amjamin

Mao Hosaka, JICA volunteer in Environmental Education at Manchester 4-H Club hands out sticky notes and coloured markers to students of Morgan's Forest Primary School in Clarendon, their task was to write things they are thankful for. Mao Hosaka has perhaps done it all – from delving into the uber megapixels of animation in Tokyo, finding eternal bliss meditating in a temple in Thailand, to kicking up a storm as she brushed up her Muay Thai (Thai boxing) skills, learning Bahasa (the official language of Indonesia), and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. “Even though the work experience didn’t last long, it made me realise that this kind of life in a big city was not for me,” she said. “Since then I started looking for something that I’m passionate about, something I’m happy doing as a part of my life.” In her quest for finding purpose and meaning, Hosaka travelled to Zimbabwe and also volunteered in a wildlife conservation programme in South Africa. Now a Japan International Co...

Excitement resonated in the voices of Shayzan Andriade and William Lewis as they proudly pointed out the numerous jewellery items handcrafted out of wires, twines and coffee beans, explaining the meticulous process. "I took a wire, twisted with pliers and then put coffee beans," explained Lewis, as Andriade, with a gleam in her eyes, clutched a bracelet she made from coffee beans. Shayzan Andriade and William Lewis The budding artists, Lewis and Andriade are part of Chupse, an initiative of The Jamaican Association on Intellectual Disabilities (JAID), to encourage intellectually disabled persons to acquire skill sets, hone their creative acumen and integrate them into the society. "Chupse was conceived as a brand name to sell the fashion jewellery made by persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) by JICA (Japan International Cooperative Agency) volunteers," informed Marilyn McKoy, development officer at JAID. "It was catchy and also summed ...