Welcoming 09DVP!

While I am missing my participants in Africa, the new training group in MTEC is alreay in Okinawa. Yes, it's time to say "Welcome to MTEC!".

The training course of 09DVP will start next week.

At the moment, the participants of the group are in General Orientation. Prior to that, the Briefing Session was held by Madame Maekawa.

Dear 09DVP members! Welcome to MTEC!

MTEC hopes all of you to have a fruitful stay in Okianwa!

Family Expansion from MTEC

A sterk brought Tokumura family a baby girl on May 8.
She was named Benika, a pretty name.

May God bless Benika chan and her family.


I'd like to place the photo... Please give some, Tokumura san!

News from the Philippines

This is Joselito Asi from the Philippines. This week, I received a message from him with such a great news!

Hi MTEC-HQ,

I am so happy today, I just passed the 2009 Licensure Examination for Teachers here in the Philippines. My training at OIC helped me a lot because my major of specialization is Business Technology and different computer related questions were asked during the board examination. Thanks to all my sensei's at OIC.

Lito san

Congratulations, Lito san!
We are so proud of you!

News from Samoa

This is Junior Gale from Samoa. He was in 08dvp course. Last week I got a message from him through facebook (I am a member of facebook) to ask for the basic material on Dreamweaver.
He has been requested to be an instructor of web production at his office! How nice!
We are very happy to hear that kind of news from you. We are more than happy if your life has been expanded to further stage because of your experience in MTEC.

Stay blessed!

Information of MTEC JFY2009

Here are the list of MTEC training courses planned in Japan's fiscal year 2009 (April 2009 - March 2010).

Here is the legend:
X. Name of the training course
Designated dates of arrival - departure of Japan
Nominated countries (numbers, basically 1)

1. Digital Video Production for Dissemination and Enlightenment
May 12 - August 28
Botswana, Myanmar, Solomon Islands, El Salvador(2), Honduras(2),
Panama(2), Kenya, and Bhutan (2)

2. Media Strategy for Community Enlightenment
August 25 - December 18
Bhutan(2), Nepal(2), Sri Lanka(2), Solomon Islands, El Salvador(2),
Botswana, and Ethiopia

3. Information, Education and Communication (IEC) in Health Sector (A)
September 1 - December 16
Pakistan(2), Dominican Republic(2), Honduras(2), Ghana(2),
Kenya(2), and Myanmar

4. Information, Education and Communication (IEC) in Health Sector (B)
January 12 - April 22
China, Martial Islands, Guatemala, Mexico, Jordan,
Yemen, Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, and Niger

Please understand that:
1. These countries are already fixed, so cannot be changed,
2. First contact should be made to the "J" office of your country, in case
you want to send your colleague to MTEC or to add your country from next year.

Thanks for the wonderful essay, Ritah!

Ritah Mwagale is a participant in 08IEC(B) course from Uganda. She has been treated as a baby sister in 2008IEC(B), simply because she is the youngest member. She wrote this beautiful essay for us a little before she left Okinawa.
Someone started to smile, some others bursted into laughter...but anyway we are all glad to read it.
I'd like to share this feeling with you, so upon her approval, I'd like to post it.

If MTEC Family were African...

For the first time, MTEC opened up its doors to a course attended by only Africans. And in light of that, I am tempted to think of MTEC in the African way.

In Africa like any other continent, family plays a key role in one’s life. Family is the basic unit from which one’s behavior and norms are shaped.

As a result, family in Africa is very influential to one’s life. So big is family that it moves beyond the simple father-mother and children structure to include grandparents, aunties and uncles, nieces and nephews.

I am sure each MTEC participant was at one time in their lives sent to live with an uncle or grandparent or lived with any of the two in their homes.
Therefore, the key question I am going to attempt to ask is. What role would each MTEC participant play suitably if we were in an African setting?

The family would be considered wealthy because there would be a big homestead consisting of two homes…MTEC Studio and MTEC computer room. And we would alternate in between homes depending on the season...whether wet or dry :)

Not only that, the community would look up to this family because the children (who are the participants) would be very educated. It is not a common occurrence to see 3 doctors in the same family, health communicators and a journalist!

