The Haiti Summer Service Project for 2012 saw a new approach to the needs of the people of Cap Haitien, Haiti, the site of our Haiti Summer Service Project for the past four years. Rather than just bring in food, clothing and medicines, we chose to add character education for the youth as well as health care education for the adults. To respond to requests from principals and teachers in Cap Haitien as well as women leaders to help teach the young people right from wrong, we decided to share the character education curriculum of the Universal Peace Federation, founded by the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, husband of WFWP founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. With the support of Angelika Selle, president of WFWP USA, and many WFWP chairwomen from across America, a group of six volunteers from the U.S. joined with Family Federation for World Peace members and volunteers in Cap Haitien to provide a week-long program of seminars and medical clinics. Rev. Alexandre Decimus graciously opened his church as our venue for the entire week. Around 300 teachers, students, ministers, community leaders and citizens participated, and about as many patients were seen by the doctors. All in all, this year's service project was more productive and rewarding than any of the past. I. Character Education for the Youth & Healthcare Education for the Adults Our group traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and then on to Cap Haitien, Haiti, arriving after about a 24-hour trip. Cap Haitien still does not have a workable airport. Our team consisted of Rev. Jeddie King (Interfaith Community Church founder in Kissimmee, Fla.) and his wife, Rev. Elma King (founder of Now Is the Time Ministry as well as 3 other radio ministries); Ms. Robin Baldwin (master's graduate of the University of…

 

Character Education for Youth Divine Principle Seminar Health Education Seminar on Midwifery, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Infectious Diseases and Dental Hygiene Mobile Medical Clinic Goal: The primary goal of this international service learning experience is to promote world peace while allowing students and volunteers to develop and/or enhance cultural competence in providing humanitarian aid and medical care while serving and educating needy populations.   This goal will be met by students and volunteers: 1. helping provide a character education program for the youth. 2. participating in a Divine Principle Seminar. 3. participating in and supporting a seminar by Women's Federation for World Peace (WFWP) on midwifery, healthcare and dental hygiene. 4. working with the ALMEDHA and AVOMED NORD medical teams of volunteer docturs and nurses to consult patients and to help provide medicine donated by Women's Federation for World Peace. 5. visiting mayors and other political leaders to assess the real needs of the Haitian people. 6. touring museums and historical sites to understand the background and the identity of Haiti. Introduction: This project is our fifth annual WFWP service project to Haiti. Last year, several students from the University of South Florida and volunteers from across America went to Haiti for 7 days. They were joined by volunteers in Cap-Haitian, Haiti's second largest city, and with the help of Cap-Haitian's Mayor Fritz Joseph we held a workshop on health education (covering midwifery, high blood pressure, diabetes, infectious diseases, dental hygiene) and had a mobile medical clinic with the colunteer doctors of ALMEDHA. This year we'll be in Cap-Haitian once again. This time, we'll be working with Rev. Alexandre Decinus. He will bring 300 youth, women leaders and other pastors to receive the character education training and the seminar on Divine Principle. He will also support our health education program…

I came to support WFWP's Japan relief project. On July 1, I escorted four sisters who came from the United States of America from Narita Airport to the Unification Church headquarters in Tokyo. We went to Ishinomaki City, which is one of the most damaged cities in Miyagi prefecture. We put ourselves at the disposal of the volunteer center at Senshu University in Ishinomaki City. The first day, we were sent by the volunteer center to Mr. Abe's house, located near the Ishinomaki harbor. Around his house, many homes are smashed. But although his structure is intact, it is uninhabitable. Therefore, we helped to remove mud and wreckage from around and inside his house. We shoveled it into bags and dragged the heavy waste to the sidewalk. We filled 300 bags our first day. It was a cloudy day, but very humid and hot. One of my tasks is to make a documentary video for the upcoming WFWP Annual Assembly. I was very busy taking video and photos. But at the same time, I worked hard to remove the bags filled with heavy mud. After finishing our day's work, we drove to Onagawa, one of the most damaged cities. I felt very sad seeing Onagawa City, because, by contrast, Ishinomaki City has been improved compared with when I visited it last April. I can say the Japanese residents and volunteers made Ishinomaki better, removing all broken cars and other rubble. Not so in Onagawa, where the whole city is in ruins and not many people survived. I could see no people trying to rebuild the city. We got out from our car and prayed together for those whose lives were taken by the earthquake and tsunami. Overall, we had a good experience. I will work as a volunteer for one…

