【2011年4月1日 校内募金５日目 取り急ぎ報告 // NOTICE: April 1st, 2011. 5th day of Leiden University campus donation campaign】

皆様、こんにちは。楽しいエイプリルフールをお過ごしでしょうか。

私たち若武者は５日間連続でLIPSIUSと呼ばれるライデン大学人文学部の建物を中心に募金活動を行ってきました。

今日は５日目で、メンバーの中にも通りがかる人の中で見かけたことがある学生が何人もいたり、実際に「他の日に募金したよ」と話す人も多々いました。私も今回昨日に続き２回目の参加でした。
今日は考古学の学会がある日だったようで、Groningen, Amsterdam, Dordrechtなどオランダ国内から様々な学生が集まってきていました。過ごしている環境は違うけれども、皆東日本大震災のことはCNNなどを通じて知っているようでした。メディアのパワーを思い知らされますね。

それでも、今回も募金される金額が落ちることはなく、オランダ人やライデンに留学に来ている学生たちがいかに親身になって考えてくれいるかがうかがえました。

実は個人的には人からお金をもらうことはおろか、友人からお金を借りることにすら抵抗を感じていました。しかしたくさんの方から、「今回は仕方ないよ」「上手くいくといいね。頑張ってね。」と声をかけてもらうだけで励みになりましたし、オランダの人々がますます好きになりました。

皆様、本当にご協力ありがとうございました。今の気持ちを忘れずに、今後も日本のため、日本にいる今助けが必要としている人々のために何が出来るか考えていきたいと思います。

私たちの活動に興味がある方はいつでも質問・コメント等を受付しております。

これからも若武者inLeidenをよろしくお願い致します。

それでは皆様良い週末をお迎えください。

投稿者：蓬生　まり
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Hello everyone! Did you have a humorous April Fool's day?

For the past five days, we WAKAMUSHA in Leiden have held a donation campaign inside a humanity building of Leiden Univerisity, also known as LIPSIUS.


Today is our 5th day of donation campaign "Save JAPAN Save TOHOKU". Among our group members, there were people who reported that they have already talked to quite a few people who pass by the front of the desk or people in LIPSIUS who told us that they have already gave us donation the other day.

It was my second time I participated in the campaign as well.
One particular thing that was different from yesterday was that today there was a conference in archaeology department. For this conference, students from all over the Netherlands were gathering in the cafeteria of LIPSIUS. They were from places such as Groningen, Amsterdam and Dordrecht. Although the environment they spend most of their time is different, everyone recognized the Japan earthquake. It reminded me of the strong power of media.

Nevertheless, the amount of money donated has never been dropped. It rarely has become lower than 200 euro a day. From this fact alone, we could observe how caring and supportive Dutch and international students in The Netherlands are.

Personally, I felt very guilty of not only receiving money from others for granted but also even borrowing money from my friends. However, whenever I ask for a donation, there were so many people who gave me encouranging words such as "well, this time is special. We understand you" "Wish you the best on everything around you". These subtle expression of kindness became a great strength for me. The Netherlands became my favorite country even more every time I encounter those words.

For those who have already contributed and helped us throughout this week, thank you very much. We would like to keep thinking of what we could do for those who need the help right now in Japan.

Your questions and comments about our activities are always welcome.

We hope you will have a restful and fun weekend.

Writer : Mari Hosho