Niina Kudo shuddered at her country’s indifference to the suffering of others not long after receiving so much global support to the devastating earthquake that rocked Japan last year.
First, Kudo was heartened by Canada’s compassionate response to the heavy toll of death and destruction delivered on Japan by a massive earthquake and tsunami.
In Canada, says the 22-year-old UPEI student, people seem to identify with the pain and struggling of other countries.
She thought the overwhelming outpouring of support would make a difference to Japanese thinking.
She was saddened to discover otherwise when a large earthquake hit Turkey on Oct. 23, 2011.
“Media paid less attention to the country, and citizens seemed to think about it as if it happened in a different world or planet,’’ she said. “I felt that there was something missing in my country.’’
Kudo, who is studying to become a teacher, wants to share her experiences and encourage Japanese people to share their love with others who they do not know.
The international student has already undertaken numerous selfless initiatives to make a difference — a host of impressive endeavours that helped her nab the Dr. Vianne Timmons International Student Award.
The award, among several presented during the 11th Annual International Development Week Fundraising Luncheon, is presented to an international student enrolled in his or her second year of full-time, undergraduate study at UPEI in good academic standing and with demonstrated involvement in activities or volunteer work, both on- and off-campus.
CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEEK AWARD WINNERS
She says her first blood donation in Charlottetown changed her perspective. She could not keep from feeling joy and pleasure at being part of someone’s life. She then became interested in working as a volunteer in several local communities in the capital city.
Kudo joined CUSO-VSO, a non-profit development agency that sends hundreds of volunteers a year to work in collaborative development projects in more than 40 countries.
She worked as a campus volunteer last summer and is currently helping as a teacher’s assistant, a professor and his large class.
“Every moment I am with someone, every word I exchange with someone, even for different purposes, as long as I work in a group, I feel a sense of building essential relationships,’’ she said.
Kudo’s thinking is very much in line with the theme for this year’s International Development Week of Building Democracies: Instilling Civil Societies and Developing Processes.
Christian Lecroix, dean of science and the chair of the International Development Week committee, told a luncheon crowd that individuals can play an essential role in ensuring their rights and fundamental needs are met.
He later spoke with The Guardian on the value international students bring to the mix at UPEI.
“I think it’s important to bring diversity to a campus,’’ he said.
“First and foremost is to bring students from different backgrounds, different areas of the world ... and that really enriches the campus life to know about where people grew up and what their experiences have been because they’re very different.’’
UPEI currently has 527 international students, representing 58 countries and regions, which makes up almost 12 per cent of the university’s student body.
He says integration is the biggest hurdle for international students.
To help address that barrier, the university has a partnership program that pairs an international student with a domestic student to go to social events and integrate with other students on campus.
