Susadey (Hello)!
I’m Sasaki, a long-term student intern who has been working in Cambodia since April!
On June 8-9 we held a Children’s Day event in the paediatric cancer ward.
In Japan many people are familiar with Children’s Day being held on May 5th, but in fact, it is only Korea and Japan that celebrate Children’s Day on May 5th.
The rest of the world wither celebrates International Children’s Day on June 1st or World Children’s Day on November 20th.
In Cambodia, they celebrate Children’s Day on June 1st.
Even though the date differs from country to country, Children’s Day is an important day to celebrate the growth of children.
The wish for children’s health and happiness is common throughout the world.
We divided the day’s events into several sessions and conducted in small groups while taking infection control measures.
First of all, we explained International Children’s Day using pictures and illustrations to let people know that it is celebrated in the same way in 40 countries around the world and to help them understand its meaning.
We also showed them “koinobori” (carp streamers) that we brought from Japan and introduced how we celebrate Children’s Day in Japan.
After that, we put together a slideshow of photos of the children taken in the hospital.
This was to help the families of the patients who are suffering under the pandemic, feel happy and realize the growth of their children.
We thought that by sharing this slideshow on Facebook with the families waiting for the children to return home, those who can’t visit because of infection control measures, they could learn about the children’s recent condition.
When we talked about the carp streamers, the children immediately noticed that they were the same ones that we displayed in the playroom and pointed at them.
When the carp streamer song started playing, the babies that were crying suddenly stopped and stared at the video.
Also, when we played the slides, each time a picture of themselves or their friends came up, the children laughed with joy and got excited. When the slide show was over, the families of the patients clapped their hands and said “Okuun!” (thank you) which made not only the children, but their families smile.
It was a short event, only about 15 minutes, but the children and their families were very happy and I was really glad that we held this event.
At the same time, I learned that despite language and cultural barriers, we can all have fun together through common things such as music and photography.
I would like to thank Yamada the intern and Phy the interpreter for the support in this event.
Long-term student intern Miyuko Sasaki