Arbeit
The main role of Volunteers is to help day camps for elementary school children (6 to 12 years old, about 20 children in total). Volunteers are expected to act as their leaders. Volunteers cook, play in the river (sometimes fish catching) and make a secret basement while making sure that children are all safe.
The work will also include:
-Taking care of handicapped children
-Meeting elderly people and having communication
Unterkunft und Verpflegung
The accommodation is a Japanese traditional house which TENKI-MURA owns next to their office.
Facilities: Japanese Tatami room (bedding is provided), laundry machine, kitchen, toilet, bathroom with a bathtub, free wi-fi. A convenience store and supermarket is 5 minutes away on foot.
Volunteers go to supermarket or convenience store together with a camp leader for grocery.
Dinner will be prepared by the host organisation.
NOT available: vegetarian food, arrangement for food allergy and any other food restriction
Lage und Freizeit
Shiga prefecture is in the central part of Japan and is famous for Lake Biwa, which is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. The lake occupies one sixth of the total area of the prefecture. Kusatsu city is located in the south of the lake and has about 130,000 residents. Trips to the Lake Biwa museum and other spots in Kusatsu city is planned by the host organizer during the workcamp.
It takes about 20 minutes to travel to Kyoto by train, the ancient capital of Japan with lots of historical sites, and about 60 minutes by train to get to Nara, which is even older capital city of Japan where you can find many UNESCO World Heritage site. A volunteer should bring at least 10,000 JPY in cash if she/he wants to go sightseeing on free-day.
Wer organisiert das Projekt?
TENKI-MURA (meaning ‘Sunny Village’ in Japanese) was established in 1987 (registered as NPO in 1994) to improve the surroundings of children in Kusatsu area. They support children, parents, elderly and handicapped people through their social business. Since their slogan is “The earth is a playground” they have been hosting many hands-on programs and organizing many outdoor events in the forest, lakeside and playground. CIEE Japan started STV with TENKI-MURA in 2004.
TENKI-MURA official homepage: http://www.biwako.ne.jp/~nt-tenki/
TENKI-MURA Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nt.tenkimura
Treffpunkt
Exit of Kusatsu Station/11 AM, 29 July
Weitere Infos
- Prepare for a presentation of your home country for children and staff at TENKI-MURA.
- Handicapped children cannot communicate verbally so each volunteer is expected to be patient and generous.
- Plan outdoor games that are popular among children in your home country. Make sure you prepare to teach them to Japanese kids.
- Should bring: Long sleeve shirts and long pants to cover your arms and legs, a hat or a cap, water bottle, sports shoes, swim wear, sunscreen, beach sandals, bath towels, facial towels, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, detergent for your laundry, anti-mosquito bites spray, medicine you need.
- Please pay attention on what you wear in from of children. Clothes which are too tight, transparent, too short, showing your underwear or private body are NOT ALLOWED.
Anforderungen
-Can be friendly and behave properly to children.
- Interests and understanding of Japanese culture and social manner.
- Must submit a motivation letter or description of motivation in the application form. Please include your self-introduction, interests on the project, experience, motivation in English or Japanese (if possible).
- Submit a confirmation slip (Travel information) online after your application is accepted by CIEE Japan.