A letter from Sanford and Emiko Taborn in Japan
LAte WINter 2013
Dear Friends,
Childcare Handbook for Fathers
We have been involved in volunteer activities at the Asian Health Institute (AHI) since 1991. We do a myriad of activities mainly focused in the areas of translation, simultaneous interpretation, and escorts for participants to various community-related events.
Dr. Hiromi Kawahara, a Christian, founded AHI. In 1976 Dr. Kawahara visited a hospital in Nepal for three months. During that time he performed more than 360 operations. One day, when a patient was leaving the hospital, Dr. Kawahara asked a nurse to tell the patient to return in two weeks so his wound could be checked. The nurse replied, “He can’t, doctor. He has to walk more than a week just to get home.” Hearing that, Dr. Kawahara had an epiphany.
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Dr. Kawahara and the participants of the 2013 International Leadership Development Course
When Dr. Kawahara returned to Japan, he asked himself: “What is the best thing that I can do for the people with no access to health care? I can go back and do more operations. But is that the best thing for them?” He thought about this for quite a while and finally decided that the best way to help the people in Nepal was to invite health workers from Nepal to Japan and give them training. He worked tirelessly for this idea and in 1980 inaugurated the Asian Health Institute with the assistance of Japanese Christian medical leaders who had served in several Asian countries. They all realized that curative medical care alone was not a lasting solution to grassroots health issues. Instead, they saw a more effective and sustainable approach in training local leaders to promote community-based action for health and development.
AHI had a successful beginning. The participants, from various Southeast Asian countries such as Nepal, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Cambodia, enjoyed their training very much. However, dissatisfaction with their training program set in as the participants felt that they were cut off from meeting just regular, everyday Japanese citizens. They began to feel this way because of the isolated location of AHI. AHI, especially in the early days, was in a very rural area. There was no passing-by foot traffic. AHI had to be your destination for you to see it.
To respond to this dissatisfaction, AHI invited various groups to visit AHI and the participants through various events. Eight of my students who were interested in volunteer activities visited AHI several times. My students talked about college life in Japan and about their family life. Other events were international food fairs and activities surrounding various local holidays and cultural events. As more and more local people became aware of AHI and its training program for Southeast Asian peoples, more and more local people, organizations, and entities became involved in some aspect of the training program that AHI was conducting. Sometimes the activity was simply a respite from the rigors of the training program.
One such entity is the city of Owari-asahi, a neighboring city of Nagoya city. Owari-asahi city published a booklet titled Childcare Handbook for Fathers in 2012. They published such a booklet because the majority of Japanese men think childcare is a responsibility only for women. Many Japanese men don’t think to help their wives in the taking care of their children. This notion just does not enter into their psyche.
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Cover of the Childcare Handbook for Fathers
When AHI had an International Leadership Development Course in September 2012, participants from Southeast Asian countries visited the health office in Owari-asahi city as one of their activities. Personnel in the health office introduced the booklet to the participants and briefly explained the contents. Many of the participants showed much interest in the booklet because most of them were involved in health care programs in their home countries. The participants thought the booklet was unique and would be very useful in educating the men in their home countries. Upon the request of the participants, AHI decided to make an English version of the booklet to distribute to the participants of the 2013 International Leadership Development Course.
At this point we became involved. Emiko is a member of the AHI Translation Group. The Translation Group translates books into Japanese that deal with the lives of the people in Southeast Asian countries. AHI asked our Translation Group to translate this Childcare Handbook for Fathers into English. We gladly accepted the request.
The booklet contains subjects such as the 10 months of pregnancy, things for fathers to consider during pregnancy, childcare products, a new mother's mental state and body health after childbirth, a new life with baby, child development, advice from experienced fathers, and how to handle accidents and injuries.
AHI’s 2013 International Leadership Development Course has commenced, and AHI is going to use the English version of the Childcare Handbook for Fathers as a reference when particpants visit the health office in Owari-asahi city. AHI also plans to present some copies of the English version of the booklet to the health office during their visit. It is the hope of the Translation Group that the health office in Owari-asahi city will be able to utilize the English version of the handbook when foreigners come to the health office seeking advice.
The younger generation of Japanese men are becoming more flexible about helping their wives with childcare and house chores. However, they still need some kind of guidance. Some of the members of the Translation Group wished that such a handbook had been available when they were raising their children. Nevertheless, we are happy to introduce the handbook to our sons and/or sons-in-law.
The seeds of the vision that Dr. Kawahara planted some 33 years ago continue to bear fruit in ways that we could have never envisioned. The ripple effect of these seeds touch upon many shores: the staff at the health office in Owari-asahi city, the participants in the training program, the staff at AHI, the student volunteers at Kinjo Gakuin University, the members of the AHI Translation Group, the family and friends of all of the above, and you, the faithful supporters of the Presbyterian Church’s World Mission. Through your continued prayers and gifts, AHI has been able to train many workers in health and health care development from several Southeast Asian countries. Currently AHI trains about 200 health workers every year. Through your faithful prayers, you, along with us, have been able to walk alongside AHI for the past 22 years. Please continue to come together as members of the body of Christ to support the work of witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through your prayers and gifts as we share the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ.
Emiko and Sanford Taborn
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 234
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