The Asia Christian Education Fund

2022 MayACEF Newsletter
May, 2022
Thank you for your avid support for the ACEF mail news. We are happy to update you about our activities inJapan and Bangladesh. Today, we hope to share with you through these four articles, about what we value in ourdaily activities.

✨ What's New!✨① Foreword: “Walking together in this changing times” (Dean, Izuru Aratani)② Member’s Meeting and General Assembly was held on May 28, 2022.
③ News from Dignity Cafe
④ Introducing our SNS platforms※The Japanese PDF version of this newsletter can be downloaded from our homepage.
URL→ https://acef.or.jp/mail_mag_2022apr/

Foreword: “Walking together in changing times” (Dean, Izuru Aratani)
ACEF began with the cooperation between Dr. Mina Marakarl and Pastor Yoshitaka Funato when they met in
Bangladesh, a nation that was known as the poorest country in the world. It started as a program building
Terakoya schools to provide primary education to children who were unable to attend schools. Then, thevocational school programs started, and now ACEF operates various other programs as well, such asscholarship programs for secondary education, and a micro credit program for the locals.
Bangladesh and Japan are both nations experiencing rapid changes- changes which are visible in our partnership,
too. Thus, ACEF now aims to expand its activities with a new vision and missions. There are people who areleft behind, both in Bangladesh, which is now recognized as one of the most rapidly growing nations in Asia,and in Japan, a nation with experience of economic superpower. Problems such as growing economic
inequality and enforcement of economic activities that use the weak as stepping stones exist both in Bangladeshand Japan.  

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Today, ACEF is working towards implementing activities that support people who face those problems, both inBangladesh and Japan. In order to pursue our vision, it is necessary to encourage understanding towards the rootof the problems that exist in this society, and to raise awareness. ACEF aims to contribute to creating a society
where no one is left behind through encouraging the understanding of “Dignity”- a value which all people have.
Please join ACEF and become a partner! (ACEF Dean, Izuru Aratani

Members Meeting and General Assembly was held on May 28, 2022.
From Member’s Meeting
The members’ meeting was hosted in hybrid, with people
gathering both online and in person. It was a time oflearning for both those who have supported ACEF
continually, and those who joined for the rst time,
including high school and college students. Dico, a BDP
sta member who arrived in Japan recently for aninternship at Asia Gakuin, spoke about the current news
on Bangladesh and the activities of BDP. With the reportof site visit in March 2022 by executive director Oda, andupdates from Dignity Cafe, we were able to learn about ACEF’s activities in Bangladesh and Japan and its
partnership with BDP. Delicious Bengal tea was served in the venue, and the participants were able to enjoy atime to catch up with familiar faces, and meet new people.
Report from ACEF General Assembly
The 2022 General Assembly (33rd ACEF General Assembly) had a total of 21 participants, 13 at the Waseda
venue and 18 online (other from 15 power of attorney/written voter). There were questions and comments
regarding the FY 2021 activities report and budget, and FY 2022 activities plan and budget. After debate anddiscussion, all bills were approved. The activities report and nancial statements are posted on the homepage.
An easy to read annual report with photos will be published in July, so please read this report for the details.

News from Dignity Cafe No.1
Activities at ACEF’s Dignity Cafe
Do you know the meaning of the word Dignity -a word that is included in ACEF’s Vision “To create a society
where people can share in the joy of living together knowing that the dignity of each person will be respected”.
It might be a rather ambiguous term that is di cult to understand. Today, I would like to share about dignity,
which is something that ACEF values greatly, by introducing the activities of ACEF’s dignity workshops andDignity Cafe.
Donna Hicks, a psychology professor at Harvard University de nes dignity as a right that people are entitled tofrom birth. It is di erent from respect, as it is not something that is earned through completion, but is a rightthat people are born with. We, even though we have this wonderful right, are often unable to recognize dignity
and end up ghting and hurting one another.
To change this world into a better place, ACEF’s dignity workshop provides a participative opportunity to learn
about how to regard dignity. In our Dignity Cafe, we try to see daily lives from a perspective of dignity and todiscuss practicing dignity.
For me, encountering dignity has encouraged me to try and see and understand people who are di erent fromme. It has also raised my awareness towards falling into the “hole of dignity”myself, which causes hurt inothers. Please join our dignity workshop or cafe, if you are interested in the study of dignity, and want to learnwith us! (Shizuka Yanagii)★ACEF’s Dignity Cafe uses “Dignity” by Donna Hicks as the main text and study together in a casual atmosphere. It ismainly operated by university students, but anyone is welcome if you are interested! (Contact: Yanagii dignity-wg@acef.or.jp )

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2ff    The Asia Christian Education FundThe Asia Christian Education Fund

2022 May

Introducing our SNS platforms
We want to let you know of our newest activities, so we have various SNS pages!
【Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LINE】
We cover a wide range of contents, starting with emergency announcements, prayer requests, daily scenes from
Bangladesh and ACEF’s projects in Japan. Follow us from our home page!
ACEF Homepage↓https://acef.or.jp/
Thank you for your continuous support.
We look forward to keeping connected with you!
*************************************************（Speci ed NPO）The Asia Christian Education Fund (ACEF)〒169-0051 Room 26, Nihon Kirisutokyou Kaikan, 2-3-18 Nishi Waseda, Shinjuku ku, Tokyo
tel 03-3208-1925
Contact：出立

fax 03-6278-9180

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