Every day, Japanese volunteer Izuo Risa starts herdaily work at 9 am at the Vietnam Women’s Academy in Hanoi.
During her 2-year term, she teaches music to thelecturers and students of the academy.
Izuo Risa was sent to Vietnam under the JapanVolunteer Programme launched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency orJICA in 2015.
Izuo Risa is one of nearly 50 Japanese volunteerswho are working in Vietnam.
Since 1965, over 50,000 Japanese volunteers weresent to live and work with local people in more than 80 countries.
In Vietnam, the programme began in 1995. So far,about 600 Japanese volunteers have come and made a strong impression on theVietnamese people and organisations throughout the country.
Iwama Nozomi, Vice Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam said if other ODA projects focus ongovernmental or provincial co-operation, the Volunteer Programme addressesgrassroots issues, directly related to serving people or training humanresources.
Japanese volunteers speak Vietnamese,live and work together with local people. They always try to conduct as manyactivities as possible to boost cooperation and solve problems.
Like Izuo Risa, Inamoto Hiroko volunteered forVietnam to help Vietnam Television produce the programme Japan Link.
After a year working in Vietnam, the volunteer hasedited and produced dozens of Japanese bulletin, contributing to bringing theculture and country of Vietnam closer to Japanese people.
Within the framework of the volunteer programme,Kobayashi Noriaki is working at the Assistant Centre for SMEs – North Vietnamas a senior expert, helping Vietnamese businesses improve their production andbusiness capacity.
Kobayashi Noriaki said he was very happy to find that his adviceshave helped the local businesses make improvements.
Japan Volunteer Program not only helps transfertechnology, contributes to socio-economic development in Vietnam but alsodeepens the friendship between the two peoples. Japanese friends, with theirsincerity, enthusiasm and sense of responsibility, are the bridge to the mutualunderstanding of the two peoples.-VNA
