JICA volunteers sing Shokichi Kina’s hit song “Hana” in 14 languages

JICA volunteers sing Shokichi Kina’s hit song “Hana” in 14 languages

JICA members singing Shokichi Kina’s hit song, “Hana,” in 14 languages.


August 11, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

JICA Okinawa (Japan International Cooperation Agency Okinawa Center) recently uploaded a rendition of Shokichi Kina’s hit song “Hana” sung in 14 languages and in the Okinawan language to YouTube. The music video is meant to spread hope to those feeling confined at home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and was created by 38 active and former JICA members with connections to Okinawa.

In March, the organization returned all of its overseas volunteers to Japan from their respective countries, due to the global spread of COVID-19. Many of its Okinawan members are currently awaiting the next opportunity to work abroad. In the music video uploaded to YouTube, each member sings in the language of the country where they worked.

Okinawa City resident Masaru Tokusato, 29, was the mastermind behind the video. Tokusato volunteered at a school in Senegal last year. He said, “I wanted to spread hope and send the message that we will get through [the pandemic] together. We sang in the languages of the countries we worked in because we wanted to let the local people know that they are in our thoughts.”

Click on the link to check out the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl8EcxvtGC0

(English translation by T&CT and Monica Shingaki)

Go to Japanese


　


Previous Article:
Next Article:

[Similar Articles]