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Winds Japan 2-11-5 Sakurashinmachi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0015 Japan Telephone: +81-3-5451-5400 Facsimilie: +81-3-5451-5401 www.peace-winds.org meet@peace-winds.org |
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Special Appreciation to |
| Annual Report FY2002 Top Message From the Chairperson Iraq and Afghanistan Mongolia Indonesia East Timor Sierra Leone Activities in Japan Focusing on the Future Major Activities in FY2002 List of Overseas Offices Time Line Organizational Structure Financial Statement for FY2002 PWJ English Top |
| Indonesia Capacity Building, In Coalition with Local NGOs Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) established its Jakarta Office in January 2001. In a country with frequent natural disasters and highly sensitive issues, such as religious or ethnic conflicts and separatist movements, PWJ is working to assist the local community gain self-reliance. Since the Asian Economic Crisis in 1977, rise in unemployment rates, illiteracy, and street children is apparent. Political tension also persists even after the Suharto Regime ended its 32-year reign in 1998. Under such circumstances, PWJ has conducted emergency relief in response to the all-too-frequent natural disasters and made improvements to address social problems in the capital vicinity.  Under administrations
following the Suharto Regime, Indonesia experienced large-scale decentralization,
which prompted many local NGOs to actively engage in searching resolutions to
social problems. One of their primary foci is community development, where they
work on issues critical to the population's stable livelihood, such as poverty
alleviation and the improvement of hygienic and educational standards. Their efforts
toward regional stability also help to avoid conflicts within communities. The vital point is to strengthen the capabilities of local NGOs and local residents to resolve problems independently. If the local community continues to rely on aid from outside, it will never become capable of finding individual solutions to local problems, and the community as a whole will become brittle. Taking this into account, PWJ does not directly assist local residents, but works as a partner in collaboration with local NGOs. Our partner groups manage most daily activities, while PWJ provides indirect support such as monitoring or strategic advice. We hope that such an approach will also lead to the capacity building of local NGOs.  In Indonesia,
we are also working to maintain a favorable relationship between the local community
and the Japanese population. Among the regions where PWJ is active, Indonesia
has a relatively large number of Japanese residents. Taking this into account,
PWJ's Jakarta Office has, since its establishment, endeavored to publicize its
activities through local Japanese media. Additionally, in 2002, in collaboration
with volunteer groups of Japanese residents, we held a charity concert for the
purpose of raising concern for children's rights. In this way, we hope to develop
mutual understanding and rapport between the local community and the Japanese
population. |
