Junten Junior High School / Senior High School

From September 25th to October 2nd, seven 2nd Year and three 1st Year Senior High School students (total 10 students) went to the Philippines. The group departed the next day of the Culture Festival. They all met at Haneda Airport. This time, students from students St. Michaels University School will join the trip.

In the morning of September 26, the group visited Cathedral of Manila in Intramuros and San Agustin Church, which is the World Heritage site. 

In the afternoon, students went to Tarlac in Capas to see Bataan Death March or Camp O’Donnell. The historical marks shows how brutal Imperial Japanese Army was. The tower shaped monument (photo right) has three legs at the bottom but the top is integrated in one. This means that three countries, the Philippines, the United States and Japan, unite and build peaceful countries together.

On September 27th, the group met to Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo Gregorio E. Perez IV in Pangasinan. The Mayor welcomed the Junten group and invited to lunch where we enjoyed beautiful local food at a local restaurant. 

Today the group is scheduled to visit the Caricaan community (an urban slum) and interview the representative of the community. The garbage dump site Junten visited last year had been closed, so this year the group visited a different site. Students interviewed local staff and workers. This community seems to be managed well and has a good sewage treatment method. There were students who visited the Philippines last year were impressed about the difference between the site they visited last year and this site they visited this year. However the local people’s lives are not easy at all. Workers earn only 300 peso (about 600 yen), which does not cover the transportation cost that enables them to look for a new job. 

In Caricaan, students interviewed an elderly person who has live there for a long time. When there is a heavy rain, the area will be flooded. The local residents illegally live there and their houses do not have a toilet. So they go to public toilets but they are out of order. Their life does not have things they need to maintain the quality of life.

In the afternoon, students interviewed an automobile sale person, an owner of a restaurant and a lawyer. Majority of the students in the group this year are interested in learning about local workers and labour conditions, so they really enjoyed the opportunities.