2017年12月31日日曜日

Thank you for everything in 2017

Thank you for your support this year.

We welcomed 8 students from Fukushima this year with your support.
We learned about the new energy sources and something about the relation between nuclear power plants and uranium mined in Australia.  Studying about those issues with Fukushima Kids made us consider about what each of us could do for our future.

At the first year in 2015, we had 4 students from Fukushima to Cairns.  In 2016, 6 students, this year 8 students and next year which is 2018, we will have 8 students again.

We started with a small group motivated by wishes and passions only and slowly expanded and moved on getting more and more support from local residents, companies and organisations.  I realise that this is great and impressive progress.  Thank you again for all of your support.

The Cairns local students are willing to help donation or volunteer works for the Smile with Kids, this is also a great motivation for us because I could feel that we share the same passion with the students as well.

While we are getting opinions and comments, we would like to be always genuine and honest to what we can do step by step.


They are the Fukushima Kids we welcomed in 2017

Thank you very much for your support through the year.
We have started to prepare the event, Japan Day of Hope 2018 (10th March).
https://www.facebook.com/japandayofhope.kizuna/

We look forward to having a great year with you in 2018.
Warmest wishes for a year filled with happiness and smiles.

With a heartful gratitude.


2017年12月11日月曜日

Thank you for your donation OCT-DEC 17

We would like to report the donation we received between October and December 2017 as below.


>Thanking Ms. M who applied it,
$2,500 from Jetstar's Team Flying Start Program

http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/home



>$867.75 from the Mega Charity Raffle in Cairns Bon Dance Festival presented by Japanese Society of Cairns

https://www.facebook.com/cairnsbondancefestival/


>Sales takings of donated Japanese books from Kurichaya


>Donation from the collaborated workshop of Ms. Masako & Kurichaya
(Not only the admission fee, but also the products of beautiful eco-friendly handmade acrylic dishwasher from this workshop are donated for the charity market in Holloways Beach which is supported by Ms. Kaori & Kurichaya.)

https://www.facebook.com/kurichayacairns/

Thank you very much everyone!

















In addition, we received $174.25 from OK Gift Shop Cairns donation box.
We really appreciate all the staff members who always introducing our activities to the customers.

https://www.okgift.com.au/?page_id=9


Also, we received $52.95 from Tarzan Café donation box and charity sales of pastel-art postcards.

https://www.facebook.com/tarzancafe/


The Christmas Card workshop with Ms. Yuka from Origami Cairns & Ukulove Cairns collected $141.35 as a donation.
Please take a look the pictures of this workshop from the website of Origami Cairns below.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1620198864705887&id=224254414300346



I really thank you also for the regular donation from the Sound & Reiki Healing Time.


Thank you again for your warm-hearted support & cooperation.

Sometimes I had some tears when people said "I will donate!" or "I can help you as much as possible!", appreciating those kindness and warm heart.
It might mean that there's been a lot of hardship as well.
Every time the people told me a beautiful word, I just got moved and touched.

Smile with Kids was supported by everyone's kindness through the year.
In March next year, we will welcome 8 students from Fukushima, using the donation from our supporters.


We have started to prepare the event "Japan Day of Hope" scheduled on Sat, 10 March 2018.

https://www.facebook.com/japandayofhope.kizuna/

If you are interested in organising this event together, please contact us.
smilewithkids8@gmail.com

Thank you very much.

With deepest gratitude for your support.

2017年11月22日水曜日

Japan day of Hope 2018

Japan day of Hope 2018 event is at 11am-16pm on Saturday 10th March.



















Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises offerd 
Trip for 2 on a Pak 1 thanks to Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises valued at $188.00

for our charity Raffle.

We really appreciated.
Thank you so much Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises.

https://greenisland.com.au/green-island-tours/

Locally owned & operated Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises offer 4 x different departures per day, including both full day & half day options. Snorkel, dive and swim in the clear island waters, view the spectacular reef on one of our Glass bottom boats or Semi Submarine coral viewing tours or simply lay back and relax on the white sandy beaches. Click here for more information about the range of cruises we offer. A 30% Locals discount is also available.


You will meet very friendly staff at Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises and Have a great day at beautiful Green Island if you win a voucher!



