Japan ODA 60th Anniversary

The Ingredients for a Better World

Luis Antonio Valdez, Second Place, South Hill School Inc

The Philippines has faced a plethora of problems this past decade. Ranging from serious natural disasters to political crimes, and even rebellious uprisings; we have faced very tough times recently. Despite these problems, however, international cooperation is ever-present and has done many good things for us.

It was raining heavily at night. I was preparing for another day of school, another day to learn and discover new things. Suddenly, my family and I heard the news on the television – classes were suspended. The culprit was excessive flooding in many areas in the province, especially areas around Laguna de Bay, the country's largest lake. It was a day that was meant for school, a day that was meant for discovery, wasted because of this problem. My education was being hindered as I was denied a day of learning. The next morning, I watched in shock and worry as the television broadcasted live footage of flooding in countless areas around the region, and reports about dead and missing people soon showed up.

This has happened not only once, but dozens of times. I, and I suspect many others, are tired of this routine that frequently occurs every year. Not only is my education, along with the education of thousands of other young people, hindered, but the lives of many are endangered at the same time. Flooding around the area puts people's lives in danger and forces them to leave their homes. Thankfully, our government, with the support our friends at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), have devised a project that shall help us handle this problem more effectively: A three-year project entitled "Enhancing Resiliency through Community Participatory Flood Observation for Laguna Lake Basin".

This ambitious, three-year project aims to create an early warning system around Laguna de Bay, consisting of web cameras, a mobile e-mail notification system, and warning sirens. This system will alert residents living in the area around the lake of floods, potentially saving thousands of lives.

Many lessons that were learned from 2011's Great East Japan Disaster, as well as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, will be implemented in this project. In 2004, the government of Indonesia issued a public warning on television. There was one problem to this plan, however: Most of the areas that were in danger had no access to electricity. As a result, the public warnings did very little to minimize the casualties of the disaster, which claimed over 150,000 lives. In 2011, during the Great East Japan Disaster, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) predicted that a 3-meter high tsunami would hit Japan; however, they underestimated the size of the tsunami that struck, which stood as tall as 10 meters high. This mistake resulted in a slow evacuation that cost over 15,000 lives. The lessons learned from this event will allow both nations to benefit from this project, helping the Philippines develop and apply the system more effectively and, in turn, helping Japan observe what has changed since the system was first developed. With this cooperation, the friendship between Japan and the Philippines, one that has lasted for decades, is strengthened, improving the relations between these two nations.

This is not all, however. More lessons will be learned from this project, which can be used to aid other nations in need. As a result, in the long run, strong friendships and positive relations can be formed all around the globe. This is all thanks to the cooperation that happens when projects such as this one occur.

Still, international cooperation alone cannot make progress occur. It alone cannot lead us to a better world. There area few more ingredients to the equation -- ingredients that lie within us, the citizens of this nation. The things that are needed of us are the initiative and discipline of the youth.

In order to keep these projects from becoming irrelevant decades from now, I, as a young citizen, will have to spread awareness and practice discipline. Spreading the word about what projects JICA and the national government have been initiating will motivate others to fulfill their responsibilities regarding these various, wonderful projects. Even things as trivial as properly disposing trash or conserving electricity will provide more benefits than simply environmental ones; it would also let other people – including future generations – reap the benefits of the hard work done by the government and organizations such as JICA.

Let us look at this flood early warning project, as an example. According to the research paper "Achieving Natural Disaster Business Success by Developing Clients and Community: Lessons from Local Leading Companies in Nagaoka City, Japan" by Kurokawa Kiyoto, even after early warning devices are implemented, people should still have the initiative to understand the dangers of a flood, as well as how to prevent one and how to prepare for one, on their own.This shall further minimize the amount of casualties when a flood strikes. I can help the people understand all these things by spreading the word and increasing awareness. By doing so, I can potentially save lives and reduce casualties.

Now let us take a look at discipline. Something as simple as proper disposal of trash can minimize the effects of flood. Even a single person – even a young student in school – can change everything.

In school, one student disposes of his trash not by throwing it away in a trash container, but by throwing it away in drainage canals. His fellow students see this and quickly assume that this practice is safe and harmless, so they too start disposing of trash the same way. This effect can spread throughout the entire community, as other people see the practice of improper disposal of trash. Soon, this trash can accumulate and clog the drainage canals, and this can result in a great, disastrous flood that becomes far more serious than if these people practiced proper waste disposal. People die and lose their homes in a great flood that swallows entire towns. If it were not for that single person that began the chain, it is very well possible that none of this would have happened.

Discipline was seen during Japan's time of crisis, during the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster. Evacuees were willing to wait for hours for relief goods. In times where the basic necessities of life – things such as food and water – were hard to find, there was no looting, no impatience, and no chaos. This helped the fast and steady recovery of the nation, and within a year, any remaining signs that Japan went through such a horrendous disaster were minimal.

Initiative and discipline can go a long way in preventing things from happening. These two things ensure that the efforts of the government, as well as organizations such as JICA, will be worthwhile in the long run. If we can all somehow practice initiative and discipline, spreading awareness and doing what we know will benefit all of society, I can imagine seeing a scenario like this in the future.

It rains heavily at night. My children prepare for another day at school, another day to learn and discover new things. Fortunately, the heavy rain does not stop my children from going to school the next dayand learning things they have not known before. The early warning system developed for Laguna de Bay works flawlessly and alerts people of approaching floods. Thanks to the people's awareness regarding the dangers of a flood, in addition to them doing the right thing, the effects of floods are reduced to an absolute minimum. At the end of the day, no one is harmed by the intense rainfall or flooding, and the people continue going about their normal lives.

If the practice of healthy international cooperation continues, and we citizens, especially us young people, continue practicing discipline, I can see a bright future for us all. Even as we boast an entire feast of problems plaguing us, international cooperation, as well as discipline, shall help us create a better nation and a better world.