Award Recipients
Asian Architecture Friendship (AAF)
Introduction to the Award Recipient
This volunteer organization provides support for school construction in Asian developing countries, under the leadership of those working in the design department of Takenaka Corporation. When they conducted construction research in Asian countries, they learned of the shortage of schools in developing areas, and decided to contribute to society by utilizing their expertise. In 1999, they started a plan to construct a school in Phirim, in the Himalayan backcountry of Nepal. To reach the village, even today, visitors need to walk at least two days from where they can last drive a car. Attracting many children who once gave up going to school, the school currently serves as a place where about 400 students from elementary school to high school study in bright classrooms with natural light.
The necessary costs are covered mainly with sales of pashmina, a special textile from Nepal, as well as donations and subsidies from Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When constructing the school, AAF used local materials and employed local residents, before finally completing it three years later. Afterwards, they granted scholarships for boarding students, and constructed dormitories. They also constructed a dormitory in cooperation with a Japanese organization fostering female teachers in Pokhara, Nepal.
Reasons for the Award
The organization implements truly unique activities, utilizing the know-how they have as architectural experts. In addition, they have been engaged throughout the entire process from fundraising to completing the necessary procedures for establishing the school, procuring various materials, and negotiating with village residents and the Nepali government.
We highly recognize the organization’s activities as a promising source of inspiration for many more businesspersons to work on efforts to contribute to peace.
Comments from the Award Recipient
In a bright classroom
We are truly honored that we have been granted the excellent SAKAI Peace Contribution Award in recognition of our activities. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the members of the Screening Committee for recommending us.
Viewed globally, the architectural industry today is extremely imbalanced. While some countries enjoy repeated investment of large amounts of money in large-scale development and construction projects, other countries suffer a lack of even minimally required education and medical facilities and still have many children who cannot go to school even if they want to, and many citizens also dying of minor diseases or injuries. We began planning in 1999 to construct a school under the leadership of members with expertise in architectural design in hopes of contributing, even if it’s only a little, to improving these situations through architecture. Since 2000, we have continued providing support for construction of the school and other structures in Nepal. We believe that if many more people know about our activities, recognize the imbalance seen around the world and have a keen awareness of the problem, it will make our winning the award even more significant.
We are experts in architecture, but immediately after establishing AAF, we were almost laymen in terms of conducting volunteer activities in a foreign country. Accordingly, we had many difficulties in planning and there were times when we experienced many setbacks as well as construction delays. Nevertheless, we did not give up and continued our efforts tenaciously before finally completing the school, which consists of 11 classrooms for elementary school to high school, in 2003 in Phirim in the Himalayas; a dormitory for a women’s college for fostering teachers in 2006 in Pokhara; and a dormitory and a dining hall in 2009, again in Phirim. Moreover, in 2015, we were certified as a specified nonprofit corporation. Currently, we are involved in reconstructing structures damaged by the huge earthquake that hit the central part of Nepal in April 2015.
What enables us at AAF to implement our activities is donations from many people in Japan and financial support from Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other cooperative organizations. Even though at first we had virtually no experience in volunteer activities, we have continued to receive warm encouragement. We would like once again to express our cordial gratitude to all those who have provided us with generous support and cooperation.
Together with teachers
Holding an on-site discusshion
ANT－Hiroshima
Introduction to the Award Recipient
The forerunner of this organization was a volunteer group established to provide support for international students visiting Hiroshima and interact with them. The volunteer group’s activities diversified to include support for international students from Nepal to offer medical services after returning to their home country. With the volunteer group’s activity sphere and human network expanding globally, they changed their name to the current one. Currently, hoping to build bridges of peace from atomic-bombed Hiroshima to the world by bringing together each individual’s small power, the organization focuses their roots in the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima and promotes international cooperation activities, peace education and peace culture interactions. When they visited a refugee camp in Afghanistan, they learned about the country’s severe realities, indicated by the wretched living environment in the camp and the shortage of water and food. After returning to Japan, they held lectures and seminars to let many people in Japan know about the difficulties at the refugee camp. They also published the picture book Sadako’s Prayer in foreign languages and read it to children at refugee camps to give them encouragement.
ANT-Hiroshima promotes peace-building activities in the hope that even though the power of each individual is small like that of an ant, they can build bridges of peace by cooperating with people all over the world.
Reasons for the Award
The organization promotes an extensive range of activities, including support for interactions with international students and reconstruction support for those affected by the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake. In addition, hoping to disseminate the importance of peace from the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima to the world, they provide various forms of support through interactions with those also wishing to establish peace.
These activities serve as an important step for Japanese peace-building efforts and we highly recognize their activities as contributing considerably to realizing international peace.
Comments from the Award Recipient
At a public elementary school in Kathmandu, Nepal
We feel a great honor to receive the SAKAI Peace Contribution Award.
In addition, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to the people of Sakai City for highly recognizing us, a small organization in Hiroshima.
Twenty-eight years ago an encounter with an international student studying in Hiroshima led to the establishment of the Association of Hiroshima Citizens to Join Hands with Asian Friends, with the purpose of providing living support for international students and interacting with them.
Our encounter and interaction with international students gradually expanded the scopes of our own views and interests, diversifying our activities. Consequently, we began taking action not only in Japan, but also in the international students’ home countries. Everything we had, such as knowledge, experience, and language proficiency was insufficient as an NGO and at first we made many mistakes. Nevertheless, we somehow were able to continue our projects and this was probably due to our philosophy of putting people first. Respecting ties with individuals we met in different countries, we always spent sufficient time forging good relationships with them with considerable care, before working together. We truly received generous support and help from many people. In addition, it is necessary to always continue learning and the experiences that we had trained us and provided many suggestions for us to review ourselves. What roles should we play as an NGO from the peace city of Hiroshima? How should we participate in global society to realize peace? After considering these questions once again, in 2004 we changed our name to ANT-Hiroshima.
Under the banner of “Peace-Building for the World and Each Individual,” we presently convey the history of the disastrous war and atomic bombing as well as the experiences and hopes of Hiroshima as a city that has recovered from the disaster through picture books, videos, atomic-bombed trees and more. Moreover, to foster those who will serve as key players for peace-building in the next generation, we also receive trainees from both home and abroad and coordinate peace education. We will continue acting in the belief that even though the power of each individual is small like that of an ant, big peace can surely be realized if we continue to cooperate with people and NGOs around the world based on bonds of trust. We want to conclude by expressing our appreciation once again.
At a school in Afghanistan
At Sadako Primary School in Kashmir, Pakistan