FOR PRESS RELEASE

July 19, 2005

 

To the Director, the Press Agency

ASHINAGA

 

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

 

100 Indian Ocean tsunami and other orphans from 16 countries to unite with 1000 Japanese counterparts 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 Indian Ocean tsunami and other overseas orphans starting the end of this month for 17 days at a summer camp for a cultural exchange with 650 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 first 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 6^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. The 5^th summer camp was a growing experience for the Kobe survivors. 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:                July 31 to August 16, 2005 (17 days, 16 nights)

Participants:

[100 overseas orphans] ­¡50 Indian Ocean Tsunami orphans from 5 countries/regions, including Indonesia, Banda Ache and Sri Lanka; ­¢27 earthquake orphans from 7 countries/regions, including Colombia and Turkey; ­£19 orphans from Afghanistan and Iraq (war), New York (terrorist attacks), and Uganda (AIDS).

[1000 Japanese orphans] ­¡350 ASHINAGA college and technical college scholars from throughout Japan; ­¢650 ASHINAGA high school scholars from the Tohoku, Kanto and Kyushu regions (200, 200 and 250, respectively)

Program:          Aug. 1.  Opening ceremony (National Olympic Memorial Youth Center, Tokyo, 2-4 pm)

                        Aug. 2 – 4.  Camping with Japanese university orphans (Seikei at Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi Prefecture)

                        Aug. 5 – 8. Camping with Kobe earthquake orphans (Koyodai Camp by Lake Sai, Yamanashi Prefecture)

                        Aug. 9.  AIDS Orphans Conference (Tokyo International Forum, 1 – 3 pm)

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

­¡     Tohoku Region (Mt. Iwate Youth House, Iwate Prefecture)

­¢     Kanto Region (Akagi Youth House, Gunma Prefecture)

­£     Kyushu Region (Aso Youth House, Kumamoto Prefecture) ¢¨Aug. 10. 60^th Anniversary Hiroshima Peace Study Tour for N.Y, Iraqi, Afgani war orphans at the Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and dialogs with A-bomb Victims/Survivors and Hiroshima orphans in Hiroshima City.

Aug. 14.  International Children¡Çs Conference, involving 17 countries (Hosei University, Tokyo, 2 pm)

 

Program

1.   Event:            The 6^th ASHINAGA International Summer Camp for Orphans

2.   Host:              ASHINAGA

3.   Objective:       ­¡To promote exchange and mutual emotional support between overseas orphans who lost their parents to the Indian Ocean tsunami, earthquakes, terrorism, war and AIDS, and orphans of Japan. ­¢To promote unison and collaboration between orphans from 17 countries, and the International Children¡Çs Conference.

4.   Date:              July 31 to August 16, 2005 (17days and 16 nights)            

5.   Venues:           The National Olympic Memorial Youth Center, ASHINAGA youth houses, etc.

6.   Supporter:      Ministry of Foreign Affairs

7.   Partners:         Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, Delta Airlines and Iran Air (free or heavily discounted air tickets), Morgan Stanley Japan Limited (T-shirts), B-cause Inc. (volunteer translators)

8. Participants:      Tsunami orphans (5 countries, 50 participants): Indonesia (26), Sri Lanka (15), Thailand (5), Malaysia (1), and Maldives (3).  Earthquake orphans (7 countries, 27 participants): Colombia (3), Turkey (3), Taiwan (10), El Salvador (2), Algeria (3), Iran (3), and India (3).  War, Terrorism and AIDS orphans (4 countries, 19 participants): New York (4, terrorism), Afghanistan (3, aerial bombing), Iraq (2, aerial bombing, suicide attacks), and Uganda (10, AIDS)

9. Schedule:          17days, 16 nights

­¡July 31: Arrival at Narita and Haneda Airports

                           ­¢Aug. 1: Opening Ceremony (2 – 4 pm, Olympic Center)

­£Aug. 2–4: Lake Yamanaka Summer Camp (Fujiyamanakako Hotel)¡¡Cultural exchange games, exchanging personal experiences, campfire, oath of friendship, etc. by 100 Tsunami and other orphans and 350 ASHINAGA Japanese university orphans

                           ­¤Aug. 5–8: Camping with Kobe earthquake orphans (Lake Sai, Yamanashi Prefecture)

                           ­¥Aug. 9: Promenade around Tokyo

                           ­¦Aug. 9: AIDS Orphans Conference (Tokyo International Forum, 1 – 3 pm)

­§Aug. 10-13: Transfer from Tokyo to National Youth Houses

Iwate Youth House group  Camp for 30 Tsunami and other orphans and 200 Tohoku region high school orphans (4 days and 3 nights)

Akagi Youth House group

Camp for 33 Tsunami and other orphans and 200 Kanto region high school orphans (3 days and 2 nights)

Aso Youth House group

Camp for 31 Tsunami and other orphans and 250 Kyushu region high school orphans (3 days and 2 nights) ¢¨­¨Aug. 10: 60^th Anniversary Hiroshima Peace Study for N.Y, Iraqi, Afgani war orphans at the Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and dialogs with A-bomb Victims/Survivors and Hiroshima orphans in Hiroshima City.

­©Aug. 14: 17-Country International Children¡Çs Conference, (Hosei University, Tokyo, 2 pm)

­ªAug. 15: Farewell exchange

­«Aug. 16: Departure

 

Inquiries:           ASHINAGA (Contact: Mr. Tanaka  E-mail:tanaka@ashinaga.org)

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

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