Participants Voice

[What made you decide to become a Chaperone volunteer?]
I participated as a member when I was in high school, but had a disappointing experience when my participation was cancelled at the last minute because of international situation. After that, I decided that I definitely wanted to be a challenge leader again, so I decided to participate.

[Attactive Points of being a Chaperon]
・Being able to closely see the growth of the members.
- Because the supervisors planned the content of each training session, in the process I was able to acquire the skills to carry out the program as planned and to explain things clearly.

[What was fun and difficult during the training period?]
What was fun was being able to see how trust was being built in the process of creating something together, such as making souvenirs and practicing performances. Also, through prior learning of English and the local area, I was able to see up close what the members had accomplished!
The most difficult part was coming up with training content that would allow everyone to achieve their goals at the same level, given the wide range of grade levels for each training goal, such as "what do we want them to learn and think about?" However, thanks to the leaders of the upper grade members and the support staff, we were able to make all of the training sessions meaningful.

[Most memorable thing]
I was impressed by how the members looked anxious when they met their host families, but were sad to say goodbye when they returned home, and how on the bus and plane on the way back they kept showing each other photos and talking about their memories. I was surprised that such wonderful relationships could be built in just one week, and at the same time, I was moved by their growth.