Santana Gakuen (サンタナ学園) in Aisho is a school catering to Brazilian children. However, due to the children’s parents losing their factory jobs in Shiga due to the recession, the kids could no longer afford the tuition. The school’s enrollment of over 100 shrank to 67 by last autumn, and 40 of them were unable to pay the tuition. The school could no longer pay the Japanese teacher and so the school was closed in early 2009.

Coming to the rescue was Okuda Yuko (奥田祐子), an English teacher who met the school principal (Tanaka Kenko 中田ケンコ校長) and offered to teach Japanese to the kids as a volunteer. So the school reopened on June 11, 2009 after a six-month closure.

Ms. Okuda currently teaches at the school two or three times a week, mainly to kids in grades 1 to 4, much to the relief of the school’s principal. The children are eager to learn Japanese.

Okuda-san is also involved in the establishment of Aisho’s international association (愛荘国際交流協会設立準備会) to be formed later this year. (She’s the coordinator.) She hopes to expand Aisho’s international programs to include art, flower arranging, and cooking.

I wish her and her associates the best for the school and international association.