Yap Project
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2005 Yap Island Program Report |
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The participants of 2005 Yap Island Program had an “eye-opening” first day when they arrived at the Fanif Community’s School’s (Rumuu School’s) compound. Find out more about their Yap Island experiences in this report.
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This year marked the 12th year of “Feel the Earth: Yap-Japan Cultural Exchange Program” which inaugural program was in 1992. The main objectives of the program have remain unchanged throughout the years- question the core values linked to life and to seek wisdom from people who live close to nature on how to build a sustainable global society.
Each year, the Department of Education in Yap recruits a different hosting school and community for the Yap Island program and this year we had Fanif Community’s School (Rumuu School) as our host.
There were a total of eight participants age ranging from 13 to 25 years old who came from different places like NY in the US, Aichi, Niigata, Kanagawa and Tokyo prefectures in Japan. Among them, were a primary teacher and a nutrition specialist. Some of the participants signed up for the program through EXPO 2005 in Aichi where ECOPLUS held an exhibition in March and April. While there was only one male participant, it was not an issue with the group or the Yapese people.
The participants had an “eye-opening” first day when they arrived at the Fanif Community’s School’s (Rumuu School’s) compound to realize, to their astonishment, that not only that the school’s building is made of concrete but also it came equipped with flushing toilets! The participants had come prepared to answer nature’s call in the bush with leaves as toilet papers!
The group was based at the Rumuu School throughout the program, except for 2 nights where the participants spent with various families in three villages in the area.
The group spent many days to decide on the “rules of life” in the school and practiced restriction on the usage of water, detergent and shampoo through rationing. Some of the event triggers, which contributed to drastic changes in the participants, were their family-stay experiences and the heart-to-heart midnight meeting among the participants that was accompanied by much sobbing.
After these mind-changing events, the participants became more aware of the people and activities around them and communicated actively with one another. Their openness and caring attitudes helped them overcome problems as a group and grow as an individual. Each participant was able to learn enormously not only about themselves but also about different people and cultures.
The big-hearted people in Rumuu welcome and accepted the participants into their community and shared their lives with them with generosity. Their strong pride in their tradition and culture made the participants reflect on what is important for individuals. At the farewell and thank you party, the participants expressed their gratitude to the people in Rumuu by putting together a skit about how wonderful Yap Island is.
The young participants of the Yap Island program spent a very intense time, wondering, pondering and developing themselves during the program. It is a new challenge for them to link the experiences in Yap to their daily lives, share their learning with friends and families, and to continue to think about their own roles in society after the program. The Yap experience is a continuous process and each participant should strive to stay in touch with the reverence Yapese families and friends whose harmonious way of living with nature always help remind us of the basic essential things of human life and inspire a vision for the future.
For details on Yap Island Program, please go to Ecoclub event page.
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