Bandar Seri Begawan - Sixteen Japanese students from Fukuoka recently completed a 'Mission Project' for the Asia Pacific Children Convention (APCC) after staying six days in Brunei.
Yasuo Arimura, leader of the delegation to Brunei in an interview said that their mission to Brunei had been outstanding. The children, he said, who came here without any prior knowledge of Brunei, have learnt more about the country's culture and its people.
According to Yasuo Arimura, prior to their arrival in Brunei, most of the students were feeling apprehensive, especially in the home stay programme with their respective local families.
"Now, I've seen that all of the students seemed to have enjoyed their stay in Brunei. Some were seen in tears as they said goodbye to their foster families."
He said the children were very comfortable with their foster families and had a great time with their counterparts while visiting some schools in Brunei.
Ami Nakamura, 18, told the Bulletin that her stay in Brunei was fun and memorable. She said there were difficulties in communicating with members of her foster families but somehow or the other, they managed to understand each other.
"I've made very good friends here, not only with members of my foster family but also with other students when we visited some of the schools in Brunei. I especially enjoyed doing sports with them", she added.
"I was very impressed with their performance during the cultural night. They were very good. We had three months practice but I think they've done much better than us," she added.
The Asian Pacific Children's Convention in Fukuoka, Japan, is a civic movement that is made possible by public subsidies and donations from the enterprises and supporter's organisation. It is a non-governmental and a non-profitable organisation.
This is the first time that Brunei has been chosen as one of the countries under the project. The programme hopes to build and expand the friendship network among its participants and promote mutual understanding. The main theme of the convention is "We Are The Bridge". This theme embraces the creation of a new Asian-Pacific interaction at cultural level, as well as fostering a feeling of friendship and peace throughout the region.
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