If you can support our chariy event anyway, please let us know.

Any support, it will be much appreciated.

smilewithkids8@gmail.com

Thank you very much.






2017年5月31日水曜日

Fukushima Kids&Host family/ Talking session in Fukushima report

During Cairns Project, Fukushima kids stayed with host family.

Fukushima kids really have wonderful time.



Himari Hamatsu



Cairns was awesome! Encounters with so many people. Precious experiences.
All are now my treasures. I will never forget the memories I made in
Cairns!!

This project was successful, thanks to the support of so many people. Thank
you so much. I aspire to live my every day life not forgetting the attitude
of gratitude and the knowledge that Fukushima is cheered on by so many
people.


At the airport, my host mother saw me off until the very end. The last
hug we exchanged made me feel so sad.
I promised that I will return so I will definitely come back to Cairns!!
Thank you so much for everything.




_____________________


Manaka Mashiko




From the first day Denice took me around to various places. Although I was a bit tired I was very happy. At the zoo, they let me hold a koala. I was scared at first but it was good.
They cooked meals everyday for me and they were delicious. I was also happy to have fruits every time. I only come up with words of appreciation.
At the farewell, I did not cry but the days I spent here were really fun. I came to love Cairns so I will come back again one day!
Thank you so much.





________________________________


Koki Fujita





Firstly, at the BBQ last night, it was really hard to say goodbye to everyone. In my heart, I felt the feelings of wanting to spend more time with everyone and wanting to stay in Cairns grow stronger and stronger.

When I returned home to my host family’s place and after spending time with them, I was told that it was the “last good night”, and this made me feel
even more sad.

And finally today, I arrived to a moment when I had to say goodbye to Cairns.
When I reflect, although 10 days is a very short period of time, I felt that each moment was lived out fully. I made many friends and I was able to make good relationships with those who supported me. That in and of itself is something I’m very happy about.
Also, I experienced many things in Cairns that I could only do there and I could not do in Fukushima. I went swimming in the sea, rode on quad mikes and went down a crazy road in crazy speed, lied and rolled on the grassy field, spoke a lot of English and there are so many more, but everything was just exciting.
Moreover, I feel that I was able to grow mostly as a person in the last ten days. When I first arrives in Cairns,I thought that I didn’t need to take much initiative and to just do what I was told to do.

However, after interacting with my host family, and through the precious farm experiences, I soon realised that I cannot continue to have such attitude.
Furthermore, what Kodama san said to me was carved in my heart, and that was: “With speech, the more you do it the better.” I thought that perhaps
the more I do this something might change, so I became more proactive in doing speech. Then, I soon realised that I could get a better hang of pronunciation, and I realised that the negative feelings inside me soon turned into confidence. Now, I feel like I’m a speech addict - I just grew more and more in love with talking with people. This transformation is all thanks to Kodama san and everyone in Cairns. My team mates and people who supported us in Cairns have all contributed to improving my pronunciation
as well as being good inspiration and influence. 


Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in this project.

My most memorable part of the trip was the opportunity I had to debate about energy issues with Kodama san, Nick, Jason and Yuka. There are not
many people around me whom I can discuss about energy issues. Therefore, it was so fun and I was so happy to be able to express my opinions about
energy issues and to hear directly from others about their perspectives.

I want to go back to Cairns right now. But there are thins I need to do here. The best thing I can do for people in Cairns right now is to study hard and to develop new energy that I promised to everyone. Therefore, I want to give my all in making this dream come true.
There is a song lyrics that goes: “Goodbye is not a sad word; it is a ‘yell’ of our heart that links us to our dreams”. Just like this lyrics, I aspire to apply what I learnt and experienced in Cairns to future steps towards my dream, and to do my best so I can repay the kindness I received from this trip.


Thank you very much.
Koki F.



Emiru Okabe



I was able to meet a lot of people in Cairns. Especially, I would like to express my appreciation to the McCarthy family. I was playing catch ball with Tim like every day. He was very active so it was a good exercise.
Mike always made me delicious meals. He was a very cool “house husband”!
I was always with Maki. She’s powerful and funny, she is awesome!

