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Widening

The Sixth Spring

On the 20th March, it will be two years since Fukushima Friends UK was registered as a charity.

Though we still have a lot to learn, we successfully held English conversation classes in Fukushima last

summer, thanks to everyone’s great efforts. We have written a report about it on the website, which

includes photographs of the 26 smiling children who took part. Please take a look! The challenge for

2017 is how we move forward and continue with this success.

On 4th March, we will be holding a fund-raising event called the Japan Festival in the London suburb of

Epsom. We have around 30 people who will be helping out as volunteers. We are truly thankful for -

and cannot forget - the support that you have continued to give into this sixth spring after the Great

East Japan Earthquake.

Children who were four years old during the earthquake are now in year four. As with last year, let us

make 2017 a year where we stay focused on meeting the various challenges that lie ahead, so that we

can widen our children’s worlds and give them a brighter future.

Best Wishes.

Kumiko Akatsuka, Chair and General Coordinator, Fukushima Friends UK

Children’s

Horizons

ふくしまフレンズＵＫ

Fukushima Friends UK

No. 5

Newsletter

Table of contents

• Poem “From Beyond the Sea”

• Summer 2016 English conversation classes and

the future.

• The “Epsom Japan Festival” fund-raising

event on 4th March.

• Results of the survey.

• About the Pen-Friend project.

• Introducing volunteer translator Mrs. Kyoko

Evans.

• Introducing illustrator Makiko Yaginuma.

• Final thoughts.

February 2017

Translated by: Marcus Wilson

Emma Stonehouse

Josephine Austin

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From beyond the sea By Claire White

The day is bright and frosty

Ice cold the earth and sky

No morning light

It can be lonely here at times

And then I hear footsteps clear

The doorbell chimes

Through my letterbox some post he pops

Oh Joy for me

From my friend across the sea

We have indeed never met

Our homes are far apart and yet

We share our laughter and our tears

We tell of all our hopes and fears

I hear of flower which rub glow

Of rivers deep which swiftly flow

Of sun baked land I ‘ve never seen

Of luscious leaves of emerald green

I know his little house so well

The beaded curtain which reveals

The cooking of those spicy meals

Trees and firs ad brilliant light

Illuminate my dreams at night

And bring my pen-friend close again

With loving pictures from his pen

Several decades ago when Claire White

was a teenager, she was introduced to

a pen-friend project at school, writing

to schoolboys in Indonesia. She has

written an account of her memories of

this experience. At the time, she was

living in a coastal mining town in

County Durham.

Summer 2016 English conversation classes and the future

A summary about the 26 primary school children (years 4 to 6) who took part in the English conversation

classes in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, has been included in the website listed below. Thanks to

efforts of Mrs. Michelle Omoboni, Mrs. Cheryl Roberts, the PINE Foundation, Koriyama West Rotary Club,

KOKUYO, head teacher Kurosawa of Kotoku Primary School in Koriyama City and finally the colleagues,

supporters and volunteers of the Koriyama lessons, the children had a fantastic time learning about

British culture and the English language. There were many points for improvement, but I think it was a

great success overall. A photo gallery has also been set up on the website. You can tell that the children

had a great time by the expressions on their faces! http://www.fukushimafriends.org.uk/content/html/

activity/event_englishsummerlessonproject%20_2016.html

Christmas shop window at Fortnum and

Mason 2016

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Last November, a questionnaire was conducted about the

classes. It asked about the influence that the lessons had had

on the children who participated over the four-month period.

The results were very pleasing. The following were the type of

comments that the children left:

“I really enjoyed my time studying English”, “Now that I am able

to speak English, I really like it”

“Once I study a little more, I would like to go to the UK”, “I want

to know more about the UK”, “Now that the school’s English

classes have become easier, I have become more confident”, “I

really want to do the conversation classes again” and “I use the

words that I’ve learned to speak with my family and friends.”

We have also been informed by people from the PINE Foundation, that they rate our project highly and

would like to continue supporting it. There is a lot that I am thankful for, but there are a lot of other

things to consider and we are yet to start our future planning. Of course, we will constructively consider

all our children’s wishes.

Firstly, video messages from Mrs. Michelle Omoboni’s and Mrs. Cheryl Roberts’ graduation celebration

are being made for the year six pupils, and are being prepared to be sent before the graduation

ceremony.

