On September 1st, the awarding ceremony of the Foreign Minister's Commendation to Kendo Association of Malawi (KAM) was held in the Blantyre Youth Center. The Foreign Minister's Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups of outstanding achievements in international fields, to acknowledge their contribution to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries. The Commendation also aims to promote the understanding and support of the Japanese public for their activities. KAM was chosen as one of the 31 groups which recieved this year's foreign minister's commendation for its contributon to the Japan-Malawi relationship through its promotion of Kendo in Malawi. The distiguished guests participated in the ceremony together with the Japanese Oversea Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and JICA members. The founder of KAM, Mr. Nakagawa who is also a former JOCV came from Japan to participate the ceremony where he met his students after 20 years since the last time he saw them in Malawi. After Malawi Society of Japan handed over the newly installed flooring of the Blantyre Youth Center for the kendo practice to KAM, the members of KAM demonstrated Kendo on the new flooring. After the demonstration, His Excellency Fujio Samukawa, the Ambassador of Japan to Malawi, awarded the certificate to Mr. Somba, the President of KAM. KAM now consists of about 40 members and is active in Blantyre, the southern city of Malawi. KAM has cooperated with Embassy of Japan in Malawi in various cultural events. |
