"The 10th Anniversary of Japa Vietnam"-
Back in 1991 Ishimoto Akemi wrote from Vietnam the following to a Japanese friend: "Vietnam's natural landscape is really beautiful. The Vietnamese are extremely kind. I could find myself, for the first time, here in Vietnam. I have discovered here all deep natural treasures Japan possessed in the past which she has already lost. I do not know how long am I going to live. Nevertheless, I want to spend the rest of my life giving assistance to the poor in Vietnam."
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Japa Vietnam is a small group of citizens that from its very beginning has confronted difficult tasks, not only in the line of raising funds, but also in the ways to assist Vietnamese communities in need. The Vietnamese political system is much different from ours and has often brought several headaches to us. At the time of our first involvement in Vietnam, 10 years ago, we established some contacts with Catholic groups in Vietnam, which were at the time under much political pressure.
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Our priority in Vietnam is with the poorest communities of people. We deal with them as partners and we made clear, from the beginning that we were not able to provide any big financial assistance. In the past, we have often supported small-scale economic programs that are realized by groups of people. Such projects are able to provoke social changes favoring the poor. In some regions, even the local communist leaders have publicly appreciated the good results.
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Honestly speaking the work of Japa Vietnam during the past 10 years has been gratifying. Many people in Vietnam have greatly profited from many projects. On the other hand, in some instances no matter the efforts of our Vietnamese counterparts and our readiness to support them, official opposition of the communist party made it impossible to concretize needed programs. At other times natural calamities, like the terrible floods of last year, destroyed all of a sudden the successful programs of several years. Nevertheless, our personal relationships continue growing closer.
We wish that many people cooperate with us to increase the support of Vietnamese poor communities.