Homelessness in Canada by Suzuko Tanoiri Study Abroad Class of 2008

There are about 32.4 million people in Canada. Canada doesn’t have reliable data regarding the number of homeless people. Each year, there are homeless people who freeze to death. There are three causes of homelessness. First is high unemployment. Second is the increasing number of poor people. Third is the decrease in the amount of housing that is cheap.

“The Mission” is working to help homeless people in Canada. Its work is to respond to homeless people in need with food, clothing and shelter. What we can do to help the homeless people is to take part in volunteer work, donate materials, and learn about their problems. The most important thing is that we shouldn’t give money to homeless people because money can’t solve their problems and they may use money to buy drugs or alcohol

Homelessness in Columbia by Megumi Saito Study Abroad Class of 2008

I researched homelessness in Colombia. Colombia is located in the west part of South America. The population of Colombia is 44.6million and there are more than 35million homeless people there. There are many causes of homelessness. The biggest reason is wars, and civil wars. The people of Columbia have had many wars that　produced a large death toll. Other reasons are related to the present state of Colombia including domestic violence, illness and unemployment. Regrettably most of these homeless people are children.

To help these people many organizations have been established. For example: Colombian Commission Jurists (CCJ), Colombia Support Network (CSN) and, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Nevertheless, still now, there are increasing numbers of people dying. However, even the few funds that we raise will save their lives. We should join the work to support the homeless more positively, even if we cannot help directly.

This is the logo of CSN

Some homeless people in Colombia

About Homeless People in Russia by Shota Hamamoto Study Abroad Class of 2007

I researched homelessness in Russia. There are a lot homeless in Russia, about 700,000 persons or more. The number one problem is street children. While there are homeless people also in Japan, most homeless people in Japan are adults. However, there are many homeless children in Russia. The reason that they become street children is that they are maltreated by their parents. The number of street children increases every year. When it becomes night, the temperature in Russia becomes minus 20℃. Homeless adults and the street children have died of the cold. Homeless people and street children always live in manholes. They eat things they find in garbage cans and other people's leftovers. Some children living in the street are as young as eight years old. Children that young get sick living in a dirty manhole.

This is a picture of a homeless child coming out of a manhole

Homelessness in Latin America By Yuka Komatsu Study Abroad Class of 2007

There are an estimated 100 million street children in the world. There are 50 million street children in Latin America. They are six years old or older. They are abandoned by their parents and they live on the streets without either hope or a future. They make their living by various means including selling things on the streets, cleaning car wind shields and shining shoes.

Homeless in the Republic of Indonesia by Haruka Goto Study Abroad Class of 2007

I lived in Indonesia from 6 years old to 10 years old. When I lived in Indonesia a surprising sight made an incredible impression on me. It was the sight of a child the same age as me standing by the road and singing songs as the car passed by in order to sell things and earn money. In Indonesia, there were quite a lot of street children.
Children earn money in the road and offices every day. They cannot go to school also.
They work hard to live a hard life.

About Homelessness in China by Sayaka Eguchi Study Abroad Class of 2007

Homeless people are people who do not have a house to live in. The problem of homelessness is taken up in a lot of countries in the world. It is known well that a lot of people lost their houses by the tidal wave tsunami that happened due to the Sumatra coast earthquake. This is one example of why people lose their houses. In addition, people can become homeless because of poverty. For example, some children live on the streets and they can’t even go to school.
I researched the homeless of China and learned several things.
First of all, some homelessness is caused by natural disasters. In China, the number of people who lose their houses due to natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and floods has increased. Second, many children are poor, and not able to go to school. They live by selling things and getting food on the road. About 150,000 children are spending life on the road according to Correspondents Report and China 's homeless rate is growing (Taylor, J. (2004) China’s homeless rate growing. Correspondents’ Report 4 May 2004. Retrieved on 24 November 2006 from: http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2004/s1108983.htm.
To solve these problems, the Chinese government is taking measures to cooperate with international organizations including UNICEF and the WHO to decrease homeless. Concretely, construction and medical relief facilities are being given as humanitarian aid and the homeless can live on by spending money that the international organizations have collected.
In conclusion, it is necessary to consider homeless now as a whole, not as the problem of one country.

The 5th Annual Kanto International High School 1st Year English Course Social Issues Project

The 5th Annual Kanto International High School 1st Year English Course Social Issues Project will begin soon. You can see previous projects on http://home.att.ne.jp/omega/worldschool/childlabor/childlabormain2.htm
This project is one of the best things about Kanto International High School. You will learn a lot and you will have a lot of fun.

As you can see, on the right side of this page I have posted some links about homelessness in various countries around the world. I have collected these links from students who have done this project over the past four years. Soon I will post some posters made by students who did this project in 2005

Here is a great definition of homelessness:

Homeless

Beyond the Homeless Myth

People who don't have shelter are houseless - not homeless! Homelessness has nothing to do with a lack of shelter. Define Homeless: 'An inadequate experience of connectedness with family and or community.' This fact is now recognized by Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

Rebecca's Community (2005). Homeless:Beyond the homeless myth. Retrieved from http://www.homeless.org.au/ on 20 November 2006

Below is an interesting story about how the South Korean government has helped the homeless. I got the story from a blog. The original story comes from the British business newspaper Reuters. It was published in the "Oddly Enough" column on 22 February 2005.

Recycling In Style

"SEOUL (Reuters) - Some South Korean homeless are dressing in style after the government gave away thousands of fake designer garments confiscated by customs agents.
The Korea Customs Service distributed more than 3,500 fake pieces in the southern city of Pusan this month with the permission of the fashion houses whose designs had been pirated."

2005 1st Year Study Abroad Class Invention Projects

Last Year the students in the 1st year Study Abroad Class at Kanto International High School came up with some very imaginative projects. The presentations they did were very good too. I hope looking at these examples will motivate students in the 1st year Study Abroad Class this year and in the years to come to do good work.