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Strengthening
Ourselves and Our Civil Society
The role of the Tokyo Office of
Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) is to support its domestic and overseas field staff. It
is also responsible for attracting supporters and raising the funds necessary
to maintain our relief activities. PWJ aims to develop itself as a responsible
Non- Governmental O rganization. At the same time, it works for the healthy growth
of civil society, including PWJ itself, in which citizens share responsibility
for the public good. PWJ carried out various activities during FY2004 towards
the achievement of these aims.
Pursuing Accountability for Building Trust
PWJ believes that trust is the most important factor for an NGO that provides
emergency relief. It is not possible to carry out our activities without the trust
of beneficiaries. And without trust, it is not possible for our supporters to
entrust PWJ with their donations. In order to build trust, PWJ places the utmost
importance on accountability and the provision of accurate information.
Effective use of the Internet
PWJ has long given attention to the Internet because it enables us to reach a
wide spectrum of people. PWJ now provides updated information on its activities
and various programs promptly, through its homepage and email magazine. In the
cases of the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake and the Sumatra Earthquake and Indian
Ocean Tsunami, PWJ supplied up-to-date information in both Japanese and English
immediately following the events. Many people accessed this information.
Interactive feed-back sessions
The Tokyo Office of PWJ holds feed-back sessions, called "Afternoon Coffee"
and "Evening Coffee", for the public every month. PWJ staff members
who have recently returned from relief assignments abroad attend as speakers,
while the audience listens over a cup of PWJ's fair trade coffee. A total of 260
people participated in these sessions in FY2004. These sessions, designed to inform
the participants about PWJ's activities, have become a forum for communication
among PWJ staff and supporters. In collaboration with the business sector, institutions
and schools, PWJ also sponsored 53 lectures and presentations to report on PWJ
activities.
School Projects in Japan
The future of Japan, as well as the world, depends on our children. PWJ wants
children, who are open to new ideas, to learn about what is happening in the world
and know that there are children who live in conflict and poverty but who still
cling to hope. To achieve this aim, PWJ focuses on school children through itseSchool
Projectf. Lecturers attend schools to present PWJ's international relief
activities. Students on school field trips also visit the PWJ headquarters in
Tokyo. PWJ was able to reach 2100 students from 44 schools during FY2004. |
Fund Raising for Continuous Support
What PWJ emphasizes most is the
need for continuous support of those who have overcome an initial emergency but
who are still struggling to become selfsustaining. To be able to help these people
stand on their own feet, we require ongoing financial assistance through regular
donations and membership fees.
Systems that facilitate donations
Emergency situations occur out of the blue. The Sumatra Earthquake and Indian
Ocean Tsunami shocked Japanese people who were in vacation mode at the year's
end. This was also the case with the earthquake in Iran that happened on the same
day in 2003. By providing various ways of donating, including internet donations,
which were introduced in 2004, PWJ was able to meet the wishes of those citizens
who wanted to give their support for relief work in affected areas, even when
financial institutions were closed. The funds donated enabled PWJ to carry out
prompt and effective emergency relief activities.
Expansion of sales of fair-trade goods
Fair trade is a business practice in which products made in developing countries
are purchased at fair prices to increase the income received by the producers.
PWJ wants as many people as possible to enjoy participating in international relief
activities by purchasing fair trade goods. For this purpose, in October 2004,
PWJ upgraded its on-line "Peace Winds Shop" where fair trade products
including "Peace Coffee" (produced in East Timor and Guatemala), original
T-shirts, and calendars, among other items, are sold. New products added to the
website include goods made in areas where PWJ provides relief. A credit card payment
system has also been introduced. The network of those who are interested in our
international relief and fair
trade activities has expanded considerably.
Widening the Network of Co-operation
The Tokyo Office of PWJ carried out a variety of cooperative activities in 2004
in collaboration with the business sector and various other organizations, and
involving many supporters.
Earthquake-triggered co-operation
Co-operative projects expanded significantly after the Sumatra Earthquake and
the Indian Ocean Tsunami. A restaurant chain covering the whole of Japan gave
donations collected at its 1350 stores to PWJ. The number of companies and stores
who collected donations has increased drastically. Internet search engines provided
lists of links to emergency relief organizations such as PWJ. Major airline companies
offered free tickets to those who left Japan in order to carry out emergency relief
activities. A variety of companies and organizations co-operated with us in our
international operation, each taking advantage of their respective strengths.
Joint effort to send stationery to Sierra Leone
In Sierra Leone, there is a severe shortage of stationery. Children use one or
two pieces of paper repeatedly, keeping them in a plastic bag and erasing many
times what they have written. Although PWJ normally procures goods for relief
work in the affected area, in March 2004 it shipped 750 kg of stationery from
Japan to Sierra Leone. This was made possible because various associations and
businesses supplied a great quantity of pencils, notebooks and erasers, while
an international express air company offered free transportation. Spurred on by
a newspaper article reporting this activity, a local magazine publisher in Tokushima
Prefecture has started to regularly donate part of their sales to support our
work in Sierra Leone.
Medical treatment in Japan for Iraqi children
In co-operation with a medical organization, which has an interest in extending
medical support to Iraq, PWJ invited two children from northern Iraq with serious
heart disease to visit Japan. The purpose of this project was not only to provide
the children with treatment for their heart disease, but also to increase enthusiasm
among people in both Japan and Iraq for the reconstruction of medical services
in Iraq. One of the children was a seven-year old boy named Howker and the other
was an 11-year old girl named Madena. Both underwent surgery and received treatment
at a hospital in Tokyo. Many PWJ's volunteer workers looked after the children
affectionately and played with them while they were in hospital and during their
rehabilitation so that the children and their families would feel at ease. Both
Howker and Madena made full recoveries and returned home to Iraq.
Citizen Advocacy and Participation
Japanese volunteers were taken hostage in Iraq in April 2004. At that time there
was criticism of volunteers, with comments such as "Why did they dare go
when the Japanese Government had issued a recommendation to Japanese citizens
to leave Iraq?" At this time, we felt that the old Japanese idea, "whatever
is important will be decided by those higher up than us" ( i.e. by the government
), still survives today. We believe that it is important for citizens to take
part in decision-making and share responsibility for the public good. While PWJ's
first priority is the safety of its staff, we believe there are ways in which
international relief work can be more effectively carried out by NGOs. This is
the reason that PWJ continues to conduct its relief activities in places of conflict.
However, at the same time, there remains many problems in the environment that
surrounds NGOs. In many cases, donations made to NGOs and NPOs by citizens and
businesses to support their activities are not tax deductible.* Thus donations
are not encouraged, limiting the growth of NGOs and NPOs.
*Out of Japan's total of 20,350 NGOs and NPOs, only 29 can
receive tax deduction benefit, as of January 2005.
The objective of PWJ is to play a unique role in the provision of relief to people
in need, as well as to create a society that is led by its citizens. Based on
that vision, PWJ continued to strive in 2004 to provide information through lectures
and the mass media, to co-operate with local NGOs, and to help manage "Japan
Platform", an international aid system jointly organized by NGOs, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the business world, and others. |
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