Ms. Hiromi Koga
Ms. Hiromi Koga shares her experiences and thoughts on Belize. Ms. Koga was assigned to St. Ignatius Primary School in Belize City between July 2004 and March 2006 as a volunteer in music. At present, she lives in Japan with her Belizean husband and two children, teaching music at a junior high school.
"When I arrived in Belize in 2004, I was fascinated by the grandeur and beauty of its nature. In addition, I was very impressed by the warm hearts of the Belizean people. I still remember their bright shining eyes and lively expressions. In Belize, I was supported by several persons including teachers, students of St. Ignatius School and fellow steelpan members of which I was a member too. Mr. and Mrs. Leslie, my landlord in Belize City, loved me so much as if I was their child. I am grateful for meeting them, and I am thankful for the many happy moments we shared together.
As a music volunteer, I mainly gave music classes at St. Ignatius School. I also gave lectures to the teachers and created textbooks. To students who participated in the yearly music festival I gave them special lessons. Sometimes, I found it very difficult to prepare lesson plans to attract students' interest in music due to scarceness of some teaching materials. I also found difficulty in communication because of my language barrier. However, despite of these difficulties, I was encouraged by the students' liveliness and enthusiasm to learn music. I realized that education should foster liveliness and enthusiasm in students. Before being dispatched to Belize, I was already a music teacher in Japan. When I saw the students singing so lively and joyously, I felt that this was one of the foundations of education.
My daily life in Belize has had a great influence on me as a junior high school teacher in Japan. Because of the differences of Japan and Belize, I have learnt the good tips of Japanese education and the task we have ahead of us. Every day I share with my students what I learnt in Belize. "What we think is normal in our daily Live's should not be taken for granted. Our daily life is strongly connected to the world outside of where we live. The world is much bigger than what we think".
I now live in Japan with my Belizean husband and two wonderful children. Since we are the first Belizean and Japanese couple to get married in Japan, we were faced with various hardships and worries. I am very glad that my Belizean husband has many opportunities to introduce Belize to Japan as a teacher. We hope that our two children are able to embrace their Belizean and Japanese cultures respectively. We also hope that our children can build a bridge between the two countries and their unique cultures.
13 years have passed since I left Belize. Before I was dispatched to Belize, I thought I could just give my skills as a Japanese music teacher; however, I gained more than what I had expected. I am thankful to all those people who helped me. They are too numerous to mention and they all made my life in Belize a memorable a one. I will always cherish many things I learnt as a person and as a teacher there. The good experiences and challenges I had in Belize as a volunteer definitely enriched my life. I think that present volunteers may feel frustrated not being able to be in Belize due to the COVID19 crisis. I hope this COVID crisis soon passes so that they may resume their activities as volunteers.
My family was looking forward in returning to Belize this year. However, we could not make it due to the pandemic. No matter how far we are, we will always be connected in our hearts. Our family and people in Belize are always in our thoughts and prayers. I am looking forward to seeing them soon. I wish my extended family and all the people of Belize health, happiness and lots of love from Japan."
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