24th Ashinaga Student Exchange Program
The four students from the 24th Ashinaga Student Exchange Program have returned to their home safely
after completion of the 3 week exchange program in Los Angeles. A farewell party was held at the Green
Plaza Hotel in Pasadena with 20 guests. The JCCSC President Mr. Toshio Handa who also volunteered as
host family expressed his appreciation to the many supporters. He also encouraged the students to do their
best and presented plaques to them for completing the program. JCCSC have been supporting this worth
while program with ASHINAGA IKUE KAI in Japan for 24 years. This activity is not as well known to the
Japanese community of Los Angeles. The JCCSC will promote the program more within the Japanese
community to educate them about its merits. We hope more Japanese organizations will get involved and
share in this program. The program consisted of visiting and working at the Keiro Retirement Home along
with the many volunteers and experiencing the nursing system. The students also visited school, hospitals,
companies, the police department and the mayor’s office. They also learned first hand about education
for physically and mentally handicapped children and visited an agricultural experimental station. The students also had some fun time to enjoy Disneyland, harvesting strawberries at Ito Farms, and visiting Universal Studios. Their major
concern right now is job search and application in Japan and will be their main focus upon their return.
We sincerely hope that they grow and have more global view toward their job search. There were some
tears during their speeches because they were touched by the warmth and generosity of their host
family and supporters. JCCSC hopes their participation enables them to grow to be a wonderful individuals.
|
Japanese