I also had the opportunities to listen to many other people such as Nick, Andrew, Taka and so on. I could realise the importance of people’s networks, and that if you make an effort even just a little at a time then one day you can achieve the goals.
This 10 days has been a really happy time, seeing beautiful big ocean, sky and mountains, eating food, all of which are not in Fukushima.
The moment of farewell came in an instance and I feel sad. But I felt happy when Mike told me I was welcome to come back any time. I thought I was going to miss Cairns as much as how much I missed my family when I said good bye to them in Fukushima.
All these precious experiences were not possible without many people’s support. I can’t thank them enough.
I am not going to end my learning experience here; even after I go back to Fukushima, I want to extend all the things I learned and felt in Cairns as part of “my voice”.





Mito Kondo



Today I had to farewell with my host family who looked after me so much. They woke me up in the morning and made meals for me. I really appreciated for their kindness. At the time of farewell in the airport, I wanted to cry.
At yesterday’s speech, I was able to tell the reality in Fukushima and what I have experienced in Cairns, clearly in my own words. 

At Taka’s farm I learned about the importance of people’s connections and world peace. I became interested in the Peace Walk so one day I want to participate.
There were so many other things I have experienced and so many people I have met during the stay. I cannot write everything here so I’ll stop there.
To all the people who supported the program, who let us experience various things: I don’t want to forget about this experience until I become an old man, and I want to make the best out of this experience for my future.





Masato Kaneko




Today was the day I had to say goodbye to people of Cairns. I didn’t want to go back. I felt sad to suddenly be away from the people that were supporting us. So it made me think that I should send messages to them.
We gathered at the airport, boarded the plane and returned to Japan.
Cairns was hot and humid, so Japan felt all the more colder and my skin felt dry.
When we (team mates) first met and talked to each other for the first time, it was slightly awkward. However, as days passed, we bonded really well and
now, we are all really great friends. We were able to become great friends because of the support we received from Kodama san, Maki san and all the
people involved in Smile with Kids and Earth Walkers. Thank you so much!

In Cairns, I learnt so much. Among these, what I gained the most is the importance of study. Therefore, I will put in the effort to study hard and surprise everyone.
Thank you everyone for the last 11 days. I will never forget this beautiful memory.




Ririko Kanno




The people in Cairns took great care of me.

I especially want to convey my thanks to Andrew, Megumi and Naomi who took me in as my host family.
Andrew took me to many places and it was a lot of fun.
Megumi cooked us delicious food everyday. Naomi helped me with translating things into English, which I really appreciate.
There are many other people who shared their stories and messages. I want to give it my best in applying what I have heard to my life back here.

At Great Barrier Reef, I was able to go into the sea that I would not have been able to in Fukushima. It was so beautiful there and it was so refreshing. I could not experience this back here so I was so happy.
I would love to share what I have learnt and felt in Cairns to my family and others.




Miku Iwasaki



At first, ten days felt like a long time. However, it all passed so quickly.
When I arrived in Cairns, I was moved by the abundance and beauty of the surrounding nature. My host family’s place was at a place near Palm Cove,and it was a beautiful place where the sea meets the old trees that have been there for many years. My host mother Mie took me to many places on the second day there when we had some free time. It’s such a lovely memory.

In this project, I was able to meet many people. And in these interactions, it was great that I was able to converse in English.
I really don’t like the idea of going back from Cairns to Japan, but I would like to apply what I have learnt to my daily life back home.
It was such a precious experience.

Cairns LOVE.
Miku Iwasaki






Thank you so much for everything!




**********

After they arrived Fukushima, they did speech.
This is movie in Japanese.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHlB_ufM6k0&t=5756s

The movie will start in 8min.




***********


Message from Fukushima Kids


***********

Miku Iwasaki



In this project, Mr Kodama and Maki gave us many opportunity to share my feeling and comment.

At first I couldn't do well, but in the end, I could share my opinion and feeling.

I was so exited to go to Frankland Island and really enjoyed.

Most impressed thing for me was Andrew's talk about uranium.

I didn't know that we imported uranium from Australia, But I should know about Fukushima more.
I should learn about where I live more.

As Taka from Malanda farm said, I would like to connect many people.

I am not sure about my dream yet, but I would like to use English for job.

But I kwew that I couldn't speak English very well during this project, I would like to study hard and speak more.

