Thank you for always helping and praying
for us with a generous heart.
Here is bulletin No.12 of “Walking Together”.
The content summary is as follows.
Sr. Yoshida Fumiko was back in Japan from
April 9th to June 1st. During that time on April 16th,
a ”Gathering with Sr. Shirahata and Sr. Yoshida” event was hosted by “Walking
Together”. Bulletin No.12 mainly focuses on Sr. Yoshida’s speech during this
event.
The left hand side photos on page 1 shows
children of Sierra Leona with smiles back on their faces. On the right, are Sr.
Shirahata and Sr. Yoshida making their speeches.
Pages 1 to 5 is a summary report on the ”Gathering
with Sr. Shirahata and Sr. Yoshida” event, but opens with words of sympathy for
those affected by the Kumamoto earthquake.
Sr. Shirahata opened the event with only a
few words, leaving most of the time for Sr. Yoshida to talk in detail about the
situation from her actual experiences.
Sr. Yoshida’s speech primarily covered
the following :
①
The affect of the Ebola Disease
and support activity.
Being in the midst of the outbreak was terrifying, but led by a
priest in one of the affected areas, the support funds were utilized to provide
food for families that were forbidden to
leave designated areas.
②
Challenges after Ebola.
Children of those recovering from Ebola,
are showing high percentages of vision impairment.
It is important
to stay close and take good care of those children who have lost
parents to the Ebola Disease.
③
The urgent need for dormitory
construction.
Construction has started for orphans and children who spend over 4
hours at school.
④
Scholarship program for those
moving on to college
There are high hopes for OLG graduates to someday work for the
growth and development of Sierra Leona. Some have already started to work as
teachers at schools they have graduated from.
⑤
School lunch support for the RC
(Roman Catholic) Boys School.
Words
of appreciation from Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Sesay, the principal.
⑥
New issues and future
challenges
Some of those
trying to break out of poverty are starting to think that “with money, anything
is possible”. The weakness of the government has become an obstacle to the
growth and development of this country.
The event ended
with a productive Q&A session.
In the right column on page 5, is a comment
from Mr. Masahiko Sato, who participated in this event. He states, “I am happy supporting
this cause and appreciate the devoted effort given by the Sisters for the
people of Sierra Leona”. The event photo is recapped on page 4.
Starting from the bottom on page 5 and on
to page 6, is a letter from Sr. Shirahata. While she suffers not being able to
return to Sierra Leona because she still has pain in her knee, she expresses
her reliance and appreciation, especially to Sr. Imelda who continues to lead education
at the Tamagawa Shirayuri Kindergarten in Lunsar. The photo on page 6 is Sr.
Imelda with a kindergartener.
At the bottom of page 6 are messages from
supporters, including one from an elementary school student who attended an
event where Sr. Yoshida gave a speech when she visited the first division of
Tamagawa Gakuen.
The last page is from the headquarters, expressing appreciation to
all the supporters
The top photo
on page 8 is a good-bye party with the children of Tamagawa Gakuen when Sr.
Yoshida visited. The bottom shows the group photo of the ”Gathering with Sr.
Shirahata and Sr. Yoshida” event
Representative of
Walking Together
Katsujiro
Kanno
(Translator Ayako Nokuo)