The “Epsom Japan Festival” fund-raising event on 4th March

The upcoming Japan Festival is the first fund-raising event to be

held by Fukushima Friends UK. The project leader is Mrs. Yuka

Lunn - a director of Fukushima Friends UK - and her assistant is

Mrs. Machiko Watanabe. Additionally, Mrs. Sachiko Biscomb from

Japanese Cultural Activities Sutton will offer guidance as an advisor,

as she has frequently been involved with fund-raising events in

support of Japanese disaster victims.

The event will be held in Epsom Methodist Church, which is a five-

minute walk from Epsom Station. The event will run from 2pm until

4:30pm. Entry is free. Coupons will be sold for hina doll-making, a

kimono experience, origami and shodou activities. There will also be

a “coffee corner” which will accept cash. Please enjoy the

demonstration by the Tsubaki Kendo Club (from 2:30pm) as well as

the kamishibai performance.

Mrs. Yuka Lunn, who says that she would like “local people to experience Japanese culture and UK-based

A picture of an English conversation class in

Kotoku Primary School, Koriyama City.

Everyone is happily studying during the

summer holidays

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Japanese people to enjoy spending time in an authentic Japanese atmosphere”, has worked hard to

prepare with advice from Mrs. Sachiko Biscomb, whilst Mrs. Machiko Watanabe has helped during her

busy days as a Japanese teacher. To run this event, a lot of detailed work has been needed before the

event could go ahead - beyond decisions about its content and the set-up process - such as volunteer

recruitment, arranging the hiring of Japanese kimono and toys from the embassy, venue arrangements,

leaflet preparation/distribution planning and methods of promoting the event. Mrs. Yuka Lunn, Mrs.

Machiko Watanabe and the 30 or so volunteers who have helped have really gone above and beyond. I

would like to thank Mrs. Sachiko Biscomb for her advice. Mrs. Sachiko Biscomb’s graphic designer

husband Fraser looked after the design of the leaflets.

Everyone has commented on how nice they look. I am

endlessly thankful for their help. The next newsletter will

contain a report about the event. The trustees of

Fukushima Friends UK and all the volunteers are looking

forward to meeting you!

This is a photograph of all the volunteers who took part

in the preparatory meeting held in January. On the front

row (from left to right): Mrs. Naho Heneker, Mrs. Kayoko

Okudoh, Mrs. Yuka Lunn and Mrs. Saeko Seedhouse. On the back row (from left to right): Mrs. Keiko

Ahmed and Mrs. Akemi Harper. Although they don’t appear in the photograph, Mrs. Machiko Watanabe

and Mrs. Makiko Fallows were also present.

Results of the survey

Last year we asked participating schools and translation volunteers for their views on our letter exchange

project. Here are a few of their comments:

Participating schools (teachers) and local groups (leaders) - positives

"It has been great for the children to realise that there are many countries in the world outside of their

own, and to make friends with British children and develop an interest in the UK."

"For a small school with only ten students, where there aren’t many opportunities

to engage with people on a daily basis, it has been an invaluable experience for

our students to make friends overseas and to learn about their lives."

"It has been to great to recognise that English is not just a school subject, but a

tool for communication."

Participating schools (teachers) and local groups (leaders) - challenges

"It has been difficult to meet deadlines."

"After moving to a new school, it was difficult to gain their understanding and get them on board."

Taken at the café in Epsom Methodist Church.

Primary school children's

Letters from London

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Volunteer translators - positives

"It's nice to be able to help. And nice to use my time in a more meaningful way. I was touched by the

children's pictures and sweet responses. While translating the letters, I remembered how excited I was

as a child to have a penfriend overseas so I searched them out and began writing to them again!

Learning what's popular among children these days, what interests them, what they think about, what

they're learning. It's been helpful in bringing up my children. Good English practice."

Volunteer translators - challenges

"Explaining culturally specific things, such as Japanese traditional arts, for example. Using wording that

children would use/understand. Reading the children's handwriting. Understanding unfamiliar things,

such as computer games. Knowing when to translate something

literally and when to be more interpretive. Translating according

to age and gender. Selecting suitable language and judging how

much of an explanation to include."

About the Pen-Friend project

We have reported previously about the difficulties in supporting

the letter exchange project, but last year was full of many

challenges. Very sadly our secondary school participation has

come to an end. In spring 2016, Ishikawa Junior High School had

to end its involvement as the supervising teacher was no longer able to take part. Ishikawa was paired

with Howden Secondary School and Greenford High School. However, the Ishikawa students made a

wonderful final video about Japanese culture to send to their UK penfriends.

2016 also saw the end of the exchange between Fukushima Daisan Junior

High School and Invicta Grammar School. The teacher supervising the

Japanese Club at Invicta was no longer able to take part and it became too

difficult to maintain the link so sadly the exchange was short-lived. We had

hoped for a final letter from Invicta, but some of the students had already

graduated so it wasn't to be. Fukushima Friends UK sent a letter of apology

to the 30 students involved in Fukushima.

