English Intensive Program
at University of the Philippines
at the entrance of Ikeda Hall, Univ.of the Philippines
Soka University has an English Intensive Program that it holds with the
University of the Philippines, Diliman campus every year.
This year, 22 Soka students have joined the program and stayed at the University of the Philippines for 3 weeks.
Aside from studying English at the University of the Philippines, they
enjoyed the Filipino way of life and in some occasions making friendship
with many Filipinos.
Short Essays by the participants
Tomoko Kondo (center)
at University of Rizal System
Tomoko Kondo
During my three weeks stay in the Philippines, I had a chance to meet with
great women educators: Dr. De Leon who is the president of University of
Rizal System and Dr. Roman who is also the president of University of the
Philippines. I appreciate the nice discussion I had with them. I really
enjoyed being reunited with Dr. De Leon again since she visited our college
last year where we held a tea ceremony reception. I was also one of the
tea ceremony members to serve the tea to her.
Throughout the profound discussion with them I found out that both of them
are devoted to educate the youth and have consequently made great contributions
to the development of the Philippine society. They are exceptional role
models for Soka Women’s College. From the intellectual discussion, I learned
that education is necessary in the 21st century in order to promote peace.
I am very glad to have visited the Philippines at this stage of my life
as a Soka Women’s College student. That's why I would like to offer my
appreciation to our founder Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, who has opened the door
to the world for us. I felt this is the place where the spirit of my mentor,
Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, takes root.
I am proud of learning what is really happening in this country. The people
that I met so far were so brilliant and energetic who always puts on a
smile wherever they are and whatever they do. I am willing to achieve my
human revolution and Philippine Kosen-rufu while putting Sensei's guidance
into action in my daily life so that I can repay my debts of gratitude
to him.
Genta Nishimura (left)
at the University of Manila
at SGI Philippine Culture center
Genta Nishimura
During the Japanese occupation period, many Filipinos were mistreated and
slaughtered by the Japanese military. Because of such unforgettable hardship,
they came to have hateful impressions against the Japanese. However, I
believe that a growing number of Filipinos today do not hold such negative
impressions against Japanese. Instead, they even hope for a good relationship
to exist between the Philippines and Japan. I could feel this in many situations.
For instance, in my interaction with Filipinos, I usually greet them with
a smile and most of them also respond with a smile.
Some Filipinos and even children, by the way, spoke to me in Japanese like
Konnichiwa. I was so surprised that I could not understand what made them acquire
Japanese language so early in life. Later I realized that they do so in
order for them to communicate with us. In light of this, I couldn't help
but realize for the first time how lucky we are as Japanese for our culture
to be learned by foreigners, especially Filipinos, because this is my first
time abroad.
Although I keenly felt the difference in culture as I watched the wide
gap between the rich and poor, I came to appreciate nevertheless, that
we – both Filipinos and Japanese – share the same feeling. In other words,
we are all human beings. I learned that the important thing to bear in
mind when we communicate with foreign people is to interact with them with
a smile and know their culture.
Dr Daisaku Ikeda said, "An effective way to understand people is culture."
If we know the culture of one another, we can easily be in good terms with
each other. In addition, wearing a smile is a key point of communication.
It has a kind of power which can dissolve the walls of distrust among people
and even countries, which can lead to peace. Therefore, such link shouldn’t
be broken; it should, on the contrary, be made firmer. I will strive to
keep the relationship with my friends in the Philippines alive. Because
I believe that such relationships can be the steady basis of achieving
World Peace.
Kayoko Umeda (center)
at the University of Manila
Kayoko Umeda
Of the places I visited in the Philippines, what impressed me the most was my experience in Payatas dumpsite at the outskirts of Manila. The moment I got off the bus, I found Payatas stinking with the smell of trash. I saw young children trying to salvage what they can from the heap of wastes without smiles on their faces. I heard they are called scavengers who make a living through collecting recyclable garbage and selling them at junk shops. I believe they have to get out of this pitiable situation but they cannot because of many hindrances. One is due to their lack of education that is brought about by their poverty.
Our founder, Mr. Ikeda, once said: "What our world most requires now is the kind of education that fosters
love for humankind that develops character—that provides an
intellectual basis for the realization of peace and empowers learners
to contribute and to improve society."
I believe that children have to be put in a better environment to get enough
education.
In addition to that, I went to Pampanga Agricultural College which was made for the first time by Soka University a student. I met a student who said she would be a nurse some day. However, she later confided that what she really wanted to be was a flight attendant. I was very astonished that she couldn’t follow the path she really wanted because of financial problems.
There is no doubt that the power, idea, and the action of the youth are
essential in the Philippines to improve their status and their society
as a whole. According to Josei Toda, "a profound change in the life
of a single individual could change the direction of an entire society."
Wherever you may be, the thing to always keep in mind is to have hope.
I hope that the youth in the Philippines will continue to have hope in
life and shape their country’s future, always believing in their own potentials.
