Alumni Messages 2012

International Health Development Course (MPH)

Kumiko Goto

- 2012 MPH 1st year student

For two years, I worked as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer in Ghana working on AIDS countermeasures. After I returned, I became a Kyushu Overseas Cooperation Volunteer and worked on a developmental education assistance project.During my project, I reviewed my two years of experience as a volunteer and decided to go back to school because I wanted to work in the field of international health again.

My background is not the medical field, so it is a brand new experience for me to learn about tropical aspects of such fields as medicine, epidemiology, and medical anthropology. It is also a great opportunity for me to consider the health problems of developing countries from various angles. I greatly appreciate every day with enthusiastic teachers who are willing to listen to my concerns for hours and also appreciate spending time in school with classmates from various backgrounds. In the second year, a long‐term internship and research are included in the curriculum. My hope is to work in Africa again, so I would like to work hard in acquiring knowledge from classes during the first year and put it to use in practice.

I have always wanted to work abroad. I participated as a nurse in Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in Laos after working in a hospital as a nurse for six years. After I came back to Japan, I was hesitant about choosing to go on to a graduate school for nursing. However, I learned from my experience in Laos that health problems consist of various factors having social, economic, and cultural aspects. Considering this, I decided that I want to learn about how to create a health system in an area where many people have health problems and how to improve the health level of a whole region.

I have heard that professors at Nagasaki University have specialized knowledge and vast experience, as well as being active, not only on campus, but also internationally, in various regions. I applied for this school to have a good learning experience in order to prepare myself to work in the international health field. At this graduate school, I have met many people who have a similar wish and it has been a great experience so far. I would like to make the two years a great learning experience while appreciating the great teachers and classmates whom I am able to meet.

Mariko Niino

- 2012 MPH 1st year student

Since I do not have any experience working abroad, there are many things that I am learning for the first time. I have been putting in all my effort every day when doing homework and am barely keeping up with the classes. However, I enjoy my classes every day and feel invigorated. My classmates have various experiences. Hearing from them and seeing their serious attitude in tackling projects is very stimulating. The schedule for the next two years is very hard and includes not only taking classes, but also doing a long‐term internship and project studies. However, this is a great environment for learning and I am excited by having this great experience.

Wataru Matsumoto

- 2012 MPH 1st year student

Hello, it has been a week since I started my long‐term internship in the provincial department of health in Laos. Although it has been a short time, I had many moments when I realized that what I have learned in my first year is useful.

This school offers lectures in a wide variety of fields in small classes. It is a wonderful environment where we can ask questions and talk about our concerns with experienced professors. I have never previously had any experience related to public health. I had some worries about whether I would be able to apply what I have learned in practice while I was learning the wide variety of subjects at this school. However, now that I am actually in the field, I realize that I have more perspectives than previously. I often notice that what I am seeing is related to what my professors have said and what was written in the material that was given. Because of these things, I can actually “compare what I see in front of my eyes to other events”. Of course, what I need to produce from this is a challenge for me, and I am in the midst of training right now. I truly wish that I could give something in return every time I sense the warmth of my professors in Nagasaki and here. I would like to maximize this opportunity as a student and do what I can during this time.

Yoshimi Tsuchiya

- 2012 MPH 2nd year student

Shoichi Matsumoto

- 2012 MPH 2nd year student

I started at this school after working as a physician for five years in Japan. Since the first and second training to be a physician was so busy, this next two years seems like such a luxurious time. Right now, I can spend time studying things that I want to learn and receive guidance from professors who are specialized in various fields.

What I take from this is up to me, but it has been an eye‐opening experience every day to encounter various perspectives for the first time. Also, the curriculum, with its heavy emphasis on the field, which this school offers is very attractive. Since I did not have any experience working in a developing country, it was quite significant for me to experience the public health system and development situation of Bangladesh during my short‐term field trip.

From April 2012, I will start the long‐term internship in the Philippines. This internship program during the second year is a major selling point for this graduate school. I am very excited that it will impact me greatly going forward. After graduation, I hope that I can return something to society from these two years of experience.

Because of my experience as a pharmacist in Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, I decided to come to this school to acquire a comprehensive perspective. I studied very hard for the past two years. The classes were very interesting. I remember that I was completely drawn into the enthusiastic and realistic lectures. It was difficult because I needed to learn from various fields, but I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I conducted research activities during the long‐term internship, which is one of the aspects of this school. My research was to measure the level of understanding of pediatric medical care among parents in Malawi. It started with going through the local ethics committee, and went on to the hiring of research assistants and data collection in the field. Throughout the whole process, I was supported by the professors, office staff, and the local joint researcher. Though difficult, it was a fulfilling and valuable experience for me. At the same time, I was able to find answers to the questions that I had in mind as a volunteer and got to know the enjoyment of research.