My name is Manasa Kanithi, a student at the University of South Florida. I am the president of Women Federation for World Peace at USF, and this is the third relief effort I have been a part of through Women Federation for World Peace. My trip to Japan was a safe journey and today was my first day of service. In the morning, we woke up early, exercised, read Father's autobiography, went to the volunteer center to sign in, then left for our service project. We were assigned to help a middle-aged couple clean up the oil and mud debris around their house. We worked for hours in teams and also enjoyed chatting with the homeowners during our breaks. After the service work, we drove to the site where the tsunami's destruction was the worst. It was a really different atmosphere, and much work and love is still needed for this area. Afterward, we washed our tools, took baths, ate dinner, then went to sleep. Overall, it was good day, and I look forward to the rest of the week.

Greetings, WFWP, from Japan!!! I am Teresa Blount from Moblie, Alabama. I am so grateful to be able to participate with the tsunami relief project at this time. Today was very special. Our team is in Ishinomaki and our team of eight, two brothers and six sisters, drove to Mr. Abe's house, which was still barely standing among many empty lots. He built his house with his wife four years ago, and you could tell it was constructed beautifully. Today, we mucked around the house. We filled a couple hundred bags with debris and shattered glass. The brothers moved the heavy bags to the side of the road. The Japanese government has done so much for its country, but there is still so much that needs to be done. We drove for 30 minutes today, passing so much destruction. The feeling here is very painful, but also hopeful. The people of Japan are working very hard to rebuild their historic land. The hearts of the people are so grateful for all of the love and support. The destruction here is the most horrifying I have ever experienced. Today, one Indian girl on our team chanted a mantra, and it was like she was singing a song of love to the land and the creation. Japan needs our love. The spirit of this land needs so much support and prayer. Let's continue to pray for Japan. Thank you.

Hello. My name is Miwa Yokoyama, and first and foremost I feel very fortunate to be part of this opportunity, through which I can directly help and support the Japanese tsunami victims. Today was such an eventful and inspirational day?. It started off with us being assigned by the local government of Ishinogawa to dig and remove the mud that was surrounding the Abe family's home. It was a lengthy task, but I really felt like we became a lot more united as a team. Mr. Abe told our team various stories about some of his friends killed by the tsunami, and about families and neighbors affected by the tsunami. We then had the opportunity to drive out toward the parts of Ishinogawa that were affected more severely. It was so deserted and mutilated that this whole experience felt surreal. Seeing and experiencing the empty and desolate cities helped give me more of a motivation to give back.

Hello. My name is Miwa Yokoyama, and first and foremost I feel very fortunate to be part of this opportunity, through which I can directly help and support the Japanese tsunami victims. Today was such an eventful and inspirational day?. It started off with us being assigned by the local government of Ishinogawa to dig and remove the mud that was surrounding the Abe family's home. It was a lengthy task, but I really felt like we became a lot more united as a team. Mr. Abe told our team various stories about some of his friends killed by the tsunami, and about families and neighbors affected by the tsunami. We then had the opportunity to drive out toward the parts of Ishinogawa that were affected more severely. It was so deserted and mutilated that this whole experience felt surreal. Seeing and experiencing the empty and desolate cities helped give me more of a motivation to give back.

Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu! Greetings from Japan! The weather is humid but the spirits are high in the Ishinomaki City Volunteer Camp. My name is ChunMi Araki, and as part of the first international relief effort team sent by WFWP USA, I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for all the support that went into sending this team here from America. I have been involved with the Northwest Chapter of WFWP for about two years and am the Executive Secretary under our Northwest Chairwoman, Friederike Buczyk. When the call came out from New York that WFWP was looking to send some women to volunteer for tsunami cleanup, I was ecstatic! I am half Japanese, and my family had experienced a similar disaster in the Kobe earthquake of 1995. And when the tsunami first hit Japan, I remember watching the TV in horror, and feeling deep within me that I must help these people. We are a global family, and families take care of one another. So it was with gratitude that I received the call that I was one of the lucky ones who could travel with the team to Japan. Right now, it is just past 10:30 pm, and our team is preparing to rest. Today was our first day of cleanup, and it was a day so full of different experiences and emotions that I hardly know where to start. The team was assigned to muck out the house of Mr. and Mrs. Abe, a couple who had lived in Ishinomaki for 40 years before moving to their now-destroyed house four years ago. It was hard work shoveling mud and rocks and oil, but satisfying to see how a team of eight could clear a wide expanse in the time given. The first thing you notice when…