Do you like helping others? Do you want to visit disaster-affected areas and learn how you can take action? The HANDs! Project provides an opportunity for you to first learn about disaster education programs, and then create your own, for a better future in Asia. We are looking for young people in Asia, where natural disasters are common, to become part of the “Hope and Dreams (HANDs!)” of others.
We believe that you can be a powerful agent of change in society. Your knowledge, your experiences, your passion–all of these will enrich the local community, so join us!!
About the HANDs! Project
The Japan Foundation Asia Center works to identify and educate the youth who will stand at the forefront of disaster prevention for the coming generation.
The HANDs! Project is a human resource development program sponsored by the Japan Foundation Asia Center. The project was created as a place for mutual learning, sharing knowledge, and cooperating to solve problems for disaster prevention and support for disaster-affected areas, primarily in Asian countries.
Currently, young people with a strong interest in disaster prevention and environmental education are selected once year from eight countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Japan for training. By our target date of 2020, we will produce many new leaders who will cultivate disaster education and support activities for disaster-affected areas in the Asian region and build a network that transcends national borders.
Philosophy of HANDs!
- Take a creative approach to issues.
- The HANDs! Project prizes new, innovative ideas. It is the unique ideas which inspire people that are truly worth doing
- Share goals from numerous standpoint to ensure activities take root in the community.
- To prevent projects from having only short-term effects, it is important that the ideas of the participants match well with the needs of the community. Therefore, we consider an approach that clarifies the roles of all participants so that the activities can be cultivated and developed in a natural way.
- Give people hope and dreams
- The name HANDs! stands for “Hope and Dreams.” The fellows become aware that their very presence brings “hope and dreams” to people, enabling them to always think and behave in a way to bring “hope and dreams” to as many people as possible.