Since 2005, JOICFP has been coordinating the “People’s Participatory Poverty Reduction Model Project in Daozhen and Leishan Counties, Guizhou Province,” supported by JICA.

From 26th June to 10th July, a ten-member team from Guizhou visited Japan to learn about experiences in community health, including reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP), social welfare, agriculture and life improvement.

This was the third study team from the project area to visit Japan on a trip organized by JOICFP.

After lectures in Tokyo on topics such as RH/FP, agricultural development and empowerment of rural women, the team visited Iwate Prefecture.

At the prefectural office, the visitors learned about activities under the national ten-year plan, “Healthy Japan in the 21st Century,” life improvement and eco-farming.

One example of local government responding to changing needs is activities preventing disease such as metabolic syndrome as lifestyles become more westernized.

At a local NGO, the Iwate Health Service Association, the team saw how preventive health care services were provided on a fee-paying basis in collaboration with local government and the business community.

IHSA also offers client-friendly health checks, including a special women’s facility for uterine and breast cancer checks.

Looking at parasite ova
at the Iwate Health Service Association

Nishiwaga is located in a mountainous area that receives heavy snowfall. Infant mortality rates had been very high until local leaders devoted themselves to “saving the lives of the villagers.”

The town instated a “new life movement” with the participation of the community and community groups to improve health, nutrition and living standards.

The determination and hard work of the people to improve their lives on their own initiative was most impressive to the Chinese visitors.

In a primary school, the visitors saw how good sanitation habits were instilled at an early age, and visiting a Japan Agriculture cooperative the importance of farmers groups helping each other.

Washing hands at a primary school
using “soap-in-a-net,” which keeps the soap
hygienic and wastes less

The town of Kuzumaki has turned itself from a dying town into a vibrant agricultural community that offers advice to visitors from all over the world.

The Chinese team was impressed by how the town had made the best of its natural resources in a sustainable way, and was able to promote its methods to interested parties.

Click here for more details about Kuzumaki.

Chatting with a livestock farmer in Kuzumaki Town

Throughout the trip, the Chinese visitors gained firsthand experience of the power of community-based activities, recognizing the value of collaboration at all levels, the role of NGOs, and provision of quality fee-charging services.

Adapting their experiences from the visit with JOICFP’s help, the Chinese team made a detailed plan for the project in Guizhou, including activities such as organizing special groups, and developing better record keeping.