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The scope
of APU student aid efforts expanded to also include Ritsumeikan
University, and students were invited to participate in a program
for the Indian Ocean tsunami relief. Ritsumeikan students quickly
formed a committee to overseer reconstruction projects for elementary
schools in disaster-stricken regions. Efforts for this progressed
in cooperation with the support of the Ai-no-Nami group. At the
Entrance Ceremony held on April 5 a presentation was given regarding
activities by committee members and the Ai-no-Nami Chairperson
MEHTA Mukul (GSM-MBA 2). New students were invited to join and
take part in the aid efforts. |
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An
Interview with
the Representative of Ai-no-Nami |
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MEHTA Mukul
(GSM-MBA 2, India)
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When I heard news of the tsunami I discussed
with my fellow students what we could do to help the disaster-stricken
areas; such as giving dance performances dressed in ethnic
costumes and collecting donations. We were a little unsure
of ourselves at the start, but we collected a lot more money
than we had first anticipated, and really proved to ourselves
that we could do it. We named the group Ai no Nami, which translates
as "A wave of love", expressing the "wave" of
aid from Japan across national borders to affected areas.
During
our fundraising efforts, there were some special requests,
such as students from Thailand and Indonesia wanting to use
donated money specifically for assisting
disaster victims in their homelands. After several discussions we agreed to donate
everything to the Japanese Red Cross so that the money could be distributed evenly
to help the many nations affected by the disaster. We all share the common
objective of helping each other, and our success has been due to our ability
to work together with this goal in mind.
We hope the Ai no
Nami group will be able to provide aid across the globe-
not only for the tsunami relief. The founding members are leaving the group because
of graduation and job-hunting, so we are currently seeking new members who sympathize
with the goals of our activities. If you are interested I urge you to visit our
website at
http://www.apu.ac.jp/tsunami/
and help us spread A Wave of Love across the world. |
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Presentation
for Incoming Students Given
Jointly with Ritsumeikan University Students |
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