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Georgia
With my MSF teammates in Tskinvali, Georgia, March 1999
This picture was taken when I was a logistician with MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) in Tskinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. Our team was responsible for the medical treatment of tuberculosis patients, and for the repair and maintenance of the tuberculosis hospital ward.
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Kosovo
KFOR (NATO-led Kosovo Force) peacekeepers, August 1999
Our MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) team was stationed in Peja, Kosovo, where we repaired the destroyed roofs of homes that had been damaged during the 1999 ethnic strife and NATO bombing. During our stay, Peja was under the supervision of Italian peacekeepers of the KFOR (NATO-led Kosovo Force). I therefore often served as an interpreter between the locals, our team, and the Italian soldiers.
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Congo
Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), June 2000
Our MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) team was responsible for the repair and maintenance of the maternity & gynecology ward of a hospital that had been badly damaged during the civil war. The hospital was situated on a hill in Mindouli, a village about 80 km to the west of the capital Brazzaville. It usually took us eight hours to cover the jungle road from Brazzaville to Mindouli in a four-wheel drive vehicle. We were also in charge of setting up a CNT (Nutritional Therapy Center) for the many people who suffered from severe malnutrition as a consequence of the civil war.
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Does this face look familiar?
Through ATHA Alternative Space I realized my idea of a ‘social sculpture’.
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KANUN GAKUSHA
Kanun gakusha means ‘The School of the Floating Cloud.’ As the name suggests, I have created this school based on the image of a white cloud floating gently across the wide-open sky, a symbol of unrestrained and independent thought. First-rate kanun students use their abundance of leisurely floating time to create times of intense interchange with others. This is a serious school to which only kanun (leisurely floating) people are admitted.
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Solidarity with Tohoku Japan
I started SWTJ (Solidarity with Tohoku, Japan) with the support of a few friends immediately after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami to express strong solidarity with the people affected by the disaster. Started by only a few, SWTJ quickly grew and became a large group of professionals, volunteers, and contributors from Japan and beyond who joined forces to create links with the people in the disaster area. SWTJ first supplied the disaster area with emergency supplies and food. Next, we set up soup kitchens in evacuee centers. Later, over a period of several years, we conducted activities and events for evacuees, in particular cultural events for the elderly, musical events, and summer camps for children.