besomething we do a lot in Japan, but for some reason
jumping in Thailand was special, and it made us feelyoung and happy.
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16

On New Year's Day (January 1), we held a worshipservice, a looking back session, and a SAYONARA party.
The worship service was held at a church in MKF. It wasa time to sing hymns with band music, sing hymns
together with the piano, and oﬀer prayers. Everything inthe space was handmade, and we felt very warm. In thelo o k i n g b a c k s e s s i o n , we w ro te a n d s h a re d o u r
thoughts. It was only a few days’program, but welearned that each person felt diﬀerently and changed,
and it was a very intense day. At the SAYONARA party,
as it was the New Year's Day, we were presented with a
5-yen New Year's gift and Kotobuki chopsticks. After
that, we sang Yuzu's "Mata Aeru Hi Made", and we gavet h e c h i l d re n t h e m e d a l s w i t h a k a nj i c h a ra c t e r
representing the children and portraits with messages.

retrospective work 2. I would be happy if we could
make a little bit of a circulation without being able to
do it. In the retrospective work 2, we performed theactivities“Tap You”and“Sneak Peek Buddy”. Tap You isa very warm activity that allows you to convey your love
to your friends by touching them. It was a very moving
and tearful time. Sneak Peek Buddy is an activity inwhich you cheer for the opponent you drew in thelottery during the program period. Someone is watching
the changes and small eﬀorts that even the person
himself does not notice. And I am rooting for someone. I
think this is one of the reasons why we were able tobuild such a wonderful relationship bet ween crew
members. And farewell.

In return, the children improvised and sang a song. We
were moved by Angela Aki's " Let ter". On the ﬁnal
d a y (1/2), we shared some used items and did a

Saying goodbye to the children is very lonely, but forsome reason we strongly feel that it will be okay. "I'll do
my best in Japan, too." "I'll come see you again. Cometo see me."<Comments from Participants>high wall in exchange.

This is Minami Matsui, who participated in the CocoWA
p roje c t . I wa nt to w rite a b o u t my t h o u g ht s a n dthoughts after returning to Japan. As for the program
participation period, we can choose between 9 days
full participation and 6 days short participation, and I
participated in the 6 days short program. I had so muchfun that I wanted to stay in MKF for more than 6 days.
What impressed me the most was that "words aren't
the only way to connect feelings." I decided to go to
T hail an d b e c ause I co uld n' t go ab road to st u d ybecause of the Coronavirus pandemic, so I wanted to
go abroad for the ﬁrst time in a while, and because I
wanted to learn how to interact with children throughinteracting with them. Currently, I am studying tob e co m e a teacher, bu t I had a lot of le c tu res atuniversity, and I didn't have the opportunity to getclose to children, so I thought it would be nice if I could
get something through this program. The reason for thesecond half is my purpose, and I was determined that I
would interact a lot from the beginning! However, since
we speak diﬀerent languages, Thai and Japanese, wewere not able to interact as we had hoped, and I wasvery worried about what would happen if we could not
deepen our relationship. In my university lectures, I wastaught that it is important to chat with students inorder to get along with them. And I started to feel a17

OCA Report 2022

At that time, the crew had time to honestly share what
they were feeling at the time, and when I decided toconsult with them, I got many suggestions as below:
・Start by saying hello・Smile and call your name・Just snuggle up (beside) and so on
It made me realize that I had been too obsessed with
"conversation," and that I might be able to share myfeelings without exchanging words. From the next day
onwards, I tried to actively greet them, and even if I
didn't say anything, I just approached them by my side.
As I spent more time with the children, playing withthem, I felt that the walls within me were disappearing.
It was a moment when I realized that words are ameans of communication and that conversation is not
the only thing necessary for communication.

CocoWA Project Participants

Megumi Ikeda

Tomoka Oka

Minami Matsui

Sayo Kuribayashi

Miho Chikuma

Hikari Fujiki

Hikari Matsumura

Taisei Ito

Kaho Toyosawa

Kanae Isozaki

Staﬀ Members

Yuka Shimabayashi

Chiyo Nakabayashi

Megumi Kiriha

OCA Report 2022

18

What is MRA, What is OCA,
and What is Activity Budget
What isMRA?

MRA stands for Moral Re-Armament. It began in the 1920s after World War I, when Dr. Frank Buckman advocateda peace movement called the Oxford Group.
After World War II, a "World Conference '' was held in Caux, Switzerland, and the "Reconciliation between
Germany and France", and the “Fusion of Asia” movement including Japan were founded. The goal of the group
was not to advocate for the military rearmament during the Cold War, but to re-arm the world with morality.
This is the starting point of MRA activities.
After that, starting in the United States, MRA traveled the world putting on music shows, and developing an
educational foundation called “Up with People,” which educates young people. In Japan, it developed into a
project to promote international mutual understanding as the "MRA Foundation" and a project to developinternational leaders and human resources.

What isOCA?

OCA stands for Oﬀ Campus Activities. It was established in 1971 by the MRA Foundation for the purpose ofpromoting international exchange programs and student exchange projects within Asia. In that year, Japanese
students visited universities in Southeast Asia, and for more than 50 years, we have continued international
exchange activities for young people, mainly in Southeast Asia, South Korea, and Taiwan.
OCA activities and annual expenses/budget for

OCA activity budget ﬁscal 2022 (actual) and ﬁscal 2023 (budget) are as follows.
Program
Asian Beat Project2022 (Actual)2023 (Budget)

1,297,000

1,279,000

apan-Thailand Student Exchange
Thai Student Visit to Japan Summer Camp
Northern Thailand Project

716,000

891,000

1,310,000

1,060,000

Japanese and Thai Students Online

30,000

MKF, Ban Rom Sai
Donation to MKF

500,000

500,000

Donation to Ban Rom Sai

400,000

400,000

CocoWA Project

671,000

935,000

MKF Training in Japan0750,000

Keio-Thailand Project

989,000

0

Website Renovation

93,000350,000

OCA Report

196,000

400,000

Other Programs

Christmas Party

62,000100,000

Included in project

1,915,000

Outsourcing Expenses

699,000

1,300,000

General Expenses

878,000

2,000,000

7,811,000円

11,910,000円

Overseas Travel Expenses

Total (Japanese Yen)

How to participate in OCA activities
OCA activities do not entail a membership regime, per se. No admission fee is required. The schedule of activities and programcontent are described on the homepage (see below). So, if you would like to participate, please contact us through the web site.

Contacts
General Incorporated Foundation MRA House OCA International Exchange Program
106-0047 1st ﬂoor, 4-9-17 Minami-Asabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo
TEL ０３－３４４５－５１１１ Fax ０３－３４４５－５１１２
Website ASIAN BEAT https://asianbeat.net/
Japan-Thailand students exchange https://thaijapan.mrafoundation.or.jp