News from your National AJET Rep: May ’11

As you no doubt have heard, we have lost two fellow members of our JET family to the Tohoku tragedy. We at National AJET are asking the JET community to honour Taylor Anderson and Monty Dickson by sending postcards for an online tribute to our extremely devoted and sorely missed JETs, both of whom were willing to place the safety of their students above their own. Letters/cards can be anonymous or signed, and messages will be uploaded without editing. If interested, please send your postcards of memories, wishes, thoughts, or messages addressed to Taylor, Monty, their friends and families to Apt. 111, Haitsu Poronia, Katase 44-28-1, Katsuyama-shi, Fukui-ken, 911-0811.  You can visit http://najettribute.blogspot.com/ to read the current post cards received so far.

Although the recovery process is underway – Sendai Airport has reopened, and volunteers can now enter the area to help – Tohoku still has a long way to go. Right now all over Japan, prefectures are doing what they can to help. For those of you who contributed to March’s Man up for Japan, thank you and お疲れ様でした! If you are still keen on doing more, take a look at http://ajet.net/category/announcement/tohoku-relief-efforts/ for news and updates on some of the great project ideas popping up all over the country.  For example, Paul Yoo, an Akita JET has started the Fruit Tree Project for Kesennuma, where shelters are in desperate need of fresh fruit to keep people healthy (right now they’re surviving on prepared meals of miso soup and rice). National AJET is also putting together a database for JETs who need care packages. This project has started only recently so it might take a while to hear back from someone, but if you are interested in sending a package (individually or with a group of your friends), please sign up here (http://ajet.net/lang/en/2011/04/07/ajet-cares/). If you’re in the Kobe/Amagasaki area and would like to join the group we’ve got going here, please let me know!

Speaking of JETs doing great things in and for Japan, it’s that time again. To make fun of the Disney channel? To say something cute? No! It’s time for the annual National AJET Awards! Every year National AJET recognises some of the outstanding contributions JET participants have made to their local communities. If you know an individual or prefectural AJET chapter that fits this profile (and that can include yourself or your own chapter), please nominate them for one of the following categories:

AJET Chapter Award; AJET Service Award; Internationalization Award; Best Charity Event Award; Best Sports Event; Best Online Resource Award; Best Publication Award; Best Inter-Prefectural Event/ Project; Special Interest Group (SIG) Award

Please send your nominations to awards@ajet.net. In your nomination please include your name, contact details, prefecture, the name and address of the group/person you are nominating, a description of what believe deserves recognition, and if possible include publication scans, links to websites, event photos, feedback and any other relevant material is welcome.

The deadline is Friday May 20, but don’t put it off for too long – nominate people now! We are looking forward to hearing about the great things JETs have been up to this year.

All of the preceding info can be found in detail on http://ajet.net. Have a safe and happy Golden Week everyone!