Many people support this project, especially Smile with Kids and EarthWalkers,
We can enjoyed very much.
I never forget about this journey and I will do my best.

Also I would like to help many people.

Thank you very much.


__________________________

Emiru Okabe




After 10days in Cairns, I felt strongly that it's important to have your own opinion and share to people.

Cairns people care about Japan more than Japanese people.
After Speech, They asked question seriously. A person said Things from Fukushima is not safe.  To say that kind of opinion is very important, I thought.

We all listened Andrew's talk. His NGO is against uraniam farm.
Land owner aboriginal lady felt guilty about Fukushima nuclear accident.

I thought only Fukushima was damaged. But not only Fukushima.
The people belong uranium land also suffered.
I didn't know many things and felt sorry about it.
I would like to study more and more.

I would like to be a sea animal doctor, So I would like to go university oversea.
After came to Cairns, I noticed that I haven't study much all subjects, not only English.
I will go to high School, so I would like to study hard.

Thank you so much for these valuable experience.
Thank you for support from Everyone.

Really appreciated.


___________________

Manaka Mashiko



I was very shy before.I was very quiet and I couldn't talk to people.

After this experience, I could talk to Australian people with relax mood.
I could say my opinion.

I could grow and improved myself.
I could talk to people who just met.

I wasn't confident myself, I couldn't say my opinion, I always used to  regret my attitude before.

I am thanksful to my mother to enroll this project.

For study, I would like to study all subjects with balance, not only one topic.

Thank you very much.

____________________



Himari Hamatsu



I really enjoyed this project.

At first time seminar, I was very nervous to speech in front of people, and I was so worried about it.

At Airport, Mr Kodama made friends and we did speech for them.

After They said it was great speech and I was so happy.


In Cairns,Most memorial thing for me is eat Kangaroo meat.

Host mother Maki san made special Kangaroo pie.

I met gentleman from Pakistan after we arrived to Japan, we could talk in English very well.

My English listening and talking skill improved.Thanks for Smile with Kids and Earth Walkers, Everyone.

Also Thank you for let me join this project, my family.

My dream was to become school teacher.
But now it changed to become nagotiator between Japan and Overseas.

Now I would like to study hard English and other subjects for my future.


Thank you very much for this great opportunity.


_______________________

Masato Kaneko



I couldn't go pre seminar because I got flu.
Then on this projects, I met other students first time.

I was very nerbous, but I could became good friends with everybody.
It really enjoyed.

It was great experience to make speech everywhere.

My host mother Catherine was very kind.She knew I love Coke.
She prepare 30xCoke for me in the fridge.
I was so happy with her kindness.

Not only having fun, Andrew's uranium talk was inspired.
I've never listened specialist talk before.

It was great memory to eat crocodile and vegemite.

I had revolution in me.had a big change.

I hated study before, But I learned my English was not good enough, and felt need study more.
I would like to study more to enjoy overseas and job.

Thank you very much.

_________________________

Mito Kondo



With this project, not only enjoyed, Also learned a lot.

When we visited Taka's farm, Taka san introduced us about peace walk.
They walk for "Peace and nuclear free."

I am so interested in this walk and want to join.

Bike ride in the farm was really enjoyed.

People in Cairns were really friendly and different personarily from Japanese people.
I could have a great experience because of people in Cairns.

Thank you for Smile with Kids and Earth Walkers Mr Kodama.
I could have a great experience like this because of many people's support.

I would like to support Cairns project and German Project from now.

Thank you.

________________________


Ririko Kanno




At pre seminar, I couldn't make a speech at all because I was very nurvouse.
But now I can make speech instead of nervouse a little bit.

I could enjoy many things like snokering and buggy...
I am not sure about my dream yet.
When I found my dream, I never give up.

Thank you for look after me, Smile with Kids and Earth Walkers.
I could do many things that we can't do in Fukushima.

Thank you for my family for send me this project.

Thank you very much.



_________________________

Koki Fujita




At first, I thought Just follow advice and be quiet.
But In Cairns,My mind changed,  I thouht and act.

Most growth for me was now relly enjoyed speech in fromt of people.
Mr Kodama gave me much opportunity to do that.


