It feels great when I hear that the K2K program is having an impact on people.
This message from a parent of a child in Japan is one of the reasons why I feel the program is so very important:
保護者からのメッセージです。
この９ヶ月とても楽しかったです。 〇〇にとってはじめはわからなかった事も多かったと思いますが、色々な世界の事、水やゴミ、環境に関する事。自分が住んでいる日本に関する事。 色々な視点で物事をとらえることが出来たと思います。 親として子供たちに色々な機会にめぐり合えたらいいなぁと思っています。 この経験がいつか参加している子供たちの知識や自信へとつながるといいですね。
These past 9 months have been really fun.
I think my daughter didn't understand a lot of things when she first joined, but she has been able to learn about things from different perspectives--about the world, issues with water, waste and the environment, and even about Japan where she lives.
I think it's wonderful for a parent to be able to give their child opportunities to experience different things.
I hope this experience will help the kids participating in the program be more knowledgable and confident someday.
And, this feedback from junior high school students who took part as leaders in a program with the Philippines at a local community center in Kitakyushu shows how adaptable the program is for any age.
"I was really happy to have had an opportunity like the one I had today, where I was able to communicate and become closer with kids around the world. It was really fun being able to exchange video letters with kids in the Philippines."
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"I felt like I had to be careful of the way I talked because the people I talked to weren't my own peers, but elementary school students.
In this class, I felt like I was able to find out about water issues and other issues around the world by looking not only at Japan, but other places around the world, and to experience and understand myself by teaching about differences in lifestyles and cultures of Japan and countries around the world.
I may not have helped much, but I was happy that I could help out even a little. I want to make use of this valuable experience given to me by Ishii-sensei and the staff at the community center in high school and in my everyday life. Thank you."
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"I thought today's class was a great experience as I learned that I don't necessarily need to use words to communicate with kids around the world...I can use gestures or other means to communicate. I want to be able to use what I learned in this class in my every day life."
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"This opportunity was such a valuable experience.
I had a chance to work together with the elementary school students as we became even closer. I really enjoyed the videos and writing in English together. Thank you so much for this experience."