In February and March, in addition to the usual check-ins, there were many opportunities for graduates to interact with campers and current LIT participants, including joining our program as kitchen volunteers, attending the LIT closing ceremony, and joining LIT work place visits.

In February, 17 participants from Ship for World Youth from 12 different parts of the world paid a visit to Mirai no Mori office. A graduate who wanted to practice his English joined to share key memorable experiences from his time with Mirai no Mori all in English.

“I was really impressed with the diversity of the participants. As for my presentation, I wish I had prepared more, so I would like to practice more next time. However, I feel a little more confident now that I can think more clearly about what I want to convey than before.” 

2 of the graduates also participated as kitchen volunteers in the Snow Program, where elementary and junior high school students participated as campers and the LITs played a very active role as support staff. While they helped create camp programs together, there were able to talk with lots of new and familiar staff about what they had been up to, and their future plans. Also, some of the campers remembered the graduates from their LIT days, and it was a great opportunity for more children to learn about the fact that they can stay connected even after they leave the care.

In March, we also had 2 graduates at the LIT closing ceremony along with the camp staff and care workers.

We will continue to hold various events so that more graduates can feel free to join and use Mirai no Mori as one of the resources.

“This was the first time for me to see LITs after graduating. I was surprised at how well of a team work they had and how different the team vibe was depending on the members who belonged to it. They said that the reasons why they got along well as a team were that they did not interfere with other members too much, that they understood each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and that they trusted other members. Those answers were great, and made me reflect on my own efforts during my time at LIT. I really gained a lot of insight from their presentations.”