１２月８日 副大統領訪問

　早朝からめったに着ないスーツに袖を通す。そして、ワイシャツのボタンを一番上までとめ、ネクタイをする。久し振りのスーツとネクタイに違和感を感じながらも、程よい緊張感が体を包む。

　この日、ナイロビのホテルで行われる副大統領訪問。そこでボランティア代表としてスピーチをすることになっており、久々に話す英語のスピーチの前に少し緊張していた。原稿を何度も読み直し、発音などのチェックをする。けど、大統領でなくて副大統領だからといったことで、変な落ち着きさえあった。

　そして福大統領が姿を見せる。笑顔で部屋に入ってきて、背が低く単なるケニア人のおっちゃんに思えた。それがまた緊張を解きほぐしてくれた。そしていよいよ、スピーチの時がやってきた。子どもたちが描いた絵やメタルアートとして作った眼鏡も一緒に持っていき、スピーチの途中で副大統領に手渡した。そうすると、副大統領が子ども手作りの眼鏡をかけてくれたのだ。これがなんともうれしかった。

　さてスピーチの内容は下記の通りです。日本語訳はつけてませんが、よかったらご覧ください。

My pleasure to meet you. Hon. The Vice President.
My name is Kenichiro Kuromyo, and I am a JICA volunteer. I came to Kenya in June 2008. Before I came to Kenya, I was teaching English to Japanese students for 5 years.

As a student in secondary school, my dream was to become a teacher in Africa as a JICA volunteer. I like teaching children and I was inspired by a friend whom I visited 3 years ago in Paraguay. My friend enjoyed teaching and made children laugh and smile. From then on I decided to be a JICA volunteer in Africa. So, here I am and happy to be here.

I teach at Getathuru Rehabilitation School in Lower Kabete, a school which houses street boys, orphans and children whom to some reason refuse to go to school. The boys age between ten and eighteen years old. As a reception centre the boys spend three months before joining a fully fledged Rehabilitation school for three years.

My job is to teach them physical education and arts and crafts. In class, I tell them the importance of friendship and teamwork through physical education class. By so doing, the boys become motivated and creative in arts and crafts. Some have become very good in metal art.

At first is was very difficult for me to teach them because they could not listen, could not look at me and they could not work hard. And in addition my skill in Swahili at that time was poor. But I got a lot of support and encouragement from colleagues which are very important to a teacher. In Kenyan perspective that is ‘’HARAMBEE’’ and ‘’TUKO PAMOJA’’

Here in Kenya I am not only a volunteer to help Kenya, but a good friend to Kenyans. Through sharing our cultures we have become helpful to each other and known each other better.

I haven’t achieved my goal. ‘’I MAKE THE CHILDREN I TEACH LAUGH AND SMILE’’
I have 3 months left to go back to Japan; it is a very short time but will do my best and stand up by my children and make them smile.

Thank you for listening.