March 7, 2016
Toru’s Speech at the ‘Graduation ceremony’ for HSF and SHARE
Ladies and Gentlemen!
Graduation is and will always be, throughout the world, the moment of a new start and a new opportunity to grow. So personally I think this ceremony can also be called ‘graduation’.
I, toru honda, representing SHARE Tokyo, feel very happy and be deeply honored to share this graduation ceremony with all the HSF people and with our long-term supporter, representatives of SEIKYO co-operative in Japan.
Time really flies quickly like an arrow and more than 25 years have passed since Ms. Fumiko Kudo came to Yasothon Province as a solo health worker from SHARE by the invitation of Dr. Samrong Yangratoke, then the director of CDC 7.
It was in Sikeaw village where Fumiko learned a lot and worked together with wonderful health volunteers how to reduce diarrhea diseases among villagers by participatory methods. This is called Primary Health Care approach and it became for both HSF and SHARE the guiding principle in our community health activities.
HSF has applied this PHC approach to HIV prevention and to empowerment of Persons with HIV/AIDS and you have done a great job in uniting those people and let them be more independent and self-reliant. Now your work is expanding to the new activities for migrants, sexual minorities and children with difficult conditions.
Although we now graduate from common school of PHC, Thai people and Japanese people are facing and will continue to face enormous health problems. One of them is caring for the aged persons. Family Care Team (FCT) that I witnessed last year in Mukdahan province, thanks to Dr. Jinn, was a real eye opener for me. If done correctly, FCT can be truly a role model for Japanese society and many other Asian countries.
With the sincerest thanks and admiration, we SHARE would like to continue and strengthen our bond and solidarity with HSF for years to come.
Thank you so much again.
