Our second Activity Report Conference of the year is now finished.
We would like to thank everyone who were able to join us during this busy time of the year!

 

Today, we will be reporting on the following three main activities:
・Ukraine Field Research and Support Activities
・Ukraine and Fukushima Children’s Exchange Program
・Nepal Support Activities

 

 ■ Message from our Representative Director: Regarding the Lecture on Venezuela and Argentina
At the beginning of the conference, our Representative Director Mr. Kabasawa spoke briefly on CheFuKo’s activities and expressed his thanks to our supporters.
We also introduced our lecture planned for January 24th, 2019, titled “State Bankruptcy in Venezuela and Argentina”. Our scheduled guest speaker Ms. Kotani, who has spent the last 38 years in Venezuela, gave a short explanation on the current situation in Venezuela.
You can read more about the lecture here.

 

 

 

 

<Our Representative Director>　　　　　　　　　<Ms. Kotani and her daughter>

■ Ukraine Support Activities
We went on to share our support activities we were engaged in during our trips to Ukraine in May and September.
Since it has now been over 30 years since the Chernobyl disaster, we began by describing the accident and its aftereffects, as well as the coverup of the incident by the Soviet government.
After that, we shared what we had learned about the aftereffects of the accident on the children and newborns in the area. The attendees were shocked to learn how the nuclear disaster still affected the health of the children today. Finally, we reported on our own support activities in Ukraine and our investigation into the lives of those still living in radioactively contaminated areas.

 

 

 

 

<Reporting on the situation in Ukraine>　　　　　　　<Locals still living in contaminated areas>

■ Ukraine and Fukushima Children’s Exchange Program
Next, we went on to discuss our annual exchange project in which we invite 4 junior high school students from the Ovruch region in Ukraine to visit Fukushima and Tokyo.
This has been our second consecutive year conducting this program. We began by describing the region where the Ukrainian children come from, and how difficult it is for them to travel abroad.
Following that, we screened a video showing what the children learned and experienced in Fukushima,  as well as what were the impressions left on their host families.

 

 

 

 

<Showing the location of Ovruch on a map>　　　　　　<Which are the correct flags?>

■ Nepal Support Activities
Finally, we finished our conference by reporting on our support activities in Nepal.
Using videos and slides, we summarized our 7-day to Nepal. This included footage of the fitness tests we conducted with the local children, students making Christmas cards for our annual card exchange project, life at the children’s facilities we support through our Foster Project, and interviews with children from difficult backgrounds.

 

 

 

 

<Children holding up their Christmas cards> <Before and After comparisons of the children living at the facility Rising Lotus>

■ Before the Conference…
As we are only 3 staff members at the moment, it is always a challenge preparing documents, display items, cameras, and thermotherapy equipment. That is why we are always thankful for our volunteers who come to our support! This time, they helped peel Fukushima apples to serve to the conference attendees.

<Our kind-hearted volunteers>

 

■ Photo Gallery
This conference, we set up a photo gallery displaying pictures of our activities in various countries. The attendees seemed very interested in looking at photos of Ukraine and Nepal, places they did not usually have the chance to see.

 

 

 

 

 

<Photos organized by activity> <Staff members described the photos to attendees>

■ Donations
Total sum of donations: 14,050 yen
Every conference, we gift an item from Nepal, Ukraine, or Fukushima to attendees who donate over 500 yen.

This conference, we prepared pencases, pouches, and bars of soap made by the women of WSDO, a Nepali NGO which supports women’s empowerment.
Many of our attendees told us they look forward to looking at the merchandise at each conference.
We would like to thank everyone for their generous donations.

<Items from Nepal and Ukraine>

 

 

 

■ Feedback
Finally, we would like to share some feedback from this conference.
・It was interesting learning about your activities in Ukraine and Nepal, places I don’t usually get to hear about. I always look forward to your activity report conferences, since I get the chance to contribute in my own way.
・I was quite shocked to learn how serious the situation is in Ukraine. Seeing how the children continue to suffer 30 years after the accident, it’s hard not to think about how awful the effects of the nuclear disaster are.
・I was especially moved by seeing the children of Ukraine and Fukushima interact.
・I have some acquaintances from Nepal, and today’s conference made me think about them. It was interesting to learn about the school environment in the country.
・I am interested in learning more about your activities in Nepal. I’d like to know how the local children spend their day, and what has improved since CheFuKo started supporting them.
・I’m curious about what the Nepali children in the facilities want to do in the future.
We look forward to seeing everyone again at the next conference!