ページの本文です。

Vietnam Study Tour Report

2013年9月7日更新

（At Orphanage）

I participated in the Vietnam Study Tour from September 1 through 7, 2013. It was my first trip to Vietnam and offered me the opportunity to learn firsthand about this country that is advancing through economic growth but is still designated as a developing country. Moreover, the trip was a chance to think deeply about peace, healthcare, education, and welfare as well as about the issues that Vietnam faces and the differences between Japan and Vietnam.

（Gathering with students of the Ho Chi Minh City University
of Medicine and Pharmacy）

During our week there, we visited the War Remnants Museum, an orphanage, a hospital, a kindergarten, and a shelter for street children. At each of the service facilities, we saw the people’s circumstances and conducted interviews. On the third day, my group changed buses and visited an orphanage for children from newborns through age 17 who have HIV. There is a school on the orphanage property so we were able to observe classes. We also had an opportunity to spend time with preschool children. They were really lively and energetic and they seemed to me no different at all from Japanese children. I felt sad when I learned during our later visit to a kindergarten that they were comparatively thin overall, rarely saw their families, and suffered from severe prejudice against persons with HIV. I was encouraged, though, by the great love of the orphanage staff for the children.

（At Green Bamboo Warm Shelter）

By actually going to Vietnam, I was able to get a sense of the rhythm of life there and to see the lifestyle of the Vietnamese people firsthand. These are things that you cannot learn through books and other media. Moreover, during our discussions, we shared new issues that we had sensed. In these ways, we enhanced our understanding of Vietnam. We were also able to deepen our friendship with the students of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy who were our interpreters.。

I would like to thank Professor Sakakihara, Ms. Muramatsu, Ms. Komada, and the others who arranged this study tour as well as everyone who assisted us in Vietnam for this valuable experience.

（Hanae Kimijima, First-Year Student,
Liberal Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Letters and Education）