It is an asset for me to spend the two years studying with unique students while we helped one another, and I have gained a broad and objective view of situations from various angles. I would like to keep on trying hard and open up opportunities for the future.

Eriko Sasaki

- 2012 MPH graduate

Naomi Amaike

- 2012 MPH graduate

Isn’t it because you know the fundamentals and basics that you can make choices, gather courage to jump in or throw something away, and then gradually shift to creation? I had worked as a nurse and provided care to individuals,striving for mutual growth until I enrolled in the graduate school. After that, I joined the JOCV. Through the involvement in nursing education and community cooperation in the Republic of Mozambique, I realized the importance of public health and decided to go to school, believing that an approach based on wisdom for groups is necessary.

Once in graduate school, I academically and systematically gained an understanding of various fields. At the same time, I was able to study further by gaining a variety of experience in the fields of maternal and child health, as well as cultural anthropology, particularly through community-based projects and child group studies in the rural areas of the Republic of Kenya. I had opportunities to meet exciting people including professors and MPH students, and expand my views. These experiences have become great assets to me. Being able to learn the basic notion that “the language, information, activities, etc. can connect people and provide options” while honing on-site capabilities and practical skills, as well as having time for self reflection, turned out to be an extremely valuable experience.

Today, after graduating the school, I am working as I was drawn to the human-centric approach that focuses on the role of connecting people to enable everyone to accept and internalize “health” and make choices based on their own will. With everyone’s support, I have gradually come to believe that mutual awareness and shared sentiments expressed through communication based on sufficient foundation and observation can lead to human development and actions.

(Public interest incorporated foundation : JOICFP-Ghana)

One of the most valuable things that I experienced during the two years of the master’s program was the acquiring of the perspective of cultural and medical anthropology. Prior to my enrollment in this graduate school, I forced my values upon the local people where I implemented my project and felt irritated that things did not go as I expected. There are various cultures in the world, and they change over time. If the project does not suit the culture, lives, and customs of the people, it will not be accepted, or may even worsen the situation.

When I went to Kenya during my second year to do field research and an internship on a project related to maternal and child health, the aforementioned perspective that I learned during my first year was very useful. It became keenly obvious that I need a broader point of view in conducting activities in reproductive health, which is my specialty. I am proceeding with my education in the doctorate program now. With more competent skills and knowledge in epidemiology and statistics, I would like to conduct research in the field again. I recommend that you also find your own significant point of view through the curriculum of this school.

Mayo Ono

- 2012 MPH graduate

Miho Konno

- 2012 MPH graduate

It has been one year since I started working for a development consulting company after graduating from this graduate school.

Everything that I learned in graduate school is essential to executing real projects in the field. There, I’m required to discern what I have learned and assess the situation. Over the past year, I have identified many things about which I want to learn more in depth, as I came to realize where I am lacking. In order to become fully qualified worker and make contributions to the field of international health, merely having the knowledge or being in the field is not enough. I believe it is essential to learn the problems that are actually occurring in the field and identify solutions using your own critical thinking skills. It is necessary to continue studies in order to use high-quality materials and think critically. I also believe that you can continue studying after graduating from school only if you have a foundation that enables you to understand the logic and determine a study or research approach in the field of international health that reflects what you learned in school.

For those of you who are enrolling now, the next two years will be precious because you will be able to use this valuable time to study to your heart’s content. There will also be enthusiastic and kind instructors and fellow students who will share those two years with you.

(Development consulting company)

I had majored in international cooperation when I was an undergraduate student and was already interested in community development. I had enrolled in the graduate school because I particularly wanted to deepen my understanding of health improvement through community participation.
One of the things that I discovered here is that being able to attend a variety of lectures that cross the boundaries of liberal arts and science has allowed me to obtain the knowledge and perspectives required for international health.

The second benefit was the long-term internship that lasted for eight months. I interned at a local hospital (community health program) in Nepal and conducted research on newborn care in rural areas of the country. Both the internship and research required me to obtain cooperation from local people and to solve issues on my own; this process became an important foundation for me in working in the field. In March, I began working as a resident for an NGO that operates in the Philippines. Having observed initiatives to support children living on the streets of Manila and the typhoon victims in Leyte, I recognize the importance of forming a network with local people and stakeholders and providing support with a vision towards the future. Moving forward, as I work on the assigned project (improve education, health, and livelihood of local people and the children of indigenous people), I will also try to expand the opportunities for people, as well as for myself, in the target areas.

(International Children’s Action Network, ICAN Philippines, Mindanao)

Yoko Watanabe

- 2012 MPH graduate