Mr. Manarang, together with fellow participants out on a day trip
at Iwate Prefecture
Participants hard at work in tending the fresh crops of a local village
Ms. Zabala with her first foster family at the start of her Kizuna program
After almost 3 months in Japan, KIZUNA participants Long-Term Invitation Program for University Students Mr. Miles Justin Manarang and Ms. Myrtle Anne Zabala have returned to the Philippines last December 5, 2012 with a wider perspective on the state of Japan's reconstruction efforts and recovery initiatives at disaster sites following the Great East Japan Earthquake last March 2011.
Mr. Miles Justin Manarang, a Business major from De La Salle University, completed his field work program at Iwate Prefecture. He was involved in the “Hometown Regeneration Support” in Tono, Iwate Prefecture and the earthquake recovery programs in the coastal areas. Mr. Maranang also took part in the hands-on study of local recovery efforts within the area. For three months he stayed with a Japanese family, and was quick to adapt to the lifestyle in the area. He was able to engage and interact with the local community as well. University of the Philippines Asian Studies major Ms. Myrtle Anne Zabala, who was assigned at Miyagi Prefecture, also participated in earthquake recovery programs undertaken by the government, private businesses, private organizations, and all manner of groups, and experience hands-on study of recovery and industrial restoration efforts. Ms. Zabala, on the other hand, experienced both home stay and dorm life in Japan, together with the participants from the other countries.
As part of their respective Kizuna program, Mr. Manarang and Ms. Zabala visited disaster-affected areas in their respective assigned prefectures not only to interact with the residents and victims, but also to give a helping hand in the volunteer work in the rehabilitation of the areas. Lectures from different organizations and discussion among the participants were also part of the program.
Under the “Long-Term Invitation Program for University Students and Others from the ASEAN and Four Other Countries” of the Kizuna Project, four (4) students from each of the participating countries, namely the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, and East Timor, have been chosen to join the program. A total of 56 university or graduate school students will participate in the four (4) courses offered under this Kizuna Project.
The Kizuna Project, the word kizuna meaning “bonds”, will invite more than 10,000 youths from the Asian/Oceanian regions, including 285 Filipinos, to have an opportunity to participate in specially designed programs. The project was approved by the Japanese Diet as a part of the third supplementary budget in November 2011, and will be implemented by the end of March 2013.