I grow a lot.

Each moment in Cairns was so special for me.

Andrew's uranium talk was inspired.

Aborigini land owner coudn't stop that govement export uranium ,That kind of feeling was not only us, it was same feeling and glad to know.

My fear changed to having fun during project.

Most enjoyble time for me was discussion with Jayson, Nick, Mr Kodama and Yuka about sustainable energy.
I was so interested in about sustainable energy, but I did't have much chance to talk about in my home town.

But It was feel great to say my opinion, and listening opinion from adult was really enjoyed and great experience.


My dream is develop substainable energy and new energy.

For that, I would like to study hard
I grow a lot in Australia.

 I will change this experience into confidence and try study hard in life in the future and I grant my dream and want to repay a local person's kindness.

Thank you so much for my parents, Smile with Kids, Earth Walkers and Mr Kodama.

Because I do not want to waste what I experienced really this time, I grant an absolute dream and want to return.

Thank you so much.


*******************

Fukushima kids really had great experience in Cairns with local people.

With many speech opportunity, they get much more confident and changed a lot!



We learned a lot from kids as well.



We could invite 8 children from Fukushima to Cairns with many people's support in Cairns.
We really appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for did paper work in Japan and bring kids safely, Earthwalkers.


We wish these kids share their story and make peaceful world now and in the future.


Thank you very much.




Day 9~Talking session *Thank you message from Fukushima Kids

Refresh Camp Day 9 

In the morning, kids spent time with their host family.

Emiru helped preparing for BBQ.



She requested to eat meet pie for lunch.





Yummy!!!



Talking session at Kumon, Rain Tree Shopping Center.


*Talk session 1

Mr Harada talked about history.
We've learnt a lot.










We would like to protect these peace.

Same time, really appreciated Australian people's kindness.


We do what we can do our best each day.






After break time, Fukushima kids did speech.
They talked about current situation in Fukushima and their feeling.
















Koki said

"After 11th March, I felt apart from nature.
After 7 years, I could meet nature again in Cairns and felt connect again.
I really enjoyed staying nature without any fear.
I am so happy."


Each kid's story really touched.

There are many opinion.
But we would like to have place for kids that they can share their truth and feeling freely.

Then, Each of us will think and act, what we can do from now.

Fukushima kids really gave us great opportunity.

Thank you so much.





With AJS Jeff san


AJS gave us $250 donation from Okonomiyaki Event.
Thank you so much for continues support.

https://www.facebook.com/AJSFNQ/



Thank you very much for coming!

There were $62.25+$50+$250 (Total $362.25) donation for Taking Session.
Thank you so much for support.



After that, We went to beach for BBQ.





Everyone did really good during stay.










Thank you very much for ukulele music.






Thank you for all your support.





Fukushima kids wanted to say Thank you very much for everyone!









Thank you so much for

 Maki Walker san@ Kumon at Raintree shopping center.

Thank you for taking about history, Masa san.

Thank you for translation, Inge san, Yuka san

AJS NQL Jeff san

Ukulele music by Ukulove 


Thank you so much for everyone all your support for Fukushima kids.



****************************

Message from Fukushima Kids.

****************************


HImari Hamatsu




1) What I felt from today's speech and time of sharing
I was most touched when I saw that people in Australia, who live so far away from us, would lean in and listen to our stories with tears in their eyes. I was also encouraged when people would give us feedback later that "your speech was great", and "I was really moved by your speech". Later, we had time of fellowship and sharing by the beach. We all played by the sandy beach and hanged around there with barefeet, which was really great.

2) To everyone who supported us in Cairns

Thank you to everyone who supported us children in Fukushima. In Cairns, we were able to have so many experiences. To walk barefeet outside, to be able to sit on grass and on concrete, to be able to walk around the public places without seeing radiation monitoring posts and to not have to worry about radiation contamination... We were able to have experiences that would not be possible in Fukushima.
The time in Cairns passed away like an instant moment, as if a dream. When I return to Fukushima, my everyday life of thinking about radiation begins again. There are many things I have to put up with, and there are many things that are really hard. But when those trying times come, I will remember the wonderful memories of the time I had in Cairns.
I was able to have these amazing experiences because of all your support. Thank you so much!
I want to come back here. I love Cairns!!






