Category Archives: Omura City

Welcome Party in Omura City for the Feb – April 08 Class!

On the evening of the 12th of February, a welcome party was prepared for the members of the World Campus International (WCI) spring session and the host families. We were treated with a sparkling performance of Taiko (Japanese drums), and then “Big Country Jazz Orchestra”, which consist entirely of amateur musicians. The great performance lifted everybody’s spirits. Participants of WCI and the host families danced along to the fantastic music.

My host father, Mr. Okuma, is the president of Up with Omura. He remarked that the welcome party was exceedingly pleasant and his heart was sobbing happily. He was extremely pleased with the enthusiasm shown by all the participants. He likes World Campus a lot because it is a program through which he can share his own philosophy and learn the culture of others. He really enjoys organizing the activities for us and mentioned he gets so much back in return. Therefore, he offers thanks to the participants for “being such wonderful people”. At the party everyone contributed and gained much in return.

I really enjoyed the evening and I am certain that all the host families, WCI participants, and Up with Omura members also did. Writing about a perfect evening isn’t easy, so I’ll summarize with a quote from my host father, “Meni Meni happi taimu!”

(Jotter Verhaeghe, Belgium)


Omura City, Nagasaki

On Aug. 21, our class visited Kibo no Sato in nearby Isahaya city. In the facility located in a quiet mountain area, some 50 mentally challenged people aged between 18 and 52 reside and learn skills necessary for living independently.  

Here is an article written by one of our participants about the Kibo no Sato visit:  “I may have had my fair share of pre-conceived notions of mentally disabled people before Kibo no Sato, but due to that eye opening community interaction, I will forever look at them in a different light.  There was a slight feeling of tension among the group when we arrived at the facility. We were met by the employees, who were very friendly, and then lead on a tour of the facility.  

The first building that we saw was the arts and crafts room.  The residents seemed to be having a good time and welcomed us with curious fascination.  I suppose it’s not every day they have about thirty people from twelve different countries come to interact with them.  I was really surprised, as I’m sure at least a few others of our group were, at how readily and without any apprehension the residents came up to us.  I was expecting them to be much more withdrawn and afraid of anything outside of their normal routine.  During the tour, we learned that it was not just a housing facility, but actually a place for those with disabilities to learn and, for some, eventually be on their own in society.  They are given skills which will help them get a job and lead a normal life on their own.   

After the tour, we played some games with the residents.  They were so happy and playful with us.  As I looked around the room, I could practically see the faces of our group change from apprehension to compassion.  Within moments of the first game, we began to understand that these people were absolutely no different from any body we might encounter on the street or in the grocery store.  If anything, they are more kind and outgoing than the average stranger.   

After a long day of awakening and fun, it was time to leave.  I could tell that they were overjoyed to have had us.  The question was posed later as to whether we might have influenced any of the residents in a positive way.  To that question I have this answer.  It was them and their pure and open hearts that influenced and changed us for the better.  I know that many in our group really grew that day, and that none of us will ever forget them.”  – Parker Kellen (USA)