Feb 2009 Newsletter: Yumi's Monthly Note
Time Flies! January has gone; February has come. I am leaving for Malaysia on Feb. 2. Because the first Pangaea Activity at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak(UNIMAS) will take place on Feb. 7, the Pangaea Facilitator Training Session is scheduled on Feb. 4. UNIMAS has already played central role in the e-Bario Project, enabling our children to interact with kids living in remote villages on Borneo Island. In order to confluent the Pangaea Project with the e-Bario Project, we need to open a multi-functional activity site at UNIMAS. To accomplish the objective, I intend to provide extremely intensive and comprehensive training sessions during my stay in Malaysia.
In very early January, I had a business trip to Hokkaido, the north island
of Japan. I visited Hokkaido University Hospital and talked with a school
teacher who has been running the distance education program for inpatient
children. I personally believe that a person who has an infectious passion
is capable of starting a project no matter what obstacles he/she faces.
During the meeting with the school teacher, I learned that he was such an
inspiring person; I was totally captivated by his enthusiasm. If possible,
I'd like to work with him to reach out to more children.
We handed out the 2009 Pangaea Calendar to our children at our activity sites. This project has been supported by UBS "Kids in the Arts" Grant Program. The children who have been receiving inpatient treatment at Kyoto University Hospital had joined the project. To create the CD sized desk calendar, kids had drawn pictures for each month of the year, and we, Pangaea staffers, had completed design and layout for the calendar. Every kid exclaimed as he/she found his/her drawing featured in the calendar.
The financial support we have been receiving from UBS will continue through 2009. We deeply appreciate UBS's decision. Last year, we recognized some issues related to the hospitalized children. This year, we are willing to work on one of the difficulties the inpatient children have been confronting- children are more likely to suffer from isolation and/or loneliness after discharge from the hospital. To solve the problem, we are planning to design an individualized program, based on the physical conditions and living environment of each child. Because we want the program to become fully operational, we will carry out the ongoing program evaluation.
This is a big announcement: We hit the jackpot! Well, I mean... Pangaea won the grant that was like hitting the jackpot. We were awarded the grant from the SEEDCap Japan (Social Entrepreneur Enhanced Development Capital Japan) run by the Japan Center for International Exchange. In 2008, the grant was given only to Pangaea, for Pangaea has committed to working with children at the global level. It will be a tremendous help for us to develop the e-Training system which we desperately need to operate the Pangaea Project efficiently.
What I know for sure is that the seeds which Pangaea had planted have started coming up. So enjoy watching our plants grow, my friends!
This month, I'd like to introduce Ms. Naomi as a Pangaea Ring writer. She is an Assistant Language Teacher in Mie and has been working with us as a facilitator. She has a lovely smile and is a joy to work with.
Have a Happy February!
Yumi
We handed out the 2009 Pangaea Calendar to our children at our activity sites. This project has been supported by UBS "Kids in the Arts" Grant Program. The children who have been receiving inpatient treatment at Kyoto University Hospital had joined the project. To create the CD sized desk calendar, kids had drawn pictures for each month of the year, and we, Pangaea staffers, had completed design and layout for the calendar. Every kid exclaimed as he/she found his/her drawing featured in the calendar.
The financial support we have been receiving from UBS will continue through 2009. We deeply appreciate UBS's decision. Last year, we recognized some issues related to the hospitalized children. This year, we are willing to work on one of the difficulties the inpatient children have been confronting- children are more likely to suffer from isolation and/or loneliness after discharge from the hospital. To solve the problem, we are planning to design an individualized program, based on the physical conditions and living environment of each child. Because we want the program to become fully operational, we will carry out the ongoing program evaluation.
This is a big announcement: We hit the jackpot! Well, I mean... Pangaea won the grant that was like hitting the jackpot. We were awarded the grant from the SEEDCap Japan (Social Entrepreneur Enhanced Development Capital Japan) run by the Japan Center for International Exchange. In 2008, the grant was given only to Pangaea, for Pangaea has committed to working with children at the global level. It will be a tremendous help for us to develop the e-Training system which we desperately need to operate the Pangaea Project efficiently.
What I know for sure is that the seeds which Pangaea had planted have started coming up. So enjoy watching our plants grow, my friends!
This month, I'd like to introduce Ms. Naomi as a Pangaea Ring writer. She is an Assistant Language Teacher in Mie and has been working with us as a facilitator. She has a lovely smile and is a joy to work with.
Have a Happy February!
Yumi
Posted by: kumakinoko | 3. Newsletter
