During this program, everything was enjoyable for me. I learned many things from the people in the Philippines as well as the members of the program. There are mainly three findings I gained from my experience.

　

The first is about the way of cooperation and support. Indeed we would like to solve problems of other countries but sometimes people could be cautious of being intervened by outsiders. This may prevent a project from going well. Having seen some fields and listening to lectures by specialists in the field, I came up with some conclusions. In order to improve this issue, we have to talk slowly and carefully with the people of the community to get their understanding of what we want to do. It is especially a very effective way to persuade the community leader such as the village mayor, religious leader, or the midwives, all of whom have strong power over the district. I felt just the same when I visited India on another occasion to see their polio eradication program by WHO. I have been interested in this issue and wanted to know how it would be in other countries. In the Philippines also, one of the keys to success is the community leader's understanding. It seemed that they have successfully achieved this in some of their projects that we were able to observe.

　

The second finding is about people living in developing countries. After returning to Japan, I say a television program about the environmental summit. Miserable images of these countries were emphasized. From the media, we have been exposed to such pictures of the underprivileged, since we were children. From those images, I had unconsciously developed a stereotype for people of these countries. Now, I know that even if they live under these circumstances, have poor health and many other problems, each individual has his/her own life, own family, own dream and own happiness. We should not and can not regard them as one lump and label them as "poor people". In the Philippines, children living in the slum area smiled with radiant expressions, a mother held a malnourished child proudly stating that she had seven children and this one was the only baby undernutritioned child. At the Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, the people there hugged me gently. Everyone I met was so attractive and I was deeply impressed by this experience I was given. Unconsciously, I came to think that I want to work in a developing county not because the people are poor and unhappy, but just because I want to be with them.

　

And finally, the biggest finding is about myself. Although we all have an almost common interest, which is "international health", each member sees and considers things from different points of view. By talking with them, I reconsidered various issues again from the beginning. I had a chance to rethink about myself. "Who am I?" "What do I want to do?" I have no answer yet. But I know myself better now, than before this program began. As a conclusion, I came to think that there must be something only "I" could do.

　

I thank all the members of this fellowship for giving me many suggestions, listening to me attentively and respecting my opinions. I also wish to express my appreciation to Dr. Yatsuya, Ms. Izumi and everyone who supported us.

　

I was looking forward to this fellowship program because I would be able to visit WHO in the Philippines and talk with their staff. It is certain that this visit was a valuable experience for me in considering my future career. I must admit that at first, I was not much interested in the Philippines because I felt as if I already knew about the country. I had met Filipino women in Japan, heard many news about the people under difficult living conditions, etc. These experiences made me feel close to the Phihppines. However, through actual fieldwork, we are able to gain an awareness of issues, which stimulate our dull senses. This program was one of such experience. I could never get from pictures and films the smell like putting my head into a garbage can, and have flies swam around me as they did at Smoky Mountain. My visit to the Philippines enabled me to experience the reality. I felt as if I had gotten three strong punches in the stomach.

　

The first punch was the reality of Smoky Mountain. We visited Sabana, an NGO supporting children who live there. There were many children who welcomed us and sang songs for us with their beautiful voices. Behind them, I saw the Smoky Mountain outside the window. I all but wept when I saw the scene. However, I kept my tears back, because my tears were from sympathy on them living under severe circumstances, and not by being touched by their beautiful song. When I was a high school student, I often complained about my circumstances. My father then said to me, "you have to make the most out of your given environment, no matter how miserable it may be". I treasure this word. I do not know whether these children think their circumstances are the best or not, but at least they are living the fullest they can. Therefore, I felt that it would be rude to shed sympathetic tears for them. I do not know if my point of view is right or not, but it is certain that pictures and films would never give me such strong emotion. I still think I do not want to judge easily by comparing other people's circumstances with my own.

