The Latest

ARI staffs visited graduates in Zambia and Malawi!

From 1-26 August, two ARI staff members travelled to Zambia and Malawi to visit a total of 23 graduates.

At the end of the trip, they attended an ECHO conference in Malawi.

ECHO is an organization that works in South-East Asia and East and West Africa to tackle hunger by helping small-scale farmers become self-sufficient by providing training opportunities in sustainable farming methods that are adapted to local conditions.

In connection with ECHO, AFARI (American Friends of ARI) organized and sponsored a gathering of ARI graduates at the conference, where they had the opportunity to reflect on and deepen their learning at ARI by interacting with other graduates and peers from the same region and learning new skills.
Many thanks to AFARI for also helping sponsor ARI’s travel costs.

Specific activities of graduates from Zambia and Malawi will be reported in the next post.

Please look forward to it!

Former ARI volunteers’ activities in Uganda were featured in the local newspaper, Shimotsuke Shinbun

On 16, 17 and 20 of August, Shimotsuke newspaper published a series of articles entitled ”JICA, From the Land of Africa – Report on a Visit to Uganda”.
The article was in three parts, covering support for infrastructure development, agriculture and education.
Miki Kanai (currently a JICA staff in Uganda), an ARI volunteer from 2020-21, was interviewed as one of those who had learned agriculture in Tochigi. She says, “I want to spread the cultivation of rice using organic fertilisers in Uganda where there are many farmers”.
Although not featured in the article, a graduate of the ARI in Uganda also got interview from the reporter.

Director’s Report: ARI’s Menstruation Hygiene Management Workshop

Director’s Report.
Menstruation Hygiene Management (MHM) has been a focus of ARI’s gender class for several years.
Today, a workshop on MHM was held for the entire ARI community.
MHM aims to help menstruating women “stay safe and hygienic during their menstrual period”
As prejudice, superstition, and lack of knowledge about menstruation limit the daily lives and rights of menstruating people, especially in developing countries,　the awareness and education of MHM has been growing worldwide in recent years,
This year, Participants and volunteers played a central role in the organization of the workshop, and the men actively participated in the presentations.
There were very open and positive discussions about how to change mindsets, how to support those in need, and so on.
I listened to everyone’s diverse voices, wondering if there is any other MHM workshop in Japan that is as advanced as this one.
In September, we will try making homemade sanitary napkins.

Director’s Report: Peace Sunday at UCCJ Daita Church

Director’s Report: On August 4 (Sun.), I will preach at the Peace Sunday Service at UCCJ Daita Church (Setagaya-ku, Tokyo). I will also continue to speak at the “Peace Gathering” in the afternoon (13:30-). We will also be selling ARI items. Please join us if you are in the area!

Director’s Report: A Call for Support: Understanding Haiti’s Current Challenges

We received a newsletter from the Haiti no Kai, a Japanese NGO that supports the KFP in the Republic of Haiti, to which two of our graduates belong.
Although rarely reported in Japan, security in Haiti has deteriorated drastically since the assassination of the president three years ago, and earlier this year the country was said to be in unprecedented turmoil in all aspects: social, political, economic, and security.
Especially in the capital, armed gangs controlled 80% of the capital and crime was rampant, which turned the city a lawless area. However, it is said that security has improved slightly since the beginning of June.
In the words of Eiko Nakano, a representative of Haiti no Kai, “Even if it takes time, Haitians themselves must correct this wrongness of the Haitian society and open the way for the future. What we can do with the Haitian people is only to support them by ‘protecting today’s life through agriculture and nurturing tomorrow’s Haiti through education.’ ”

Director’s Report: ICU Reconciliation Forum’s Third ARI Retreat

A retreat camp of ICU Reconciliation Forum members is being held at ARI from July 15th to 17th. This is the third camp of the group with 19 people participating, the most ever.
This group, led by Williams Ikuko, is a group that studies and thinks about reconciliation, which started as an online book club during the coronavirus pandemic. ICU students, teachers, staff, and alumni gather irregularly, and soon their activities have expanded to lectures on the ICU campus, training camps outside, and participation in the Northeast Asia Christian Forum for Reconciliation. I have also been a part of this group for some time.
As an alumnus, I share the same dream that someday an institution focused on reconciliation will be established within ICU.

Director’s Report: Remembering Bumrung Khayotha: A Farmer, Leader, and ARI Legend

At the end of June, ARI Thai Graduate Bumrung Khayotha passed away at the age of 73 years old. He is a graduate of 1989 and known as a legend. “He was a farmer in northeastern Thailand and led a nationwide peasants’ movement as a brilliant leader. Although some people asked him to become a member of the National Assembly, in the 2000s, he stayed in his hometown, where he had land, a house, and a family. While farming, he was pushed by the local people to serve as the head of the local administrative organization.” (quotes of Kazuoki Ohno)
Whenever he was invited by the Asian Farmers Exchange Center, he stopped by ARI. From his small body and childlike smile, it was hard to believe that he led the peasants’ movement across the country.
His niece, Ms. Janvan who succeeds Khayotha’s spirit, is also an ARI graduate.

Director’s Report: Young Anglicans from Five Countries Join Leadership Training at ARI

A program for young Anglican church future leaders around the world, sponsored by the USPG of Anglican Communion is being held in collaboration with the Asian Rural Institute. (7/3~7/20)

Young Anglicans in their 20s from the UK, Brazil, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and Japan are taking part in leadership training at ARI.