Mrs. Okamura (2nd from Left) seen here walking next to UN Akashi, promised herself to build 100 schools in Cambodia. At her death, she asked that her remain be buried in Caambodia, the country she loved. (Photo: www.asac.gr.jp)Asahi Shimbun (Japan)
06/06/2006
Mariko Okamura had one ambition: To build 100 schools in war-torn Cambodia.
A United Nations volunteer during the Cambodian general election in 1992, the Japanese homemaker went on to set up the Association of School Aid in Cambodia (ASAC).
When Okamura died of breast cancer in February, aged only 58, she had overseen the opening of 89 schools.
And now her husband is seeing to it that another of her wishes will be granted: To be buried in Cambodia.
Okamura's husband, Shigenori, 65, headed to Cambodia in mid-May, with the intention of burying some of his wife's remains in the country she loved so much.
Okamura's relationship with Cambodia began almost 14 years ago, when she spent 18 months in Kampot, a province 150 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, with the United Nations.
The province is made up of 69 villages surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers.
However, years of civil war meant that many of the local schools had been destroyed.
And the few that remained were infested with termites.
Instead of getting an education, children were being forced to work.
"Children are the ones to play the leading roles in reconstructing the country, but the education environment is way too poor," Okamura once said.
She was fascinated by the brightness she could see in the children's eyes.
It wasn't long before she was committed to building schools for them.
"I always heard what she wanted to do after her mind was already made up," her husband said.
On her return to Japan, Okamura set to work with an energy and determination that was to characterize her mission.
She first published a book about her experiences as an election observer. Using the funds from book sales and what she sold at flea markets, Okamura formed the ASAC, a non-government organization.
Only two months later, in November 1994, construction began on the first school.
Okamura launched a fund-raising campaign for more schools using the slogan: "A hundred yen a brick." This was based on the estimate that a typical one-story, five-classroom Cambodian schoolhouse is made out of 40,000 bricks, costing about 4 million yen.
The campaign was so successful it attracted supporters from Tokyo and as far afield as the United States. Membership grew steadily.
The ASAC also attracted attention in the corporate sector, and several companies and labor unions contributed to the project.
On her return to Cambodia, locals welcomed Okamura with open arms. For her part she was also able to talk with them in their own language, and with humor.
With the exception of occasional disturbances from remnants of the Khmer Rouge, Okamura's work was going according to plan.
That all changed in 2001.
One day in September, while Okamura was still in Cambodia, she discovered a lump in her left breast. On her return to Japan it was diagnosed as breast cancer.
Okamura underwent a 12-hour operation to have the tumor removed.
After surgery, Okamura struggled with a sense of listlessness, a side-effect of her cancer treatment. She also battled with depression.
Undeterred, Okamura continued her work, returning to Cambodia between treatments. Her enthusiasm was undiminished, as she banished all thoughts of her illness with hard work.
"Doing what I want to do is the best remedy," she was quoted as saying.
But the cancer returned, first in 2002, and then again in 2004. By this time she had lost the strength required to undergo further surgery.
When Okamura learned this, her response was typically defiant: "Well, I guess all I can do is to get along with the cancer."
By the time of her last trip to Cambodia, for the opening of the 84th school, she was confined to a wheelchair.
"She was a very strong person," said Shigeko Watanabe, an ASAC official. "Even when she found out that she didn't have long to live, she didn't seem to get depressed. She hid any suffering she was going through from us until the very end."
Okamura hoped that, after her death, the ASAC would continue on as before. She was right: Through the efforts of her former co-workers, Okamura's strength and determination lives on.(IHT/Asahi: June 6,2006)
For additional information about ASAC: http://www.asac.gr.jp/indexe.html
A United Nations volunteer during the Cambodian general election in 1992, the Japanese homemaker went on to set up the Association of School Aid in Cambodia (ASAC).
When Okamura died of breast cancer in February, aged only 58, she had overseen the opening of 89 schools.
And now her husband is seeing to it that another of her wishes will be granted: To be buried in Cambodia.
Okamura's husband, Shigenori, 65, headed to Cambodia in mid-May, with the intention of burying some of his wife's remains in the country she loved so much.
Okamura's relationship with Cambodia began almost 14 years ago, when she spent 18 months in Kampot, a province 150 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, with the United Nations.
The province is made up of 69 villages surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers.
However, years of civil war meant that many of the local schools had been destroyed.
And the few that remained were infested with termites.
Instead of getting an education, children were being forced to work.
"Children are the ones to play the leading roles in reconstructing the country, but the education environment is way too poor," Okamura once said.
She was fascinated by the brightness she could see in the children's eyes.
It wasn't long before she was committed to building schools for them.
"I always heard what she wanted to do after her mind was already made up," her husband said.
On her return to Japan, Okamura set to work with an energy and determination that was to characterize her mission.
She first published a book about her experiences as an election observer. Using the funds from book sales and what she sold at flea markets, Okamura formed the ASAC, a non-government organization.
Only two months later, in November 1994, construction began on the first school.
Okamura launched a fund-raising campaign for more schools using the slogan: "A hundred yen a brick." This was based on the estimate that a typical one-story, five-classroom Cambodian schoolhouse is made out of 40,000 bricks, costing about 4 million yen.
The campaign was so successful it attracted supporters from Tokyo and as far afield as the United States. Membership grew steadily.
The ASAC also attracted attention in the corporate sector, and several companies and labor unions contributed to the project.
On her return to Cambodia, locals welcomed Okamura with open arms. For her part she was also able to talk with them in their own language, and with humor.
With the exception of occasional disturbances from remnants of the Khmer Rouge, Okamura's work was going according to plan.
That all changed in 2001.
One day in September, while Okamura was still in Cambodia, she discovered a lump in her left breast. On her return to Japan it was diagnosed as breast cancer.
Okamura underwent a 12-hour operation to have the tumor removed.
After surgery, Okamura struggled with a sense of listlessness, a side-effect of her cancer treatment. She also battled with depression.
Undeterred, Okamura continued her work, returning to Cambodia between treatments. Her enthusiasm was undiminished, as she banished all thoughts of her illness with hard work.
"Doing what I want to do is the best remedy," she was quoted as saying.
But the cancer returned, first in 2002, and then again in 2004. By this time she had lost the strength required to undergo further surgery.
When Okamura learned this, her response was typically defiant: "Well, I guess all I can do is to get along with the cancer."
By the time of her last trip to Cambodia, for the opening of the 84th school, she was confined to a wheelchair.
"She was a very strong person," said Shigeko Watanabe, an ASAC official. "Even when she found out that she didn't have long to live, she didn't seem to get depressed. She hid any suffering she was going through from us until the very end."
Okamura hoped that, after her death, the ASAC would continue on as before. She was right: Through the efforts of her former co-workers, Okamura's strength and determination lives on.(IHT/Asahi: June 6,2006)
For additional information about ASAC: http://www.asac.gr.jp/indexe.html
3 comments:
To Mariko Okamura and her Association of School Aid in Cambodia and I want to say thank you for planting the seeds of knowledge for Cambodian children.
For her love and hard work with determination for Cambodian people who know nothing except suffering, she will have a special place in heaven.
May God bless her with kindness the same way she blessed Cambodian people with kindness.
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND A MILLION THANKS TO YOU AS WELL,MAM!!!
rest in peace and thank you.
if there were only more people like you.
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