Exchanges between some of our primary schools have also come to an end,

due to difficulties on both the Japanese and UK sides, such as changes within

the classes/year groups and supervising teachers moving on. Exchanges

between Kotoku Primary School and St James Hatcham, and Taisei

Primary School and Abbey Primary School have come to an end. The

exchange project between Kotoku Primary School and Minister Primary

Letters and Christmas cards by

primary school children in Fukushima

on the wall of a London school

Origami papers sent by children in

Fukushima to Primary School children in

Dorset

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Introducing volunteer translator Mrs Kyoko Evans

My maiden name was Kyoko Yokoyama and I was born and raised in Tokyo. In my twenties I came to

the UK to study at my own expense. I originally intended to stay here for just a year, however I

somehow found myself living in England for over 40 years! My daughter, Emi Evans moved to Tokyo on a

language exchange for one year when she was a student. She planned to study Japanese for a year, but

in the end she remained in Tokyo to pursue her love of music. Now she is still in Tokyo working as a

professional singer and songwriter. Life is funny like that isn’t it.

Now I am retired, so I am pouring my efforts into volunteering. However previously I did work as an

interpreter and translator. Recently I have had great fun teaching some simple origami to children at my

local church’s Sunday school. Last year I was happy to have my first grandchild, so that might have been

the reason I started to get involved with teaching origami.

You might think it sounds strange, but my hobby is friendships. I think it is important to maintain

friendships where you know whatever happens, you can

meet up, speak to friends and listen to each other about

whatever is happening in each other’s lives. I also like

walking and listening to music. For instruments, I like the

cello. When my daughter was a child she started to learn

how to play the cello, so sometimes she would play her

cello in various corners of our This seems to have made

me into a cello fan!

I have been helping translate the letters from children since

2016. I look forward to translating more letters in the future.

School has run into difficulties, though it continues for now. For the past four years, we have been able

to sustain individual exchanges through schools and community groups, but we're now conducting a full

review of how we maintain support going forward.

But it's not all bad news. Akiko Shishito Sensei (teacher), who has been

involved with Fukushima Friends UK since the beginning, has started a new

exchange project at her new school, Akogashima Primary School. The

children of Abbey Primary School were thrilled to be the first to receive

letters and have already responded. We are currently supporting four

Japanese primary schools and three British primary schools to continue

exchanging letters. If we include the four community groups also

participating, as of January 2017 there are over 200 children whose lives

are enriched by the experience of being involved in this project.

Fortune telling game sent by pen-

friends in Dorset to Fukushima

Famous view from Gold Hill in Shaftsbury Dorset.

Pen-friends here often write about this.

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Introducing illustrator Makiko Yaginuma

I am from Fukuoka City in Fukuoka Prefecture.

When I turned 30 years old, I came to the UK to study oil painting at a College of the Arts. After that I

moved on to become a graduate student of Art Therapy.

At the moment I am working as an art therapist in a primary school and also working with children to

plan and carry out their art projects. There are lots of different types of cases for art therapists. For

example, I work with children whose parents have died, or children with difficult, unstable home lives, or

children that are worried or distressed about something. I use play and painting to open up a dialogue

with these children to help them open up their hearts. In addition, although this has no relation to my art

therapy, I have been visiting another primary school. For half a year I have been managing a large scale

art project with pupils to create a mural about the environment, using recycled materials.

As Fukushima was my grandparent’s hometown, when Kumi-san talked to me about illustrations for

Fukushima Friends UK, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to be involved in the revival of

Fukushima, so I replied straight away.

I am originally an oil painter, so this is the first time I have expressed myself with watercolours and

acrylics. However each time I use these materials I am slowly getting used to them. It is different to

when I create my own artworks because rather than concentrating too hard on the picture itself, I try to

promote warm feelings in the people who are looking at these images. I am still developing the subject

matter and my skills, but I am happy to support Fukushima Friends UK as I can, now and into the future.

Illustrations by Makiko Yaginuma

Final thoughts

Our activities up to now have helped to spread the word about Fukushima Friends UK to a wider

audience. There are now lots of people who are assisting us. For this, we, all

trustees, would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been

involved! Thank you to Mr Yosuke Maeda from Niigata University, who kindly

donated the meishi (name cards) shown in this photograph. I would like to

thank you all for your continued guidance and support.

www.fukushimafriends.org.uk Registered Charity Number: 1160996