Thank you for your continued support and encouragement for the "Living Kindly with Neighbors" Western Japan Study Tour donation campaign.

In August, we shared "self-introduction videos of our rural community leaders," filmed in Japanese, on our official social media.

see the August 3rd report

Continuing on from that, since September began we've been sharing, in reels and stories on Instagram and Facebook, the voices of the supporters who stand behind ARI and its participants.

What we ourselves come to see, by supporting the rural community leaders

If the participants' voices show what these rural community leaders are facing, the supporters' voices show something else: what we ourselves come to see, by supporting them.

Rie Yokota (Support Funding Partner, Host Family; Chairperson, Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School Parents' Association) Ms. Yokota, who hosted our participant Nu from Myanmar this year, shared this: "Learning about ARI — an institution devoted to the earth, to the future, and to our neighbors — changed my outlook on life."

Chieko Arakawa (ARI Commuting Volunteer; Committee Member, Laudato Si' Desk, Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan) Ms. Arakawa titled her message "A Place to Become Neighbors": "ARI is a place where encountering diversity — and discovering yourself in the process — can nurture a heart that seeks tolerance and harmony."

Mei Goto (Support Funding Partner; Representative, Doshisha University ARI Project "duari") "I truly believe in the possibility that they will return home and create change in their communities."

Rev. Ikuko Williams (Anglican Priest; Representative, ICU Reconciliation Forum) "This summer too, I spent two nights and three days at ARI with university students from ICU. They were moved by the warmth and dedication to learning of the ARI participants, who come from 14 countries."

Takafumi Miyake (Support Funding Partner, ARI Commuting Volunteer)

see the August 20th report

"I truly believe that these experiences will leave a lasting impression on Participants' hearts, travel back with them to their home countries, and contribute to a brighter future."

Han Sakawa (Support Funding Partner, 2023 Volunteer) "Having the chance to face the people and history we meet on the Study Tour, and the questions they raise, becomes the driving force for feeling our neighbor's story as our own, and giving that back to the community."

Kanji Yamada (ARI Supporter, Nakameguro Church) "Nakameguro Church and ARI have been bound by a deep connection since ARI's founding. The church's second pastor, Kentaro Takema, served on ARI's board and supported the school's work. Every year, our 'Asia Sunday' tradition invites participants from overseas to the church — through Sunday services and homestays, this exchange has become a valuable opportunity for church members to learn peace education and the practice of service."

Looking at the seven voices we've shared since September began, one thing becomes clear: to support is both an act of helping someone far away, and an opportunity for the supporter to newly encounter the world.

About Our Support Funding Partners

"Support Funding Partner" is a way for schools, organizations, and individuals to launch their own sub-campaigns and spread the word about the Western Japan Study Tour within their own networks. Five people are currently taking part, four of whom are among the voices introduced above:

• Rie Yokota (Chairperson, Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School Parents' Association): sub-campaign (JA)
• Mei Goto (Representative, Doshisha ARI Project "duari"): sub-campaign (JA)
• Takafumi Miyake (Commuting Volunteer): sub-campaign (JA) / activity report (EN)
• Han Sakawa (2023 Volunteer): sub-campaign (JA)
• Tetsuro Nagata (Teacher, Ai-nou Gakuen Agricultural High School; Study Tour Host, Iga): sub-campaign (JA)

Mr. Nagata, who teaches at Ai-nou Gakuen Agricultural High School, shared this: "Through their exchange with ARI, [our students] get to hear living words — the kind you can't get from the internet or media — from young people around the world confronting the most fundamental challenges of human life, like hunger and poverty. It has become an opportunity to encounter a world they didn't know before."

Support and shares through each of these sub-campaigns make a real difference, too.

What world does supporting these rural community leaders show you? We'll continue welcoming your support and messages of encouragement through September 30th.