Children's Learning in Sakura City Brings Smiles to Nepal -- Feedback Lectures Held at Usui Junior High, Madonodai Elementary, and Ojidai Elementary Schools

NPO Nakayoshi Gakuen Project held feedback lectures at three schools in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture—Usui Junior High School, Madonodai Elementary School, and Ojidai Elementary School—to report on educational support activities conducted in Nepal.

Lecture at Ojidai Elementary SchoolLecture at Madonodai Elementary SchoolLecture at Usui Junior High School

During these lectures, the students were informed about the educational support activities carried out in June 2026 in Lumbini Province and Kathmandu, Nepal. The lectures conveyed how teaching materials and Japanese culture introduced by children from Sakura City reached children and teachers in Nepal, and what kind of smiles, surprise, and learning were generated.

What Nakayoshi Gakuen values is not to simply "deliver and finish."

Director Rie Nakamura teaching creativity to children in a class using origami.

Who thought what, what was made, where in the world it reached, who received it, and what joy and learning were born. By returning this entire process to Japanese classrooms, children can gain the realization that "their learning has been useful to the world."

This "traceability" is the core of Nakayoshi Gakuen's "Learning Connected to the World."

Matching card game from Ojidai Elementary SchoolMiso and recipes from Madonodai Elementary SchoolOrigami from Ojidai Elementary School

Learning from Sakura City Reached Nepal

In June 2026, Nakayoshi Gakuen conducted educational support activities at schools in Nepal, utilizing teaching materials created by children in Japanese schools.

Matching cards and paper cup kendama made by children at Ojidai Elementary School were used as teaching materials to introduce Japanese-style education at schools in Nepal. Children used the cards to exercise their observation and memory skills, experiencing Japanese education that fosters learning from familiar materials.

Origami works created by children at Madonodai Elementary School, along with recipe materials using Sakura miso, were sent to Nepal as teaching materials to convey Japanese culture. Origami was received with great interest not only by the children but also by the local teachers, creating the possibility for the teachers themselves to pass it on to their students in the future.

Furthermore, Usui Junior High School has participated in Sakura City's "Learning Connected to the World" initiative in the past, connecting their learning to educational support activities in places like Cambodian refugee camps. The feedback lectures at these three schools served as an opportunity to connect the ongoing efforts in international cooperation and peace education in Sakura City's elementary and junior high schools to future learning.

Discussions on "unanswerable questions" were also part of the lectures.

Understanding the "Realities of the World" and Considering What One Can Do

At the lectures, Nakayoshi Gakuen Project representative Yuichi Nakamura presented the situation in Nepal, accompanied by photos and videos.

The theme was, "Let's understand the realities of the world and think about what we can do now."

As the children saw photos of Nepalese schools, the joy of local children interacting with Japanese teaching materials, and the surprise and learning of teachers engaging with Japanese education, they realized that their daily learning was connected to the world.

The lectures also included time to consider unanswerable questions such as, "What would I do if a disaster occurred?" "How can we stop wars?" and "If I were to convey my town's history and culture to the world, what would I convey?" using topics like disasters, war, peace, culture, history, and inquiry-based learning.

What Nakayoshi Gakuen conveyed was that peace is not something created by distant people in a faraway world, but something that can be started with small actions that one can take now.

Scrubbers made by Usui Junior High School were delivered to a Cambodian refugee camp.

"To Make Everyone Smile?" -- After the Lecture, Children's Questions Begin to Move

Ms. Wakamatsu, the homeroom teacher for the 5th grade at Madonodai Elementary School, provided the following feedback after the lecture:

They listened intently for 90 minutes. We had previously studied "Good and Bad Points and Differences Between the World and Japan," and the children spoke about not understanding the world. They also learned a little about Japan and war by watching a video of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima concerning peace. Since the lecture followed this, they listened with great interest. They were very surprised that the children didn't know how to evacuate. After the lecture, with the question "What can we do to make everyone smile?", they thought about what they wanted to do. They are currently thinking about what they want to do for people around the world and for people close to them for the sake of peace.

The children were surprised that children in Nepal did not fully understand how to evacuate and that disaster prevention education, which is taken for granted in Japan, is not necessarily a given worldwide.