　

The second punch is the place of religion in the Filipino society. I know most Filipinos are Christian, but I never imagined such a pious atmosphere as I found. Most of the public facilities we visited such as hospitals or the city hall were decorated with a beautiful Christian altar in the most noticeable place in the entrance. Furthermore, this was so not only in the city but in the countryside as well. This tells me how much the Filipinos believe strongly in Christ.

　

Religion often influences the believers' lifestyle. Lifestyle is an important factor that affects the person's health. That is, if I want to work in the field of international health, I need to well understand the religion of the people of the targeted field. However, I found it difficulty to understand religious piety, as I have not had much intimate encounters with religion in Japan. I became anxious whether I could accomplish an international health project, if I had an opportunity to work in an area where religion is a dominant factor of the people's lives. Then, another member of this program advised me that it is effective to involve a religious leader in the project. This was a very realistic and welcomed advice. Yet, there remains a feeling that I myself want to understand their religious devotions which will lead to an understanding of the people themselves. I am sure it will be difficult, but I would like to cherish this feeling.

　

The last punch is about the function of the public institution and treatment of public officers in the country. I heard that the starting salary of a public officer is actually less than the poverty line which is fixed by the government. If even the civil servants, who seem to have a high status, live in such extreme poverty despite of their earnest work, it would be hard to maintain a stability in it's population's living and health standards. Three years ago when I visited Cambodia, I heard that the Cambodian officers do not receive enough money to live on either, and therefore they only work half a day at their office to make living off another job during the rest of the day. I think that Cambodia and the Philippines are two different countries, but the weakness of public institutions seems to be a common problem in many developing countries, and from a health point of view, I believe this has a strong negative influence on medical and health services.

　

There is another thing that stimulated me besides these three things: the members who participated in this fieldwork. I learned a lot from them because they have had many experiences in international health and other fields. I hope our friendship will continue forever.

　

Now that I am back in Japan, I would like to work hard on my daily medical study in order to make good use of these experiences in my future work.

　

Lastly, I want to express my thanks for giving me a chance to take part in this program, to Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation. I also thank Dr. Yatsuya and Miss Izumi and everyone who kindly took good care of us.

　

Since my childhood, I have been thinking about the living situations of the people in developing countries. This is because that I had seen many TV programs on abject poverty and difficult living environment for these people. When I compare their situations with the living standards in my country, I feel compelled to assist in anyway I can to contribute for the improvement of the living conditions of these people. However I did not have any idea on how to achieve this goal, until I found such an opportunity by joining this program. I learned of the existence of this program after I enrolled in this university. I immediately laid a strategy on how to achieve my long-standing goal through my participation in this program. By joining it, I learned more about the roles of major international organizations such as WHO, JICA and NGOS, which are involved with support towards the improvement of the lives of people in the developing countries in need of much aid.

　

Another major reason for joining this program was to learn more about rehabilitation for people with disabilities, especially those with Hansen's disease, because of the social stigma attached to it. As a student of occupational therapy, I had developed an interest in this area. I have learned the present situation of people with Hansen's disease in Japan and the Philippines through this program. We were given an opportunity to visit Tama Zenshoen in Japan and Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in the Philippines, both a sanatorium for people with Hansen's disease. These visits were an eye opener for me in learning about improving the Quality of Life (QOL) and fight against prejudice and discrimination of these people.

　

I and the 13 members of this Fieldwork Fellowship visited the Philippines from August 10^th through 18^th where we observed programs assisting the improvement of living conditions of the people. One was a programs run by Sabana (NGO). Their main activity is assisting children from families living in the slum area. There, we learned that this organization is bringing much hope to the young people not only by teaching them on a way of living a good life, free of drugs and crime, but also by educating them the ways and means of improving their lifestyles through their participation in social activities. The children there appeared quite happy and determined to face the future with certainty, despite the poverty surrounding them. This experience made me rethink about happiness in relation to the way of life and I learned that happiness does not come from abundance of material or money.

　

Lastly, I appreciate the good work of all people who made this program a great success.