Category Archives: City Life

City Life, City Theme Activities, Guest Speakers, Kumamoto City

Visit to Stork’s Cradle

1 Comment

Stork’s CradleWe are currently in Kumamoto City and had the chance to visit the first and only Stork’s Cradle in Japan at Jikei Hospital. The Stork’s Cradle is a hatch at the hospital where you may leave your baby. When the door is closed, the nurse will be alerted that a baby is in the hatch and takes care of it. The baby hatch offers parents the possibility to give away their child anonymously.

There are supporters and opponents to the baby hatch. We had the chance to meet the founder of this program in person and were able to ask questions and to listen to his thoughts on this project.

I am convinced that giving a child away is not an easy decision for any parent. If you place your child in the hatch, you certainly have your reasons for that. And I am sure the parents do this to give the child a far better life than they ever could. I learned that it is not the best option to give the child away anonymously, but that it is an acceptable way to save the lives of babies. When you do not know the reason why the parents gave it away, you should not judge them. Just like you and I, every other human has the right to live.

(Sophia Potter, Germany)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Kumamoto City

Minamata Disease

Visit in Minamata February, 27th: The World Campus — Japan Class of 08 went to Minamata city, which is nearly two hours away from Kumamoto city by bus. This trip was especially arranged for the participants to learn about how pollution created the infamous Minamata Disease.

Minamata disease was caused by the high levels of methylmercury contained in the effluence released into the Shiranui Sea by the Chisso Minamata factory. The toxin accumulated in the tissues of fish and other aquatic life, which were then consumed by the local population. In the early 50s, villagers did not realize the severity of horrible disease but were merely laughing at those sick cats that were first poisoned by the polluted fish.

The laughter finally changed into somber sobs when the first human patient was diagnosed in Dec. 1953. Soon methylmercury poisoning was found in new-born babies because their mothers had eaten local seafood during pregnancy. Darkness and gloom enveloped the whole Minamata region. The disease did not only destroy people’s health but also shattered our trust in humanity.

Countless tears have been shed. The health and lives lost cannot be restored. We have learned this lesson with our visit to the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum and wish to prevent another such disaster from ever occurring again. Every participant in World Campus — Japan program is willing to pass on the message of the misery caused by pollution and the preciousness of life.

(Matilda Liu, China)

City Life, City Theme Activities, Guest Speakers, Omura City

Omura City Theme – Peace and Conflict / Social Welfare

On Feb. 21st, the 8th local Fureai event in Omura took place. The event was created to bring physically and mentally challenged people, local volunteers and elementary school children together to develop an understanding of the world around us. The World Campus — Japan Spring 2008 Class also was invited to participate as guests.

After the opening ceremony and an introduction of World Campus International, everyone joined in playing some games. The warm atmosphere made it easy for the WCI participants to communicate and exchange hand-made name cards. The definite highlight was dancing all together to the songs of the Big Country Jazz Orchestra, who also came to play at the event as volunteers.

These four precious hours went by very quickly and soon it was time to say goodbye. As Mr. Ashizuka, a staff member at the Kibo-no-Sato (Village of Hopes) facility for people with disabilities said: “If you touch one’s body, you touch one’s heart”. Thanks to his initiative and the help of so many others, 380 hearts were moved with happiness that day.

Peace and ConflictThis event was not the only thing which added to our tour’s main theme that week. As Nagasaki is one of the most important places to study the full tragedy of an Atomic bombing, we spent a day at the Nagasaki Peace Center. The center is not only providing historical facts about the A-bombing, but also trying to educate people about recent Atomic tests and the importance of world peace.

World Campus International also invited Mr. Hirose, a survivor of the Nagasaki A-bomb who recently received a prize for his engagement in Korea-Japan cooperation, to speak to our group. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us all to gain first hand historical information. During the following meeting we discussed our varied personal and cultural points of view on this topic. The main focus however was on the involvement both of Japan and America in WW II and we came to the conclusion that history is like a mosaique. We can learn and add pieces one by one to form a big and colorful picture of our past.

During both the Fureai Event and the trip to the Nagasaki Peace Center I realized how important it is to become involved in the world surrounding us. Because I am German I have a very sensitive view of WW II, but the trip to Nagasaki opened up a new dimension of this war to me. I have learned that no one can ever win a war, and that everyone was suffering from the irreparable destruction of the bodies and souls of so many people. Yet, no one can ever change what has happened and it is our duty and responsibility to make sure that Nagasaki is the last city ever to be destroyed by an atomic bomb. The Fureai Event on the other hand changed me in quite a different way. Before the event I was really nervous because I had never interacted with physically and mentally challenged people before. Early in the event, when a girl came up to me, touched my hand, and smiled, all of my worries were gone. Communication is not a matter of language or spoken words, it starts within us – it does not know any boundaries. World peace is based on this theory of communication and will be always a possibility as long as we try.

(Katharina Haack, Germany)

City Life, Omura City

Shorinji Kempo Experience

Shorinji Kempo ExperienceOn Feb. 17th, World Campus – Japan participants got to try out our Kempo-skills with children and instructors from Omura. I personally have little experience with martial arts, only in Judo. Shorinji Kempo has a few elements in common with Judo, and it also seems very similar to karate. There is a lot of punching and kicking, even though one of their main principals is not to attack first. It is important for them to focus on self defense and to use their strength to protect the weak.

Furthermore, Kempo is more than just martial arts, as it has strong relations to Buddhism. The ultimate goal of Shorinji Kempo is to prepare students to be respectable members of society. Half of your focus should be on your wellbeing, and half should be on the welfare of others. With this mentality they hope to create a better society.

With that said, the first impressions I had after seeing the demonstration by the trainers, and talking about the “Kyusho” (weak spots), I feared being beaten and hurt for a couple of hours. In the end, this physical part of Kempo holds great value as it is important to know the pain you may have to inflict onto others.

It was actually more of the fun and less of the pain. We started out with a warm-up, which was nice because I was cold after taking off my two pairs of socks and long underwear. We followed the kids as well as we could, and after some time we paired up with them for a fun competition.

Later on the kids taught us some movements after the instructor showed us the basics. It was not scary, it was not painful. I am even considering learning martial arts when I return home.

(Henning Rodtwitt, Norway)