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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE April 18, 2007
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| March 17, 2007 |
Global University Unit 1: Landmines – What We Haveini Learned |
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| Photo: Kim Si Hun - Skulls of soldiers that perished in the infamous Killing Fields. |
The onboard Global University (GU) is an advanced study programme available to participants that focuses on certain themes throughout the voyage, and the first unit of the 56th voyage was focused on the issue of landmines. The GU curriculum is made up from a combination of onboard lectures from expert guest speakers such as Toshihiro Shimizu and Motoko Mekata, intense study sessions, class assignments and an exposure programme in a port of call. GU students disembarked in Viet Nam for their over-land study tour to Cambodia, a country ravaged by landmines. |
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| Photo: Kim Si Hun – Limbs are made for landmine survivors at the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics |
26 students of the GU program, including four Korean International Students from Sung-Kong-Hoe University (where studies onboard Peace Boat are accredited), began their program with a visit to the Toul Sleng Museum near Phnom Penh, a former prison site from the era of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge government of the mid-late 1970’s. From there students traveled to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where thousands of Cambodians were executed by the Khmer Rouge, followed by a visit to an NGO called Cambodia Trust. Originally established in the UK, Cambodia Trust delivers wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs to landmine survivors and works on major projects such as the building of the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, one of four schools certified by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics. |
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| Photo: Kim Si Hun – GU students Mio Kimura and Jinen Takebayashi do a demining simulation exercise |
After departing from Phnom Penh, students visited the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) in Siem Reap. This research center was built in 1993 and was based on the model used by the United Nations Transition Authorities in Cambodia (UNTAC). Within CMAC there is a training center, advocacy program and research facilities with more than 2,000 full time staff members in this center as well as six demining teams. Students visited Siem Reap Hospital where they met and spoke to a doctor about the various treatments available to landmine survivors. |
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| Photo: Kim Si Hun – GU students visit an elementary school built by Peace Boat |
The village of Koh Ker used to be uninhabitable but through demining this area has been declared safe again. There were no educational facilities in this village, so through fundraising activities Peace Boat assisted in building the first elementary in the region. Peace Boat conducted a Mine Abolishment Campaign, P-MAC, a 100 yen coin collection drive. GU students visiting this school had time for cultural exchange with the children, a very emotional experience for many GU students because many of the school children are disadvantaged and suffer from extreme poverty. |
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| GU students present Unit 1 to onboard participants |
One GU student commented, “The exposure tour was overwhelming, there was so much to see and so much information. What helped a lot was that the guest lecturers could explain to us in detail everything we saw and were able to answer our questions.” From both their field study and onboard seminars, students had a chance to process everything they learned and saw to present their findings onboard to other participants in an end of unit presentation. Using a combination of slide shows, role plays and video, students effectively conveyed this issue in an interactive and easily digestible presentation. Their aim was to not only share their experiences but to show how we as individuals can address this issue through positive action.
For more information, please see the following sites:
www.cmac.org
www.cambodiatrust.com |
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