Four Filipino high-school students arrived on Feb. 6 from their six-month exchange-student program under the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) Program.
The four students—Joshua Elijah Lopez Babasa (Nazareth Christian School of Antipolo); Victoria Fay Velez Chang (De La Salle University Manila); Geen Camille Bendanillo Garsuta (Puerto Princesa City National Science High School); and Rachel Ann Trinidad Sengco (Philippine Science High School—Central Luzon Campus)—attended high-school classes in Ichinomiya Commercial High School, Ichioka Senior High School, Kobayashi Senior High School and Obihiro Ootani Senior High School, respectively, for six months.
During their stay, the students lived with Japanese host families, socialized with local communities and made friends with Japanese students in their schools. They also visited historical and cultural sites in Japan.
A reentry seminar was organized by the AFS Intercultural Program, where the participants eagerly shared their experiences.
The JENESYS Program was launched after the Government of Japan’s announcement during the Second East Asia Summit about the plan to invite 6,000 young people, mainly from East Asia Summit member countries, to visit Japan every year for five years from 2007. Under the program, the Government of Japan has invited over 1,000 Filipino youths to Japan.
The program continues this year, as 400 Filipino youths will be sent to Japan in April and May as the Philippine Tohoku Goodwill Ambassadors. The delegates will learn from Japan’s experience in dealing with natural disasters, and witness Japan’s ongoing recovery efforts after the earthquake and tsunami on March 3, 2011.