After listening to the lecture, they began to consider "what they can do for people around the world" and "what they can do to make those around them smile" as their own issues.

Peacebuilding as Mutual Learning, Not Aid

Nakayoshi Gakuen's activities are not one-way support.

Teaching materials created by Japanese children through learning and thinking are delivered to the world. Children and teachers in the world use them, experiencing joy and learning. Their reactions return to Japanese classrooms in the form of photos, videos, and words. Then, Japanese children realize the value of their own learning and consider their next actions.

Through this cycle, children in Japan and around the world become beings who learn from each other, transcending the relationship of "giver" and "receiver."

Nakayoshi Gakuen positions this cycle as "CoRe Loop." Through the Create, Deliver, Co-create, and Return flow, they implement children's learning in educational settings worldwide and bring the results back to Japanese classrooms, visualizing the value of learning.

The feedback lectures at the three Sakura City schools were precisely the practice of this "Return."

A Khata (traditional scarf) from the Mayor of Lumbini, Nepal, returned to Madonodai Elementary School.

Comment from Representative Yuichi Nakamura

The teaching materials created by the children of Sakura City and the learning that conveyed Japanese culture led to smiles from the children in Nepal. This is not just a story of "delivering overseas." It means that learning that originated in Japanese classrooms was actually used in classrooms around the world, becoming learning for the local children and teachers.

We want to ensure this flow returns to the children. What they made, what they thought, what they can do now makes someone in the world happy. This realization gives children great confidence.

Peacebuilding might seem very large and difficult. However, wanting to make someone smile, or trying to be useful to someone with what you are good at or what you like, is also an important step in building peace.

We hope that through this feedback, the children of Sakura City will feel that "they have the power to change the world."

Representative Yuichi Nakamura, who has received numerous awards in Japan.

Comment from Director Rie Nakamura

The children in Nepal held the origami and cards made by the children of Sakura City very carefully. In Japan, paper and handmade teaching materials are commonplace, but they brought great surprise and joy there.

What the children made with all their effort contains feelings of consideration for the recipient. These feelings transcend words and borders.

It was very meaningful to hold feedback lectures at the three schools in Sakura City and be able to directly convey the situation in Nepal. By knowing that their learning led to someone's smile, children begin to think about what they can do next.

We will continue to create opportunities in classrooms in Japan and around the world where children can feel that "they can do something."

Director Rie Nakamura teaching Japanese disaster prevention in Nepal.

Future Outlook

Nakayoshi Gakuen will continue to promote the "Learning Connected to the World Project" in collaboration with schools, boards of education, and local governments across Japan, starting with Sakura City.

They will deliver teaching materials, works, local culture, and ideas generated by children in their regular classes and inquiry-based learning to educational sites around the world, including Nepal, Syria, and Cambodian refugee camps, and bring back reports on their utilization to Japanese classrooms.

From "Wishing for Peace" to "Acting for Peace."

And then, to learning where "Peaceful Actions" return to the children and generate further action.

Nakayoshi Gakuen will continue to practice education that enables each child to connect with the world through "what they can do now" and bring smiles to others.

Nakayoshi Gakuen's activities featured in the June issue of JICA Magazine.

Implementation Overview

Implementation Content: Feedback lectures on educational support activities in Nepal Participating Schools: Usui Junior High School, Sakura City; Madonodai Elementary School, Sakura City; Ojidai Elementary School, Sakura City Implementing Organization: NPO Nakayoshi Gakuen Project Main Contents: Report on educational support activities in Nepal, report on the utilization of teaching materials by students in Sakura City, lectures on peace education, international understanding education, and inquiry-based learning. Related Activities: Learning Connected to the World Project / CoRe Loop

Organization Overview

Organization Name: NPO Nakayoshi Gakuen Project Representative: Yuichi Nakamura Location: Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture Business Activities: Learning Connected to the World, International Educational Support, Peace Education, Inquiry-Based Learning, Food Education, Disaster Prevention and WASH Education, Domestic and International School Collaboration Projects

Contact Information for Inquiries

NPO Nakayoshi Gakuen Project E-mail: peace.office@nakayoshigakuen.org