12th Mar

Today’s plan… A.M. visit a shop which sells the products made by blind people

              P.M. visit an office of Japanese NGO

9:00@ shop

This morning I went to a small shop which has started to sell the products made by the blind women. One sighted girl taught how to knit a mat by cloth for the blind women.

At first, it looks difficult for them but when they were used to it, they could make it skillfully. I think this can be a very good way to generate employment among blind people if once it gets on the right track. But there seems to be some disagreement between the owner and blind women. Because this is the first attempt for the owner to help blind people by selling handmade mats, it may take time to get a result and it is difficult to expect accurate profit in advance. But one blind woman said that it is difficult to gather people if they cannot get a salary right away. Also, in order to continue this project, the cooperation of Vietnamese volunteer is essential. But it is hard to find a volunteer-driven local people. I hope this will go well and lead to social independence of blind people.

13:00@ Old town area

Old town area is the central of sightseeing spot of Hanoi. It is always crowded with foreign tourists. I went there with Mrs. Nimura’s Family. In this area, there is a famous lake called ‘Hoan Kiem’. What is interesting is that many people were looking for one turtle in this lake. According to my friend, as that turtle have been sick, people want to give a medicine for him. In order to find one turtle, a large scale search project has been launched. Because a turtle is the sacred animal in Vietnam, they are quite serious. But for me, it’s just interesting!

15:00@office

We gathered at Mrs.Nimura’s office and had a tea. Her daughter served a handmade cake which was really nice. The engineer of braille printer in the blind school also came to her office, so it was a good chance for me to get to know each other.

17:00@my house

After coming back from her office, I was just watching the news about Japan’s earthquake on the Internet. The latest news informs that more than 10,000 people died and tens of thousands of people are missing. When I was looking at photos of the devastated areas, I couldn’t help crying. No matter how much the country develops, we are at the mercy of nature.

Is there anything I can do except praying? What should I do for my country?

I’m filled with the feeling of helplessness.