_____________________________________

Koki Fujita






Today, we first began with listening to a talk by Harada san about the significance of learning history and about Japan-Australia history. What was most striking was the quote by Commodore Gerard Muirhead-Gould. I thought it was amazing that he was able to see from Japan's perspective, despite Japan being the enemy country, and to be able to declare that to Australian people during the war.
 In addition, I also felt gratitude towards the mother of Matsuo san who lost his life in suicide mission during the war. This is because she was able to raise awareness that the feelings one has for their children are the same in Japan and Australia, and thanks to her, the anti-Japan sentiments decreased bit by bit. Moreover, I could relate with Harada san on the purpose of learning history. Until now, I approached history from another perspective only a little bit. When I learn history in high school, it made me want to approach things from multiple perspectives when taking classes. 

When I did speech, I got stuck in a few places but I think I was able to convey what I wanted to share with people. Furthermore, I was incredibly touched to know that there are many people who really leaned in to listen to what we had to share. If I was able to communicate even just a little bit about what is happening in Fukushima right now from my viewpoint and how I feel about Fukushima, then I would consider it an honour and a privilege.


*************

Dear everyone in Cairns,

When I first came to Cairns, I had many concerns. However, when I arrived, thanks to all your support, those worries turned into expectations and fun experiences, and it propelled me to grow as a person enormously. I'm not able to express this gratitude in written words. I'm that much thankful to people in Cairns and I really love the people of Cairns.
I plan on returning to Cairns, so I really look forward to seeing you all then.

THANK YOU! Koki F


__________________

Emiru Okabe



Today, there was a talk session at the Kumon suite.
In Harada san's history talk, I was challenged to see that there were many things that I would not have been able to learn at school and things I never knew about.
I was reminded of that it's important to try to ask questions by yourself, to approach things from different perspectives and to share our messages so that we won't make the same mistakes again...
After this, we had speech time.
As we did speech - some improvised and some prepared in advance - I felt that we all really got equipped.

During the Q&A time, there were some questions that really got to the heart of the matter, and it made me think that "it won't do just to speak about something". I was really moved that people would listen to us so intently. I wanted to talk more and to speak in English, but there was not enough time...!

At BBQ, I was able to speak with many people.
It was an experience I rarely get to have in Japan, so I think it really helped me.
After the disaster, there was not much opportunity to do BBQ outside, so it was a lot of fun.
It made me really want to expand on and deepen the encounters I had with all these wonderful people who have supported us.


____________


To everyone who supported us

Before I came to Cairns, I was nervous and had concerns: “What kind of place is it?” “Will I be able to speak English?”

But this all went away when I arrived. When I say “hello” to people here, people would return the “hello” with a warm smile, and I was reassured by the kindness of people here. It made me want to talk to people more.

In my everyday life in Fukushima, subconsciously, there were always some worries related to radiation issues and damages caused by groundless rumours related to those issues.

It was hard to play outside free from worries, and we could not always eat locally produced food in Fukushima.

I wanted to see Fukushima restored, but I wasn’t sure exactly what that entailed.

However, after coming to Cairns and hearing stories from people, and thinking about the questions that were asked, I soon realised that “even if it might be a small voice at first, we need to make those voices louder and bigger.”

I learnt about the importance of cherishing relationships with people. I also got to see Fukushima from a new perspective that I would not have been able to see if I were in Japan.

The last ten days were really full and it felt both too long and too short.

I’m very aware that these precious experiences were possible thanks to the support of everyone. I’m so thankful.

When I return to Fukushima, I don’t want this to end just here, but to continue to “disseminate” and share what is happening here with my own voice.

Thanks for your support. I LOVE CAIRNS!






______________________________________________

Miku Iwasaki



In this project, I was able to learn so many things. Out of these many things, what was most striking was "to cherish relationships with people", which was what I learnt from Taka-san's sharing. Even the relationships with family, which can easily be taken for granted, can be wiped away in an instant by disasters like the Great East Japan earthquake, for example. Of course, it includes not just family but also important friends. It's really important to cherish people who are close to me. But after hearing Taka san's story, I realised it's also important to relate more boraly with many other people. Although it can be challenging to build relationships with different kinds of people, if I can do this, it will broaden my world. Therefore, my wish is that I would be more proactive in taking actions from now on and expand my horizons. I'm thankful from the bottom of my heart to Taka san for making me realise such important thing.

