4 .KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE ACQUIRED IN JAPAN

Japan is an enormous country with intelligent and respectable people, beautiful sites and automobiles. The people always hustling and bustling to be on time; Japanese are very punctual. Very sad for lateness, and always polite. Most importantly, very accessible, to people with disabilities, unlike many countries.

In my personal workshop I had a lecture by Mr. Kasumi, who talked about volunteers and volunteer network. He gave us an insight of volunteering and showed the benefits of it. What interested me more was the social interaction between a child with disability and an able bodied person. How you don't have to educate a volunteer at first; let him learn by first hand experience, then he can decide whether he stays or not.

Then I visited Tomo, a center for children with disabilities. Their concept is big and very useful. There the parents can take their child and leave them in good hands. Then the children have a personal assistant who will play with them, read stories, what ever they require. Then in the afternoon they to their art class, where they all participate in a big mural painting, then their own. By doing this they socialize and channel their sadness through colors. Also, Tomo has a program where the children can stay over night if their parents have to leave in an emergency or want to go out.

These are all great and useful ideas but because I'm beginning a new project, I'll use only one idea, the art idea. Then maybe in the future use others.

Then, I had a talk by Mr. Yokoyama on leadership of a person with disabilities. We had a chat and observation at Hands Setagaya. He expressed the problems PWD's have and how they have to struggle to make their voices be heard. Then he and his wife invited me to their house to see how they lived. I was impressed how they shared and love one another, especially since both have a disability.

To conclude, I must say that I am grateful to be given this opportunity. I'll go home with lots of special memories; with so much useful ideas. But most of all, to have met and made friends with wonderful Japanese people.