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gSakurah Volunteer
Network
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 In 1988, the International Exchange Section was set up in the Hitachi City Office and an appeal was sent out to the people of Hitachi for cooperation in a variety of exchange programs. In response to this, gSakurah was formed in November, 1990. The groupfs name gSakurah comes from the cherry blossoms, which are the symbolic flower of Hitachi. There are 65 members of Sakura at the moment and anyone who is interested in working on a voluntary basis can join the group with membership fee of \1200 a year. The aim of the group is to gEnliven international cultural exchange activity in Hitachi based on the efforts of its members however smallh. Following this principle, they have developed various activities in the following five areas. 1) Promotion of international exchange and understanding through language - Japanese language classes - A speech contest entitled gForeigners Express Their Opinions in Japaneseh - A conversation circle named gTalkative Ladies Clubh 2) Support for foreign students, residents and international cooperation - The Sakura charity bazaar - Donations to UNICEF, refugee support groups, etc. 3) Education and training for international understanding - Visits to other international exchange groups - Lecture meetings and mini-salon discussions 4) Promotion of cultural exchange - The introduction and practice of traditional Japanese cultural activities such as cooking, music and arts 5) Home stays and Home visits - Acting as hosts for foreign students, residents and visitors from sister cities Among these activities, Japanese language classes and the annual speech contest started in 1991 are widely known by most people in Hitachi. The Sakura-award, the 1st place and other awards are chosen by the votes of a large audience. The comments by a guest speaker and the audiencesf impression or remarks are put together by Sakura members and are given to the participants later. As for Home visits, some foreigners, who live in Japan for several years and yet had no chance to visit Japanese homes, expressed how happy they were to be invited to a Japanese home for the first time. The wording gInternational Exchangeh might lead you to overestimate the scope of Sakurafs activities, in actual fact, .Sakura has been maintained by the persistent efforts of its members. Each member takes charge of the work according to their own capabilities. They act on the principle that even the smallest effort will be helpful to someone somewhere. This would be a great opportunity for you to enlighten yourself by taking part in a variety of activities and by being responsible for overseeing different aspects of the groupfs work. Therefore Sakura would be most happy to welcome you as a new member of its organization. |
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