Farewell Party for 09IEC(B)

09IEC(B) group had their farewell party just by themselves and MTEC/JICE staffs.
There, our big brother and father made a touching speech. I asked for the script.
Here it goes:


REMARKS FROM THE PARTICIPANTS OF IEC(B) IN HEALTH SECTOR ON THE
CLOSING PARTY 15TH APRIL 2010

Chief Instructor, Tom Maekawa
Course Leader, Naoko Nakama
Course Coordinator, Terruya Naomi
MTEC Instructors and Colleagues
I feel honoured to have this opportunity to address this gathering of participants and instructors of IEC (B) in Health Sector 2009. This closing party is crucial because it provides opportunity for us to mutually discuss issues and share experiences with our instructors before we part to our countries.
Let me thank the organisers and sponsors of the course for without them we wouldn’t meet in this room today. Kindly therefore, extend our gratitude to JICA for the investments into our studies in Japan. I would also wish to record our appreciation to JICE particularly MTEC IEC instructors for their diligence and efforts to impart knowledge and skills on us and for the work well done. Some of us have attended several courses on these subjects but surely we have achieved new knowledge and skills during these three months stay. Your methods of facilitation are very fascinating and I think some of us will emulate. At this juncture, I would like to thank my fellow participants for their attendance and active participation for the whole three months.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This party is timely organised. I say timely because every participant would like to socialise with instructors and also shake hands of fare well with them. Allow me, therefore, to say few things and our feelings about the course and our instructors. I’ll start by telling a very short story!
“A daughter tells her mother how everything is going wrong for her;
She probably failed her Math exam,
In times so sad, a good mother knows just the thing to cheer up her daughter... “I make a delicious cake.” In that moment the mother hugged her daughter and walked her to the kitchen, while her daughter attempted to smile
Her mother asks,
“Sweetheart, would you like a piece of cake?” Her daughter replies, “Sure,mom, you know how I love cake.” The mother prepared the utencils and ingredients,
The mother said, Alright Its ready; “Drink some of this cooking oil.” Shocked, the daughter responded, “What?!? No way! The mother continued; How about a couple of raw eggs?” The daughter responded, “Are you kidding?” “How about a little flour?” “No, mom,responded the daughter, I’ll be sick!”
The mother finaly said to her,
“All of these things are uncooked and taste bad, but if you put them together They make a delicious cake
Dear Instructors,
When we started we were very much worried! 1st of our families we left behind; and second, about the training; whether our expectations would be met, and also about what is that we are learning?
I’m sure you could see every one’s face on the first day when you begun instructions by issuing the Pre-test. Almost, two thirds of participants failed! But as parents you cheered us up and assured us not to worry! Knowing that we love the course as the way the daughter loved the cake, you distributed the Lesson Plan to us. Quickly we perused the curriculum as well the syllabus and on seeing the components and elements of the course, we became shocked! Many of us thought that adult learning does not need that many details. To us the curriculum painted the picture of the cooking oil, raw eggs and the flour. But thank you because even with our signs of not being ready you went on preparing the ingredients to bake the cake from Media literacy to PCM-PDM.
Nana and Naomi san! At times, when you were putting together the ingredients of the cake we were busy with computer monitors! We understand we have exerted too much pressure on your day to day tasks to the extent that we feel ashamed. Our memories are still full of the Tokyo trip where you put aside your role as instructors and coordinators and became more of mothers. In places you had to divide among yourselves to satisfy our personal interests, taking us long trips to other cities. We still remember our visits in Okinawa, in which we placed requests along the way and you would accept and change the route for us to view heritages. To you we feel very much indebted! Nevertheless, without your knowledge we learnt a lot from you! The Team spirit between you two is worth taping. We hope and wish this to continue throughout your working with JICE for the benefit of all future courses.
Tom san, Let us admit that at the beginning we thought we will be lost by your topics and instructions. But as we went along we could see light at the end of the tunnel, that ID and ISD was the cogwheel of the whole IEC course. Thank you for continuing building the cake, for even when we showed you plainly that we were losing interest you went on signalling that without these topics, achievement of our desired objectives will be questionable. Thank you so much for the patience and endurance.
Nashimura and Kiyuna san, we were all anxious to learn more about Digital Photo and Video shooting and editing. Many of us felt, the topics were new, long and hard to grasp. However your way of teaching; calmly, logically, step by step, we finally all got through. But we still feel that we over disturbed you, because each individual participant needed your assistance and assurance even after completion of your topics. So you would rush from one participant to another without a feeling of being tired. We thank you for your diligence, patience and helping hand.
Uramoto san, we have already said a lot about you. We thank you for always remembering us and your readiness to help, even though you’re away from MTEC.
Fumiyo and Yuka, always behind the good work, there people behind the scenes doing the donkey work. Fumiyo you have been behind what we are seeing today as a success! Yuka for these few days we stayed with you have demonstrated your ability to become a very good and unique instructor. To all of you we say keep it up and thank you for your corporation.
Colleagues,
Let me take this time now to remind you that the IEC in Health Sector cake is baked by our MTEC Instructors and is ready. For all of us to enjoy the sweetness of the cake, I request you to make this course a starter and catalyst to instigate us to use any means available to keep on learning and sharing experience about IEC. Let us use this course as a platform for networking; and let us assure our Instructors that no matter how bitter the ingredients of the cake will be in the field, we will always strive to demonstrate that we are specialist trained by MTEC; and do not give up easily. ARIGATO GOZAIMAS
SAYONARA!!!!!!!!!!!