16 years since Cyclone Nargis: Lecture at Konan Women’s University [Japan]
On the 2nd of May, SEEDS Asia’s Executive Director Mitsuko Otsuyama was invited as a guest teacher for NGO/NPO Study at Konan Women’s University in Kobe City. This is the fifth occasion that SEEDS Asia is given an opportunity to take part in, thanks to the unit coordinator Ms Hiromi Yamamura, who is also a member of another Kobe-based not-for-profit.
The day marked the 16th anniversary since Cyclone Nargis landed Myanmar. This disaster caused at least 138,366 deaths.
During the lecture, the contexts in relation to this enormous damage to Myanmar society, the support provided by SEEDS Asia since then, and the current situations around children who have been exposed to various risks after the coup, were discussed.
Participating students were encouraged to comment on what kind of public help was available in Japan. The outcome allowed them to imagine what it would be like without such help in a place like current Myanmar, and highlighted the importance of not-for-profit or nongovernmental organizations.
While the lecture featured solely SEEDS Asia’s overseas projects and not ones in Japan, but there do exist a lot of challenges around public help offered in Japan, particularly in the fields of DRR and disaster response. It is hoped that this lecture triggered the participants to think about their surroundings and country in general.
We sincerely thank Ms Yamamura for the continued support by providing the opportunity to meet her students.
