FOR URGENT PRESS RELEASE

July 28, 2006

 

To the Director, the Press Agency

ASHINAGA

 

We would like to request the following to be considered for press release:

 

100 Java earthquake and other orphans from 16 countries to unite with 1,100 Japanese orphans in ¡ÈASHINAGA International Summer Camp for Orphans¡É

 

ASHINAGA (President: Yoshiomi Tamai), an organization supporting children who lost their parents to illness, disaster, suicide and other reasons, will host 100 Java earthquake and other overseas orphans starting the end of this month for 14 days at a summer camp for a cultural exchange with 750 high school and 350 college and technical college students in Japan. This summer camp is focusing especially on the emotional needs of those orphaned by the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.

Every summer, ASHINAGA holds summer camps for ASHINAGA college scholars at Lake Yamanako (Yamanashi Prefecture) and for ASHINAGA high school scholars at their respective youth houses. This year, overseas orphans will join these camps for the second time. In addition to recreational activities and campfires, the participants will be able to join sessions to express and mutually understand their personal loss. They will cross borders to share their sorrows and support each other.

Since the year of 2000, ASHINAGA has invited overseas children to the ¡ÈASHINAGA International Summer Camp¡É and this year will be for the 7^th time. This event began as an expression of gratitude for the worldwide support received after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Kobe earthquake orphans have joined their overseas counterparts in it up until now. To spread this experience to other Japanese orphans and to promote exchange based on collaboration between overseas and Japanese children, the camp will be held in several locations throughout Japan.

Schedule / Details

 

Date:                August 1 to August 14, 2006 (14 days, 15 nights)

 

Participants:     [100 overseas orphans] ­¡57 Indian Ocean Tsunami orphans from 5 countries/regions, including Indonesia, Banda Ache and Sri Lanka; ­¢21 earthquake orphans from 6countries/regions, including Java and Pakistan; ­£20 orphans from Afghanistan(War) and New York (terrorist attacks), Hurricane Katrina, Uganda (AIDS) and Niger(Illness).

                        [1,100 Japanese orphans] ­¡350 ASHINAGA college and technical college scholars from throughout Japan; ­¢750 ASHINAGA high school scholars from the Hokkaido, Gotenba and Awaji regions (100, 250 and 300, respectively)

 

Program:          Aug. 2.  Opening ceremony (National Olympic Memorial Youth Center, Tokyo, 2-4 pm)

                        Aug. 3 – 4.  Camping with Japanese university orphans (Seikei at Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi Prefecture)

                        Aug. 9.  International Children¡Çs Conference, involving 17 countries (Kogakuin University at Shinjuku Campus)

                        Aug. 10 – 13.  Camping with Japanese high-school orphans. Overseas participants will split into 3 groups to join a camp in following 3 regions:

­¡     Hokkaido Region (Taisetsu Youth House, Hokkaido)

­¢     Kanto Region (Chuo Youth House, Shizuoka Prefecture)

­£     Kansai Region (Awaji Youth House, Hyogo Prefecture)

 

Contact:                 ASHINAGA (Contact: Okazaki,  e-mail:okazaki@ashinaga.org)

                 mobile phone number at 090-2434-3274

                              1-6-8 Hirakawa, Chiyoda, Tokyo, JAPAN 102-8639

                              Tel:03-3221-0888  Fax:03-3221-7676  URL:www.ashinaga.org