The Health Cooperative Association of JCCU, World Bank PIC Tokyo, and the Japan Association for International Health Students (Jaih-s) hold a PIC Coffee Hour
For 10 days in March, 9 university students, a university staffer, and 2 staff from the Health Cooperative Association of JCCU and Ehime Co-Op Hospital) went on a medical care study tour in Nepal.
The group of students, who are studying medicine, pharmaceuticals, social services, and nursing, went with the purpose of better understanding what they can do to assist in places that still suffer serious poverty problems. With the capital city Kathmandu as their base, the group participated in on-site inspections and field trips with staff members of international organizations such as the local Co-op Hospital, ILO, UNICEF, UNFPA, JICA, and others. At today’s Coffee Hour, the same members of the study tour gave a summary presentation on their impressions from the trip.
Many of the students made a great deal of new friends, sharing with them stories from Japan, and were sad to return to Japan so soon. During their presentations, the attending students made various comments about the fruits from their journey: “Seeing international cooperative efforts in person was a precious experience,” “It was a fun time, and made me want to work in nursing in developing countries,” “I came to realize that medical abilities are not the only skills necessary, but also language skills are important,” “I feel that the tour gave me a clearer picture of what I want to do now.”
Ms. Aya Ishiguro of Teikyo University spoke about a program through the Japan Association for International Health Students(Jaih-s) that helps match students who are studying in medical-related fields with internships on-site as part of the “International Health – Student-Field Matching.”
, World Bank PIC Tokyo, and the 
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