Education Japan Project #58335

JOEE to Japan - English for At-Risk Children

by JOEE - Joyful Opportunity English Education

JOEE to Japan - English for At-Risk Children

Project Report | Dec 16, 2024
JOEE Brings Joy at Christmas!

By Ruth Ingulsrud | Founding Director of JOEE

Advent Calendar

What a joyful holiday season this has been so far! This December, JOEE had the privilege of bringing Christmas parties, presents and joy to many children in multiple orphanages across Japan with the help of enthusiastic and talented volunteers. At one orphanage in Ota-ku, Tokyo, after singing and dancing to Christmas songs, gifts were given to children by a jovial bilingual Santa who stayed to help unwrap, assemble and admire the presents that appeared.

At another children's home in Odawara, on the coast of Japan, children played with a variety of animal puppets and eagerly played a Christmas "I-Spy" game while gathered around a colorful quilt full of lots of patterns featuring items that they could name in English. Then we all gathered in a circle to sing a simple dance version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" which set them all to giggling. At the end of the lesson, every child got a treat and a gift to take with them.

At an orphanage in Nagoya, the children were each given an electric candle to hold and they gathered around to read the story of Christmas, learning about its origins and the message of Love that Christmas brings. They were engaged and enchanted with the story and with the way that they found their presents, playing a game of "Hot" and "Cold" to help them hone in on the hiding place for each gift.

This year, we had the opportunity to bring a total of sixteen persons from the orphanage community to see a free performance of "The Nutcracker" ballet at a large church in downtown Tokyo. It was a magical performance and the children got to meet the director afterwards and then enjoy the dazzling lights of the city as they made their way via train back home with their escorting adults. One little girl shared with us that she had been taking ballet lessons before she entered the orphanage, but that had not had lessons since. We are doing what we can to see if perhaps we can enable her to study ballet once more.

We are blessed with volunteers in Japan who come from all over the world - from America to Zimbabwe. The lessons and caring presence of the JOEE volunteer teachers give the children positive and character-building experiences as they meet people from many different cultures while learning English, which will help them find jobs and connect with people near and far. JOEE is very happy to have the opportunity to bring JOY this Christmas.

The Nativity

"Sandy Claws" the Lion

"What Am I?" Guessing Game

Christmas Crafts

Where do you want to go?

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Aug 18, 2024
Growing Up with JOEE

By Ruth Ingulsrud | Founding Director of JOEE.jp

Joyful Opportunity English Education began five years ago in 2019 with the vision of teaching English to young children growing up in orphanages. Our target participant age group was two to eight years of age. Young children are already in an intensive language-learning stage of their lives, so acquiring a new language at an early age is a natural activity for them.

JOEE is bringing its free English classes to children in seven different orphanages in Japan with the hope that this opportunity will bolster their confidence in language learning and strengthen their ability to connect with responsible adults from a variety of cultures. Eventually, these qualities will help the youth from orphanages find fulfilling and sustainable work when they launch out on their own at age eighteen.

Although our main focus continues to be early years education, recently JOEE has been receiving more requests from older youth who reside in care facilities. Students from sixteen to eighteen years of age begin to think seriously about their future. They begin to plan for their lives outside of the care institution that has sheltered them. Many of these youth understand that being able to speak English greatly increases their opportunities for employment in Japan and around the world.

JOEE volunteers have begun teaching more one-on-one English tutoring classes with older teens who are looking ahead to their job prospects. Some of our students have gone on to college, even majoring in English. One student intends to become an English teacher in Japan, so he is working very hard and concentrating on accurate English-language pronunciation. We believe that all of these children deserve a bright and exciting future. We hope that you will help to support JOEE in any way that you can.

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Apr 23, 2024
The Power of Amazing Worldwide Volunteers

By Ruth Ingulsrud | Founding Director of JOEE

Tokyo JOEE Volunteers

JOEE's teacher-volunteers come from all over the world... Australia, Brazil, India, Israel, Norway, USA, Latvia, New Zealand, Serbia, and Japan are the current origin countries of our helpers. They create wonderful, creative lessons drawing on their diverse backgrounds and skills as they share their talents and love with children who are growing up in orphanages in Japan. Read about their interesting classes on the blog at the JOEE website: https://joee.jp/

Some of our JOEE volunteers work online with students one-on-one while others travel to orphanages weekly or monthly to offer exuberant, puppet and song-enhanced lessons to help spark interest in learning English and exploring the world. Acquiring English skills is one of the best ways for these at-risk children to find meaningful employment after exiting the care homes at age eighteen.

Although JOEE’s ultimate goal is to help children learn basic English so that their opportunities expand when they leave the orphanages, staff members have told us that the engagement and enthusiasm of our JOEE teachers help the children in their emotional development. They learn to trust caring and consistent adults. They feel accepted and valued. They understand that learning and participated can be fun. The healthy social development of these children is essential for their healthy participation in Japanese society and their positive engagement with the world. Love makes all the difference!

JOEE currently has 25 active volunteer-teachers who are helping out in seven facilities that provide protective care for children who have been rescued from dangerous and abusive situations here in Japan. Here is a list of the seven homes that we currently serve:

St. Francisco Children’s Home - Ota-ku, Tokyo: https://otsuge-francisco.org/

Chofu Gakuen - Chofu, Tokyo: https://chofugakuen.com/about/facility/

Harukaen - Matsudo, Chiba: https://s-haruka.org/access/

Wakamatsu Ryo - Nagoya: http://www.syoutokukai.or.jp/wakamatsu

Shinai Children’s Home - Kobe: https://www.shinai-kodomo-home.com/link.html

Yurikagoen - Odawara: http://www.yurikago-en.or.jp

Kawasaki Aijien - https://www.aijien.or.jp/facility/kawasaki-aijien.html

Thank you so very much for being part of this mission to assist these children with a head-start in learning English and becoming valuable and thriving members of our worldwide, connected global community!

JOEE Helpers Gather

JOEE Teachers at St. Francisco Children's Home

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