Intercultural Mom’s Club on-Line Session #5 -Final Session

Intercultural Mom’s Club on-Line Session #5 -Final Session

The Intercultural Mom’s Club on-line session, which started at the end of January, welcomed the final day on March 24th.
Seven out of planned eight moms were not able to join and we realized how much commitment and contribution mothers are putting into their children.

One thing which became clear throughout the five sessions is the fact that all the moms moved in from some other place do have passion to learn and understand the local culture. Some moms adopt rice porridge or MISO or NATTO in baby food, or some moms make a Japanese style OBENTO -lunch box- following the other Japanese moms though they struggle.

TENDENKO, self protection and evacuation, was addressed by a mom who lives in the SANRIKU coast when the topic of the earthquake we had a couple weeks ago came in the conversation.
One day she finally had a chance to go out all by herself leaving her baby with her husband for the first time after she gave a birth. Then the earthquake shook us causing things on the shelves to fall. She immediately remembered the word TENDENKO, and thought to evacuate to protect her life believing in her husband to protect his life and the baby’s life.
One of the greatest lessons from the SANRIKU TSUNAMI in 2011 was TENDENKO, and the TENDENKO spirit was totally accepted and ingested by this mom in brightness.

The moms listen to the local people, concoct wonderful meals using the local products, support children’s communication and friendship with the other children and keep making efforts to become a part of the community which were all precious and impressive.

Under the still on-going difficult circumstance of Covid-19 transmission, we confirmed the meaning of this on-line session program in the following words that one mom said:
“I was happy to meet other English speaking moms in Iwate and to know there are other people in the same position as me.”

As the wish in the flyer before the program started, let us wish again:
May the days of moms in Iwate get brightened up as well as the days of their children and family are brightened by the light of moms.