austraLasia #2687 Twenty years on - recognition for educational work for
Brazilian immigrants to Japan
TOKYO: 6 August 2010 -- Celebrations of the 20th anniversary of
the day when Japan permitted Brazilians of Japanese descent to enter,
work and settle in the country of their forbears in large numbers, have
included an award for the special and significant efforts of the
Salesians who, under the direction of Fr Evaristo Higa at the time,
then subsequently Frs Angel Yamanouchi and Oscar Padovan, developed an
outreach to Brazilian migrants in Hamamatsu, culminating in the
development, this year, of the Cimatti Institute. But we will let
Fr Padovan tell the story...
"Given the financial crisis in Japan through 2008-9,
one of the communities most affected was the migrant community and in
particular the Brazilians. Families were left without work, kids
dropped out of school. In 2009 the Salesian community in Hamamatsu with
the support of the Japan Province responded to these circumstances,
reaching out to hundreds of families to provide basic necessities and
giving special attention to young people of school age through what
came to be termed the School Support Project. In 2010 this formalised
into the Cimatti Institute which continues to provide emergency
educational assistance.
An interesting feature of this project has been the
wholehearted support of the Salesian Brazilian Schools Network (a
highly organised network involving all five provinces). They offered
the Cimatti Institute all school textbooks for free.
The Brazilian Government wanted to recognise the
work of the Salesians at Hamamatsu and have awarded them a certificate
of recognition at a ceremony at UNU this past week. _________________ AustraLasia is an
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