Hiromi Koike
Japan Overseas Christian Medical Cooperative Service

Japan Overseas Christian Medical Cooperative Service (JOCS) was established in 1960 out of deep soul-searching about the war which Japan perpetrated against the peoples of Asia, with a desire to bring about reconciliation and peace. Our mission is to care for the health and lives of people in distress and to share people’s sorrows and joys, under the banner of “Love to the world through medical care”.

To do this, we have three areas of activity. The first is the dispatch of healthcare and medical personnel. We send Christian doctors, nurses, and other personnel to the countries of Asia and Africa. The second is the provision of scholarships. Through these scholarships, we support healthcare and medical personnel who hope to work for the sake of poor and vulnerable people in areas where it is hard to access such services. The third is collaborative projects, which provide support aligned with the local community’s wishes with the local partner organization to decide on the aims and content of the project and collaborate on healthcare and medical activities. As of June 2022, we are collaborating on a maternal and child health project in Tanzania and a comprehensive care program for children with special needs and their families in Kenya.

A former scholarship recipient at Kailakuri Clinic, Bangladesh

JOCS drew up a five-year plan in 2018. We had been active for half a century, aiming to come alongside poor and vulnerable people; in the five years from 2018, we have placed renewed attention on “Seeking out every person who has been left behind, sharing our sorrows and joys”, focusing on this in our work as an organization.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to travel overseas in FY 2020 and 2021, forcing us to revise parts of our plan. Under these circumstances, we focused our efforts on our scholarship program. We supported 70 students in 7 countries – Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania – more than before the spread of COVID-19. We are also developing new initiatives. As one of our collaborative projects, we were supporting our partner organization in Kenya with staff development and the creation of an education and support curriculum and teaching materials for children with disabilities through the short-term dispatch of professionals before the pandemic. When overseas travel became difficult, we held online instruction and training sessions given by a physical therapist.

Rehabilitation staff receiving online instruction from a physical therapist (Kenya)

COVID-19 infections still show no sign of abating. However, we will continue our activities to meet the local community needs in Asia and Africa, all while responding to the changing situation. We are newly dispatching healthcare and medical personnel to an organization in Bangladesh supporting children with mental disabilities and their families. We also hope to further promote our scholarship work and collaborative projects, remaining by the side of the people whose existence is not the focus of initiatives by governments or large-scale aid organizations.