The family would be blessed to have a sweet, caring and very humorous mother. Nana- San. She would be respected for having boys. Because they would be very instrumental in mowing the grass of our homesteads and protecting us in the night. Brother Sita would be greatly in charge of this.

Our family would also be a happy one because we would have a caring Uncle Miyagi-San who would always keep us abreast on whatever innovations are happening around us. This would make bon fires so much exciting. As we would be taken through each innovation after another. Sister Boi would punctuate each story with “ayii.

While Brother Yacouba would quickly browse through his dictionary for the meaning and nod his head affirmatively!

Chiho-san would at times come and help him out in French and we would all look in awe!! And say “S.u.n.i.m.a.s.e.n, how do we say this or that in French”

In so many ways, we would be a model family because not only would all of us know how to shoot and edit photographs courtesy of uncles Kiyuna and Nishimura, we would have advanced techniques in Karate. The females especially Sister Grace would not be messed with.

Uncle Uramoto…oh my God, where to start! He would always add a twist of humour in our everyday life. During lazy hot afternoons, he would go under the big mango tree in the centre of the compound and call all children to join him. Sisters May and Saha would be the first to join him. There, they would learn how to make kites and all other fun things. Suzie would sit beside them and laugh all through the whole thing. In case any of them said they couldn’t do it, she would say “girl, be strong…man!”

Of all the children, Patta would be the most mischievous but his innocent look would let him get away with it. And in his place, Mosille would take all the canes from mama Nana!

The whole family would look forward to public holidays because that’s when uncle Maekawa would treat us to his various humorous escapades as we all sit by the fire place. We would hear stories of different types of ‘nese” and under table negotiations. He would however also be serious and bring us to book regarding our studies. He would then let Uncle Tokumura to do formative and summative evaluations of whether his lectures improved our learning behaviour.

And I yours truly, would each day sit by the rock behind the house “in Uganda” and look after the goats as I make my journal entries.

Thanks Ritah for this wonderful contribution.

Well, this group has really been like one family - family of Africa.
I'm really happy to be your "mother" - now nobody call me "a sister" any more, but it's OK.- and so much proud of you as MTEC graduates! Thanks to the Internet, we can remain as one family. Stay blessed!

Click here for another post about Ritah - she is the very first participant from Uganda.

Congratulations 08IEC(B)!

Al long last this day has come - the closing of 08IEC(B) Course.
First in the morning, the evaluation meeting was held. Each participant received the transcript and the comments from MTEC and administrative staff.
Then the Closing Ceremony was offered.
Your big brother Tom made a speech.
The representative of the participants was Boitshoko from Botswana.
Now you are IEC experts! The end of the training is the start of your new challenge!

Farewell party, anyway...

On April 17, the farewell party was organized by IEC(B)08 participants.
It was the party filled with African taste.
Thanks for organizing such a memorable gathering.

Monday, 6pm @MTEC studio

Where have all the boys gone?

Stress Buster 2

It's Friday.
Yes, TGIF!!!

This week, the participants worked so hard, even harder than previous weeks.
Thinking, typing, thinking, thinking, having consulation, modifying, bla, bla...
So much staying in front of computer.

Why not having outing tonight??
We are going to "kaiten zushi - rotating sushi" place as the stress buster 2.

OK, show up at front B at 6pm.
There are no pre- and post-tests.

Stress Buster 1

Do you believe MTEC participant had "a kite flying" session during the training period?
I confess you they did....



Well, I consider "stress buster" is important to everyone.
Especially at this time of the training, the final production, the participants are really under pressure and stress.
And they could not fly their kites when we went to Meio University last week because of the rain then.
So why not today?

Well, if you want to see the practice, just click below.


Suzie

Sita

Mosille

May

Yacouba and Uramoto

Ritah

Sahadatou

Grace

Patta

Boi

Final Production

Well, the subject has already started, though, this week is the real start of it, I assume. Too much interruption last week...

The participants are doing "Problem Analysis", while some of them had the first consultation with Uramoto san.

I'll put a photo of Sita having the consultation.

"Culture of Africa through Health Education"

An International symposium titled "Culture of Africa through Health Education" was held at Meio University located in Nago City.
The participants of IEC(B)2008 were requested to conduct a workshop there.

