Hekinan students help out at World Concern

By Teri Johnson

For the Enterprise

On Nov. 4, 10 delegates from Edmonds’ sister city, Hekinan, Japan, spent time at World Concern Supply Service in Lynnwood sorting clothing for families in need around the world.

For seven of the 10, this was their very first volunteer experience. Each year, two or three groups from Hekinan visit Edmonds to share ideas and to build bridges between the two cultures. This year’s delegates enthusiastically recommended that Edmonds and World Concern continue to include volunteering on the agenda.

For Tomoko Hasegawa the experience of volunteering time to serve families in need around the world was entirely new. She had never heard of any opportunities to volunteer in Japan and had never seen anything like World Concern. The closest thing she had experienced, visiting nursing homes for the elderly, was a required part of her teacher’s certification program. Tomoko is a computer teacher for kids ages six to 11.

Minoru Ishikawa, a mechanical engineer, also experienced his first formal volunteer experience at World Concern on November 4. He had volunteered before to help repair a fence at a school in Sri Lanka, but it wasn’t through an organization. He had a friend in the area who had asked for his help. Minoru said that there is not much opportunity to volunteer in Japan, but he believes that more opportunities will open up in the future. He felt that it was good for visiting groups to do this type of activity.

Mariko Iwama, a former preschool teacher and full-time mother of two, volunteers for a childcare center in Hekinan. She also helps to produce a newsletter that highlights events for children throughout the city. Mariko discovered this rare volunteer opportunity when the city of Hekinan approached her about a year ago. Yesterday was the first time she had ever seen an organization like World Concern, where used items are recycled for the poor. She said that it is not common to volunteer in Japan, but more people are becoming interested.

Nahoko Ezaka attended a summer camp in Japan last year and discovered that a city-sponsored youth group had helped to plan the event. She now volunteers with this group to help plan other events throughout the community. Not many of her friends volunteer. If she hadn’t attended that camp, she never would have known that the possibility existed.

“Volunteer opportunities aren’t publicized in Japan,” she said. “You find out about them through your job or if someone approaches you.”

Nahoko is not the only person in her family that volunteers; her father volunteers as a coach for a sport called petanque (similar to bocce ball). Nahoko’s father didn’t encourage her to volunteer, but now that they both give their time, they often share stories about their experiences.

Seiko Isogai works in advertising and public relations for a Hekinan soy sauce company. Along with making soy sauce, her company is very environmentally conscientious. It has formed and provides funding for a non-governmental organization that takes care of the earth. Seiko and a group of her coworkers volunteer their time by picking up garbage on the streets of Hekinan and by planting trees in the Gobi Desert in China. She has been giving about four hours per month of her time for two years now and spent one week in China.

Seiko feels that many people give their time in Japan, but that they don’t call it “volunteer” work; people simply do what they can for family and friends. She said that formal volunteer opportunities like those at World Concern are rare. When asked about what people do with their used clothes, she said that children often trade or hand down clothes. She knows of no second-hand clothing stores in Japan.

After volunteering at World Concern, she now realizes how much she has compared to others. She plans to stop buying extra clothes and suggested that World Concern open a warehouse in Japan. Seiko feels it was wonderful to visit an organization like World Concern and highly recommends the experience for other visiting groups.

Brian McIntosh, Assistant Parks Director and Sister City liaison for Edmonds, volunteered alongside the Hekinan delegates. Since the delegates responded so positively to their time at World Concern, he hopes to include volunteer time on the agenda for other groups visiting in the future.

The Edmonds Sister City Commission came into existence in 1988 and developed a relationship with Hekinan that same year. Since then, more than 550 people, including students, teachers, artists, medical professionals, city officials and citizens, from both cities have participated in exchange programs. More information about the Edmonds sister city program is located on the web at www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/Siscity.htm .

For more information on World Concern, please call (800) 755-5022 or go to www.worldconcern.org .

Teri Johnson is public and media relations director for World Concern.