One of valuable character of NVDA is its various kinds of active common
actions especially for not technical, but social issues that can hardly seen in
any other networks!
In 2008-09, NVDA has two following official common actions
1) World Tanabata Action - Green the land & heart to stop climate change -
a) Description:
This is a global common action to
1. Plant trees (or other actions to decrease CO2)
2. Study/ discuss on the climate change issue
3. Write “my action” on “Tanzaku” papers
Tanzaku papers are collected and exhibited in the G8 Summit, the UNESCO Conference, etc.
It was started by NICE in 2008 (co-organized with NVDA, CCIVS and CONCORDIA)/ collaborated with any NGOs & people of all over the world.
Tanabata is a Japanese old custom from the old, romantic tale and people write wishes on the Tanzaku papers and hang them on the bamboo trees in the night of 7th July every year!
b) Aims:
? Decrease CO2 emission by practical actions
? Raise awareness on climate change
? Promote cooperation among NGOs and people
c) Results
Japan India France G8
Summit
? In 2008, 44 NGOs in 31 countries were registered and 12,194 persons planted 97,280 trees and 9,180 tanzaku papers were collected,
? Tanzaku papers were partly introduced at the G8 Summit in 7-9 July in Hokkaido, Japan by the great efforts of Special G8 Workcamp!
? Tanzaku art was beautifully exhibited in the ESD Seminar in UNESCO, Paris in Sep. 2008.
? Special Tanabata Workcamp will be organized in Paris, Dec. 2009 to help organizing and also present at the UNESCO’s NGO Conference.
2) Eco Sponge Action - Protect the water & encourage the women -
a) Description:
Eco sponge is made of acryl with which you can wash most of dishes without washing soap by its special function (no sanitation problem!).
It was started by NICE in 2003 (International year of Freshwater) and have been made/ used in many workcamps, local communities, schools, etc. by the NGOs in the world. It is also one of two official common actions of NVDA for 2008-09.
From 2009, women in the slam area of Hanoi, Vietnam started making the sponges with the great help of SJV that are brought back by the Japanese vols. and sold in the festivals, seminars, etc. for income generation of those women.
b) Aims:
? Protect the river/ lake water and your health
? Support the life of disadvantaged women
? Save cost to buy soap and time to wash dishes
c) Results
Eco sponges Selling
in the festival Woman
in Hanoi Her
house on the river
? Since 2003, over 7,000 sponges were made and used by over 5,000 people of 10 countries
(by IIWC Indonesia, MOVE Malaysia, SJV Vietnam, INEX Slovakia, CONC UK, UNA UK, LEG Italy, CONC France, MCE Mongolia, etc.)
? In the mountain village of Borneo island of Malaysia where people flush water from their daily life directly to the river, vols. promoted to use the sponges to them who are using now!
? 4 women in Vietnam made 189 sponges and a half have been sold (300 yen per one) in Japan.
But some other actions are also done among some members such as;
3) Notebook actions
In 2006, Jogjakarta was hit by a big earthquake and 200 Japanese children
donated their notebooks with encouraging messages on the first pages. Then,
vols. delivered them to children in Indonesia who wrote return messages
on the last pages to Japanese children. Same practice was done between
Nepal and Japan in 2007 with 160 notebooks and 320 children.
4) Eco-candle actions
They are made of used oil, so good recycling! Over 300 of candles were
made and sold in Japan that generated over 400 US$ since 2006 to support
construction of a kindergarten school in Jogjakarta after the earthquake
and the orphanage in Mongolia.
5) Sister NGOs (orphanages, schools,etc. )
5A) Sister orphanage workcamps were organized in Japan, 2006 and Mongolia
2007 where the kids of the orphanages in Mongolia, Japan and Indonesia
have exchanged and worked as volunteers !
5B) Kids of elementary schools in Bangladesh and Japan have made the handmade
gifts for each other and introduce each cultures since 2003.
Picture
of 3) 4) 5A) 5B)
Introduction of NVDA common actions (updated bin 2007)