Due to the day (Saturday), some participants could not join, but they did assisted the others in preparation. Apart from IEC(B) participants, three of Kumadai participants and other two joined us.

Unfortunately, it was rainy all day. But thanks to the training coordinator Miyagi san, the participants had a nice tour because they could stop at a beer factory in Nago city on the way to Meio University.

Upon arriving, we were welcomed and introduced to the audience.

Workshop 1: West Africa (Namibia and Niger)

Workshop 2: East Africa (Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya)

After the session, we made a photo with the kites we prepared.

We would like to appreciate you for your cooperation and the wonderful workshops.

Follow up started for the ex-participants

The course leaders of Japan's fiscal year 2008, namely Kiyuna san, Nishimura san, and Uramoto san have sent the requests to fill out the form of our lms (Learning Management System).

If you were in those courses, don't miss the chance to report us how you've been doing.

Congratulations, Namibia!

March 21 is the independent day of Namibia.
In MTEC now, we have Suzie from there.

Congratulations for all in Namibia!
In OIC, like the other national days, the flag of the country was shown. The day was Saturday, so it was placed at the entrance of the dining hall, or Shokudo. MTEC is very happy because this blog can tell about the day with the photo with the person from the country.

Additional Inf.
Suzie contributed to MTEC Newsletter Vol.2. Click here to have a view. In case you need to type user-id and password, just let MTEC staff know, but actually they are the codes you've been using to log-in to your action plan.

IEC(B)2008 - Observation Tour to Tokyo

The observation tour of 08iecb course was held from March 12 to March 17.

March 12: Moving from Okinawa to Tokyo


March 13:
Morning->International Medical Center of Japan
Afternoon->AIDS Information Center


March 14: National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation


March 16:Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP)


March 17:
Morning->Meguro Parasitelogical Museum
Afternoon->Moving from Tokyo to Okinawa

Ni Hao!

A wrap-up training for the project in Gansu Province, China on HIV/AIDS Prevention, seven public health doctors are now staying in MTEC.

As the token, the red ribbon pin was given. Xie, Xie.

Click here to link to the project-focused training in 2007.

E-mail from El Salvador

Hello, how are you? I hope everything is ok for you.
Someone send a very nice picture from OIC and Sakura trees, look very nice in this season.
I feel very fine when remember my days in OIC, specially for people like you, please don't change. Last week I was in Cuba, actually I work in one video about system of prevention and I was shooting in this caribean country, is a beautiful place but with many economic problems, but I enjoy and learn from Cuba people.
Have a nice day.
Sincerely,
Judy

PD. I send you some pictures from me in Cuba, one is in the revolution place, and the others in the Malecon, near to the ocean.

Observation on Okinawa Island

Let's go OUT!

It's nice to go for observation to the related facilities during the training.
This time, IEC(B) course visited Health Section, Department of Resident's Welfare, Nanjo City. It is located the southeastern part of the island, and takes about 30 minutes from OIC.

We were welcomed by Mr. Juntatsu Takaesu, the chief of Health Secion.

After each participant made self introduction in Nihongo(Japanese language!), we had two-hour lecture titled Health Promotion Projects in Najo City.

The lecture was really significant, especially in terms of "prevention of diseases" and "participatory approach by local community association".

Say "Nanjo! (instead of cheese)" - Mr. Juntatsu Takaesu and 08IEC(B) participants -


After lunch break at Haebaru JUSCO, we had an observation of Dental checkup of 2.5 years old infants of the city.
Though it was named "Dental checkup", the session covers physical and mental development checks, nutrition counseling, etc.

Clay Animation

Woops! I happend to find two video clips done by 06dvp participants in the workshop of clay animation. Everyone was involoved to modify materials, then it became like below.





We were guided by Mr. Hiroshi Matayoshi, a genious instructor and creator at Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts.

Still in the joy :)

The Kumadai "Insei -graduate school students" came to MTEC office to meet Maekasa san, our chief instructor and big brother.

He was out to Ishigaki Island to arrange the training for China, so they could not meet on the day they had passed the exam.


They brought a box of cake to show their appreciation. Well, they learned a Japanese custom while they stayed in Okinawa. Not only the knowledge of instructional design, but also Japanese customs they learned.


The cake they brought to MTEC, from Jimmy's. Thanks and Arigato.