Since the age of 19, I had been working at the deaf school in Yangon. One day, the headmaster called me and told me about the Duskin Leadership Program. The headmaster then asked me if I would intend to come back to the deaf school after completing the program. When I said that I would, the headmaster gave me a copy of the application form. A few months after I applied, some people came over from Japan to interview me, and as a result I was selected as a trainee. Even though I knew that it was a great success, I suddenly became overwhelmed with a sense of anxiety. I was not sure if Japanese people would treat me kindly. In Myanmar, I always received help from someone. I also stayed home most of the time and did not go out much. Now having traveled to Japan, and having gone through so many experiences, I feel that this was the first time that I ever lived independently. This is why I entitled this report “I Am Stronger Now.”

For the first three months following my arrival, I studied Japanese and the Japanese sign language. I had never studied them before. The sign language was quite easy, but Japanese was very hard. After three months of hard work, I began to understand Japanese signs on roads and at railway stations, but I still found it hard to write Japanese. I really wanted to pass the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test in December, but unfortunately, I didn’t succeed in it. When I found out the result of the test, I went back to my room and cried, feeling so sad. However, I am still learning Japanese now, and I intend to continue with it even after I go back home. I wish to be able to read and write Japanese fluently someday, like the former trainee, Aung Ko (also from Myanmar, from the 2nd Duskin Leadership Training Program).

Every Wednesday, we had a swimming lesson. I loved swimming but was not so good at it. The lesson took place only once a week, thus I did not go very far. Whenever we had a race among all the trainees, I was always the last. In Myanmar I had never worn a swimwear – it was too embarrassing. But now it is no problem.

I spent the New Year at the home of the Minatozaki family in Nagasaki. The father and the mother taught me a lot about Japanese culture, and we went sightseeing to a variety of places. I cooked with the mother and enjoyed delicious food every day. Mother also let me wear her kimono that she had treasured and preserved for years. They were so kind. I would like to say “Thank You” to them from the bottom of my heart.

For the first time in my life, I saw snow in Japan. Skiing was also something new to me. By the end of the second day of the lesson I could ski okay, but I wanted to have more lessons and get better at it.

The individual training started in January. For the first month I studied how to use a computer and managed to acquire many skills. I had never learned it in Myanmar. Ms. Uchida, my instructor, was always smiley, so highly skilled, and answered all questions I raised. As she made sure to see how I was feeling at all times, the course was very much fun. Someday I would like to become a computer teacher like Ms. Uchida, and would like to teach computer skills to children in Myanmar.

For approximately three weeks, I attended a training program at an NPO called Japanese ASL Signers Society. First, I learned about the components of a presentation in great detail. My presentation was planned for March 12th, and I was keenly preparing for it when, on March 11th, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. I was immensely shocked, as I had never experienced an earthquake before. The presentation was cancelled but fortunately got rearranged eventually. I was very happy when I could at last give a presentation.

Moving from Tokyo to Shiga, I studied the youth movement at Shiga Prefecture Deaf Association. In Japan, youth movements are very popular, but there is no equivalent of such in Myanmar. The Association’s youth section is supporting youth movements in other Asian countries. When a new youth section is established, sometimes members of the youth section visit them to celebrate. I thought that the most important thing about youth movements was sharing problems with peers. I attended their meetings, and was so touched when I witnessed their discussions generating laughter as well as intensive arguments. I think that it is due to the availability of such environment that people can help and learn from one another. In Myanmar, young deaf people are getting together to establish a youth section. When I go home, I would like to join them and tell them what I learned in Japan, and help to establish a youth section in Myanmar that is equally robust, if not more, than the Japanese counterpart.

In Shiga, I also met with a deafblind person for the first time in my life. I was worried about how I would communicate, but we managed to enjoy our conversation in tactile sign language. The person asked me if I had met deafblind people in Myanmar before. When I said that I had not, and that there were no deafblind people in Myanmar, the person said that there must be some in Myanmar but they were probably home-bound.

In Myanmar there are no sign language interpreters, but in Japan there are institutions that train and produce sign language interpreters. Over the course of five days at National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, I learned about sign language communication and sign language interpretation skills. I wish there were such institutions in Myanmar.

I attended a two-week training course at Meisei Gakuen school. Here, teachers do not use voice – instead, they communicate by the Japanese sign language. Because of this, the children in the school are very good at sign language. A three-year-old child is as fluent in sign language as an adult deaf person, and asks questions like “Do you have a boyfriend?”, “What is your job?” and “What is the biggest cultural difference between Myanmar and Japan?” I was stunned because children at other deaf schools never came up to me and talked like that.

In Myanmar, my parents would accompany me anywhere I went out. They would take me to my university and pick me up from there every day, which I used to take for granted. In Japan, I had to do everything by myself. I was so worried at first, and when I got lost in town I wanted to cry. But I had to carry on walking, without giving up. When I finally managed to reach the destination, I felt triumphant. Since this experience, I became capable of keeping calm even when I got lost. In Myanmar, I was very worried about a long-distance traveling. But in Japan, I was fine moving from Shiga to Tokyo by myself. After going back home, I am convinced, I will be able to go anywhere on my own.

I also feel that the Great East Japan Earthquake made me even stronger. It was the first time that I ever experienced a big earthquake. I was so petrified. Even when my trainee friends emailed me to cheer me up, I could not bring myself to write a cheerful email back. For about a week, whenever I felt aftershocks alone in my room, I was so scared and thus cried. It was then that my parents contacted me, telling that I should head back to Myanmar immediately. As I was so scared of these earthquakes I was in two minds. But when I saw the Japanese people in the north, who were struck by the earthquake and had an enormous damage in their lives yet still did not lose hope, I felt that I would like to be as strong as they were. Thus I decided to stay in Japan and accomplish whatever I could and should do, and consequently managed to complete the ten-month training course. I became a much stronger person through the training program.

1. I would like to teach computer skills at my deaf school, including Excel, Paint and Photoshop. I believe that children will have great fun if they can learn by using computers. Computer skills can also be an advantage when looking for a job, so it is a very important skill for their future.

2. I would like to develop a method of facilitating active participation of deaf children in the classroom and introduce it to deaf schools in Myanmar. At schools for the deaf in Myanmar, communication between teachers and children tends to be one-way, with the former giving instructions to the latter. I feel, however, just like at Meisei Gakuen, teachers and children need to build open and frequent interactions in order to develop children’s abilities. This would first require an environment where all teachers can equally express themselves and can communicate openly with one another. In Myanmar, non-deaf teachers often have lunch first, and deaf teachers eat later. I would like to create an environment where all teachers share lunch time together, be equal to one another and freely express their opinions.

3. Young deaf people in Myanmar are creating a small youth group, using a classroom at my deaf school. I would like to become a member of this group and transmit what I learned in Japan to them. Just like Japanese youth sections, I would like the organization to be a place where everyone can have discussions and make suggestions about Myanmar’s systems and laws.

4. I would like to be part of JICA’s project, if only in small ways, as JICA is starting a sign language interpreter course project in Myanmar. I will be volunteering and want to utilize the experience I have had in Japan.

I would like to thank everyone at the Duskin Ainowa Foundation. I would also like to send my thank-you to everyone at Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities for helping me out at all times. In particular, I would like to express my gratitude to Ms. Nasu, who acted as my interpreter and helped me with Japanese reading and writing.

I hope that this training lasts 100 years and more, and that its network expands from Japan to Asia, and to the entire world.