We Are Tomodachi Winter 2018

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33laundry areas―by themselves. This created momentum among the camp residents to improve their living environment. Also, infectious diseases and waterborne diseases spread easily in crowded camps, making it essential to maintain sanitary conditions on a daily basis. JEN recruited and trained volunteer hygiene promoters from the refugees. The hygiene promoters developed hygiene promotion activities to raise awareness and educate children, training them on how to wash their hands and brush their teeth and thereby prevent disease.One of the hygiene promoters encouraged Kuroki by saying, “Participating in JEN’s activities has given me a real place in the life of the camp. I am so happy I can contribute to the community. I have also made new friends.”Kuroki and her team hold a journalist-training workshop and vocational training to give hope for the future to young people facing a prolonged stay in the camp. This effort has borne fruit, as the young journalists now issue a monthly magazine called THE ROAD that disseminates useful information to camp residents.“The magazine’s readers and the young people that publish it are refugees that have fled from the war. The fact that many of their fellow camp dwellers look forward to their magazine has given these young journalists a reason to live. Being sensitive to the needs of the community and the conditions of the people’s hearts and minds, along with supporting their efforts towards self-reliance, is what we place great value in. Knowing one has a role to play gives life meaning, something that every person desires. Regardless of nationality, religion, or place in life, we can empathize with the refugees, from their anxiety to their hope. This sense I feel through our activities, that the world can become one, empowers me,” concludes Kuroki.Capital city: AmmanZarqaMa’anMafraqAjlounJerashIrbidKarakBalqa②⑧③④⑭❻⑩❹⑬⑪⑥⑨⑫❶⑤❷①❸⑦❺Ongoing Projects❶Afghanistan❷Iraq❸Pakistan❹Tohoku❺Jordan❻KumamotoCompleted Projects①Former Yugoslavia②Iran③India④Mongolia⑤Chechnya⑥Eritrea⑦Lebanon⑧Indonesia⑨Myanmar⑩Niigata⑪South Sudan⑫Nepal⑬Haiti⑭Sri LankaMore than 5 million people have fled their homeland due to the Syrian civil war. The number of these refugees in Jordan has reached 660,000. In addition to its work in Za'atari Camp (near Mafraq), set up in a desert area about 13 km (8 mi) from the Syrian border, JEN is implementing support activities in cities that have received refugees such as Amman and Irbid.JEN has completed 14 projects thus far, and is currently implementing support activities in Jordan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Japan (Tohoku and Kumamoto).Project in JordanJEN project mapThe media projects of JEN, in addition to producing magazines, transmit videos produced by refugees to the world. "Flowers Blooming in the Desert" was nominated as a finalist in the United For Peace Film Festival 2016. ©Kenichi TanakaWith the slogan "My family and another family," the women started activities to help each other such as delivering meals to vulnerable households in the camp. "This Syrian spirit is similar to omotenashi, or Japanese hospitality," notes a local staff member. ©JEN