From Yoro Town to Nepal: Peace Class Born from Human Rights Education in Yoro Town

The specified non-profit organization Nakayoshi Gakuen Project conducted a model class on peace and human rights education on June 3, 2026, at Shree Bodwar Secondary School, located in Bodwar, Rohini Village Municipality-6, Rupandehi District, Lumbini Province, Nepal.

In this class, the human rights essay collection 'Family Bonds' (Kazoku no Kizuna), provided by the Yoro Town Board of Education in Gifu Prefecture, was introduced to the local children. Nakayoshi Gakuen delivered the human rights education efforts of Yoro Town to the school in Nepal.

Students wrote their feelings for their families and wishes for peace on pink cards and attached them to a large tree-shaped board, creating a 'Nakayoshi Tree.' The thoughts of each individual overlapped on a single tree, creating a learning space in the classroom that transcended borders to think about human rights and peace.

This 'Nakayoshi Tree' connects Yoro Town, Gifu Prefecture, with Lumbini, Nepal, leading to a global learning exchange for the 80th-anniversary commemorative lecture at Yoro Town's Takada Junior High School.

Nakayoshi Gakuen plans to hold a commemorative lecture for the 80th anniversary of the founding of Takada Junior High School in Yoro Town, Gifu Prefecture. Takada Junior High School aims to be a 'school that values dreams and human rights,' working to create a safe environment for every student. A lecture by Nakayoshi Gakuen representative Yuichi Nakamura is being considered as an opportunity for students, staff, and parents to reflect on the human rights they have cherished and their future paths.

The 'Family Bonds' collection delivered to Nepal is a symbol of the human rights education Yoro Town has cultivated. Nakayoshi Gakuen carried this book across the sea, sharing the value of human rights education nurtured in a Japanese community with Nepalese children.

In the future, Takada Junior High School will also implement a similar 'Nakayoshi Tree' initiative, connecting the messages of Nepalese children with those of Japanese children. This will develop into a new educational exchange where children from Yoro Town and around the world learn from each other about human rights and peace.

The class at the Nepalese school on June 3 was part of Nakayoshi Gakuen's 'Learning Connected to the World' program, which collaborates with schools across Japan. The class utilized multiple teaching materials, including spinning tops and juggling YOYOs to teach about force, power, rotation, and the fun of making things. Origami was used to foster spatial awareness and creativity, introducing Japanese educational culture that creates learning from everyday items.

After these activities, the 'Family Bonds' collection was introduced as an example of Yoro Town's human rights education. The importance of cherishing family, caring for others, and the connections between people building a peaceful society were conveyed to the local students.

The students completed the 'Nakayoshi Tree' by writing their gratitude to family and wishes for peace on cards. The tree, displayed in front of the classroom blackboard, bloomed with the thoughts of each Nepalese child, marking a moment when human rights education was shared across borders.

What Nakayoshi Gakuen values is not simply delivering Japanese materials and goods overseas. It is about delivering the learning born in Japanese schools and communities to the world, and then bringing the reactions and results from those places back to Japanese schools. Through this cycle, Japanese children realize that 'their learning is connected to the world,' and children overseas can also touch the values cherished by Japanese communities.

This activity became an effort to share the human rights education accumulated by Yoro Town with Nepalese children. Through the 80th-anniversary commemorative lecture at Takada Junior High School, the thoughts of the Nepalese children will be brought back to Yoro Town.

Human rights education nurtured in a local community reaches the world, and the voices of children from around the world return to the community. Nakayoshi Gakuen aims to be a bridge of 'mutual learning' connecting Yoro Town and the world at this milestone of Yoro Town's 80th anniversary.

From Yoro Town to Nepal, and to the world. The activities to make the world peaceful through human rights education continue.

Comment from Representative Yuichi Nakamura of the Nakayoshi Gakuen Project: 'The human rights education efforts cherished in Yoro Town, Gifu Prefecture, have reached the children of Nepal. The book 'Family Bonds' handed to us by the Board of Education contains the importance of valuing people, thinking of family, and creating a society where everyone can live in peace. Introducing these thoughts at a school in Nepal and creating a 'Nakayoshi Tree' with the children holds great significance. Learning about human rights is about creating peace. A heart that cares for others prevents conflict and warms society. At the important milestone of the 80th anniversary of Takada Junior High School in Yoro Town, I want to bring the thoughts of Nepalese children to Japan and learn about human rights and peace together with Japanese children. Nakayoshi Gakuen will continue its activities to serve as a bridge connecting Yoro Town and the world through education.'

Looking ahead, Nakayoshi Gakuen will return the 'Nakayoshi Tree' initiative completed in Nepal to Japan for the planned 80th-anniversary commemorative lecture at Takada Junior High School. Students at Takada Junior High School will also express their feelings for their families and wishes for a peaceful society, overlapping them with the messages from Nepalese children to realize a cross-border human rights education exchange.

Nakayoshi Gakuen will continue to collaborate with schools, local governments, and boards of education across Japan, promoting 'Learning Connected to the World' that delivers local educational practices to the world and brings global learning back to the community.

Organization Overview:
Organization Name: Specified Nonprofit Corporation Nakayoshi Gakuen Project
Business: Planning and operation of inquiry-based, peace, and inclusive education programs centered on 'Learning Connected to the World (CoRe Loop)'; support for education, food, and mental health care in Japan and abroad.

Contact:
Specified Nonprofit Corporation Nakayoshi Gakuen Project (Secretariat)
E-mail: peace.office@nakayoshigakuen.org