To EIC family, With Love from Kay

2021.8.24

EIC Family

Dear EIC family,

This is Kay writing to share some news with you all. Next month, I will be leaving Japan and going to Europe for graduate school. It has always been a dream of mine to get a Masters’ degree in the field of education. So, after working as a GNT member for almost 5 years now, I finally decided to take on my next challenge! I will be studying in several European countries in the next 2 years and my first stop will be Spain.

I became a part of EIC family when I joined Biwako Camp as a Camp Leader (CL) in 2014, which was 7 years ago! I loved EIC so much that I kept coming back every summer. I was a CL from 2014~2016 and Camp Staff from 2017~2019. Every single camp was unique; each one was meaningful, challenging and fun in its own way. I feel very lucky that I could make a lot of new friends and have wonderful memories to treasure.

There are many reasons why I love EIC. If I write down all of them, I will probably end up writing a book. So, let me just talk about one of them in this blog post. I love EIC because of the strong community spirit. I love how we always support and encourage each other, not just during the camps but also afterwards. I am sure I am not the only one who learned to be more confident and compassionate thanks to the people I met through EIC. It warms my heart to see EIC family members continue to challenge themselves and grow over the years.

This year has been particularly challenging for me because of what’s happening back in my home country. As many of you know, there was a coup in Myanmar in February. As a result, many people are suffering from political instability and the pandemic, including my family and friends. It makes me very worried, sad and angry to read the news.

But these challenges are not limited to my country. Nowadays, in different parts of the world, people are facing conflicts, natural disasters and many other problems. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and think these issues are too big to tackle. But I think it’s important to keep in mind something we learned in EIC. When we come together and take collective action, we can make a positive change. I am very thankful to those of you who have reached out to send me encouraging messages and took actions to support Myanmar (like donating money, sharing news and participating in campaigns to raise awareness). I am inspired to see EIC family members as active global citizens who help make the world a better place. I hope we continue to support each other like this in the future!

Lastly, thank you everyone who has been a part of my journey in Japan: my lovely GNT members, camp leaders, camp staffs, participants. I gained the courage to challenge new things and dream higher thanks to the encounters and experiences with you all. I had a lot of worries and fears when I was preparing for my next chapter. But I received strength from the EIC slogan which had these words, “Don’t be afraid… Let’s try…” It’s reassuring to know that there are people who believe in me and cheer me on no matter where I go.