We were able to come to Cairns and enjoy the time here thanks to many people's support. For me, Cairns was my first overseas experience. I was not very confident about English and I was nervous about being able to talk to local people. However, the volunteer staff really helped me. Especially Yuka san who was the interpreter would skilfully translate into English my Japanese sentences, which were not stringed together well. Thank you, Yuka san. Other than this, many people encouraged me before the speech, and I was really happy. Even after the speech, there were people who gave helpful feedback and advices related to my speech, which was encouraging. Thank you to those who gave me comments.

It was possible for eight of us to come to Cairns because of support from many people. Eight people is considerable in number. When I think about just how many people must have donated so that we could come, I cannot contain my gratitude in a single phrase of 'thank you'. To Maki san and all the volunteers who carried out the fundraising activities, thank you so much. It's easy to think that you want to help other people, but to actually do something about that is not easy. Therefore, I'm really thankful from the bottom of my heart to everyone who made this happen for us.

I will not forget the fact that I was able to come to Cairns thanks to the support of so many people, and with that in mind, I will continue to try many different things even when I return to Fukushima. Thank you so much. I love Cairns!







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Miku Kondo




Today, I went to a swimming pool in the morning. It was the first first pool that was constructed in Cairns and it was very big. I was able to swim about 300m so it was a lot of fun! For lunch, I enjoyed some meat pie. It was very delicious.

After this, I went to Kumon suite, where I first listened to history talk by Harada san. I found the "Hara stlye" of "facts > interpretation > lesson" particularly striking.

 I was able to understand very well how Japan attacked Australia during the war. After this, I made a speech in Japanese. It was really apparent that those who came to hear our speeches really listened to us and related to us. There were people who cried and I could tell that they were sincerely moved. ..

After this, we did BBQ at Kewarra Beach. It was delicious. The ukulele music was amazing. I was able to express my thanks to Maki san and Kodama san, which was really great.




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Ririko Kanno



Today, I made a speech at this talk session.
At first, I was really nervous but having an interpreter stand next toe me made me feel relieved.
Before listening to the history talk, history was never my forte. However, today, once I listened to the history talk, I started to like history. I was also able to understand the importance of human life.
I'm very thankful to everyone who supported us in Cairns. Thanks to your help, I was able to experience things I could never do in Fukushima. When I return, I would like to share what I experienced with my mother, father, grandfather and grandmother, and other people.

Next time, I would love to come (to Cairns) with my family. I look forward to seeing you all again. Thank you for your care over the last ten days.
Thank you so much.





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Manaka Mashiko




Today, we made speeches at the Kumon venue. It wasn't just reading off a script and so it was harder than usual. Because there was an interpreter next to me, I felt relieved and reassured to do the speech. Until grade 6, I really struggled with history, but thanks to Harada san, I was able to learn the joy of studying history and to understand that human life is the most important.

Also, I want to say thank you to all those who supported the Cairns project. Thanks to your support, I was able to experience what I could not otherwise do in Japan. When I go back, I would like to share what I learnt with my father and my mother.

I will return to Cairns!
It was really fun. Thank you for your care.
Thank you so much.





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Masato Kaneko




Today, I’ve learnt many things.
At lunch time, we went to the Kumon suite and listened to Masa san’s sharing. I am not a big fan of history, but Masa san’s talk made me really like history. It was engaging and to-the-point, and it was done really well. Drawing on what I’ve heard, I would like to do well in my future history tests.

After this, we made a speech about what is happening in Fukushima right now and what we enjoyed about Cairns. I usually do my speech impromptu, so I also did it unscripted again. I think I was able to convey what I wanted to share with people. However, I was not able to respond to questions in the way that I had wanted, so I would like to work on the ability to summarise points on the spot.
In the early evening, we gathered together and did BBQ. There were many people there that I saw for the first time, and it was a reminder of how many people were behind this project to support us. I was really moved and I’m very grateful. 
There were people I had to say goodbye to today, so it was very sad.






本当にありがとうございました。