Community "Nihongo Kyoshitsu" Activities Report, vol.5
In our fifth report, we are showcasing a non-profit organization called HATI JAPAN Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Child Development Support (hereinafter, "Hati Japan"), that conducts it activities in the Saginomiya area of Nakano City!
As of December 1, 2022, there were 18,322 foreign residents living in Nakano City (according to a Nakano City survey), accounting for 5.5% of the entire population. While this is less than the average of 20,688 foreigners in Tokyo's districts (per a Tokyo Metropolitan Government survey), Nakano City's foreign population is on an increasing trend.
The Saginomiya area in particular is seeing a gradual increase in the number of foreign residents thanks to affordable land prices and cost of living, in addition to convenient access to Shinjuku via the Seibu-Shinjuku line.
To find out what kind of activities Hati Japan is conducting in the Saginomiya area of Nakano City, we interviewed the NPO's representative, Higashitani-san, and project leader Kubo-san.
Currently, Hati Japan is mainly focusing on efforts to create a place for children with foreign roots and their parents and other caretakers, such as:
Plus Plaza Every first and third Saturday 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Monday ② and ④ Plaza Every second and fourth Thursday 4:00-5:30 p.m.
The children who participate range from preschoolers to elementary and junior high school age, and on busy days, over ten will gather. On the day we visited, people from China and India who live in the neighborhood were there.
Aiming to create a "place" in the community
In April 2022, Hati Japan began its activities in the Saginomiya area with the aim of creating a place in the community. The project was born when the Nakano City Social Welfare Conference invited them to create a place for people in the Saginomiya area that would include foreign residents.
Before relocating to Saginomiya, Hati Japan had an office in Kami-Takada. When Higashitani-san asked the children at that time where they were coming from, quite a few responded that they were coming from Saginomiya by bicycle or train. Unlike the area in the vicinity of Nakano station, where the city office and various commercial facilities are located, Higashitani-san felt it might be difficult for various kinds of welfare services to reach Saginomiya...
In addition to the Nakano City Social Welfare Conference, Hati Japan collaborated with community action groups such as the Association for Nakano International Communications (ANIC) for the launch. As other local organizations are providing opportunities to learn Japanese and other subjects by studying at a desk, Hati Japan decided to focus on creating a place in the community for the children, and to support their learning while doing so. It supports the development of social skills through games and physical play, such as interacting with other children, taking turns, and not getting angry when losing at a game.
A look inside the classroom
For this report, we visited the "Monday ② and ④ Plaza."
Hati Japan skillfully combines times for three different kinds of activities: age-appropriate play time, time for everyone to play a game together, and time for reading aloud from picture books. On the day we were there, time was set aside for a new activity called "Seisaku," when the children could draw pictures on large sheets of craft paper.
Some children drew large Christmas trees and quietly colored them in or decorated them with origami, while others drew pictures of bowls of curry and seemed to be pretending to be shopkeepers.
Other children held crayons in both hands and drew energetically and freely by lying down on the paper and moving their bodies vigorously. Some others were using the craft paper to make a big paper airplane. It was really heartwarming to see their attempts to adjust the folds of the paper and how the planes flew again and again to make the planes fly far.
During the activities, Higashitani-san, Kubo-san, and the volunteers kept a close eye on the children to see how they were spending their time, how they were interacting with one another, and so on. For example, in situations where the children needed to borrow or lend the color of pen they wanted to use, or a pair of scissors, they paid attention to whether the children said things like "lend it to me," "okay," or "please wait." Higashitani-san told us that it's easy to remember words when they are accompanied by actions, and when the children can't say something, the adults who are nearby should come and stand beside them so they can say it together, so they can learn by ear.
After the interview...
What impressed us during the interview was the comment that rather than "instructing" the children, what Hati Japan tries to do is to take note of what the children are able to do as they interact continuously.
After each day's activities are over, all of the staff, including the volunteers, spend about an hour to share and go over how each child seemed to be doing and anything they may have heard from the parents. On the day when we visited, the staff discussed what the children drew on the paper, how they colored their pictures, the way they drew lines and letters, the way they ran, the expressions they used when responding, and more, while also taking into account the children's various stages of development.
Higashitani-san told us, "I want Hati Japan to take root in this community." By becoming familiar with the children and their parents and caretakers, their aspirations are to deepen their understanding of the children from an ongoing perspective, and provide comprehensive support with a clear vision.
A place where children can speak freely and move around spontaneously, a place where parents can enjoy a friendly chat while watching their children... The place that Hati Japan has created will surely be a warm and inviting "place to be" for anyone, at any time.
If you are interested in Hati Japan's activities, be sure to visit the organization's website.
They also post updates on social media!
HATI JAPAN's website: https://www.hatijapan.or.jp/
Creating a "place" in Saginomiya website: https://hatijapan.or.jp/saginomiya/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HatiJapan/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HatiJapan
Please look forward to the next installment!
by.aaa