SENDAI – To help children in Tohoku who lost studying space because of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, a Kyushu-based nonprofit organization is holding free after-school classes at temporary housing complexes in Miyagi Prefecture.
Since the first “terakoya” (temple schools) class was held in June 2011, the program has already attracted more than 200 elementary and junior high school students.
Terakoya were originally private elementary schools in temples that were common in the Edo Period (1603-1867). They taught pupils how to use the abacus, read and write, and essentially resembled today’s cram schools.
The Tohoku terakoya classes were initiated by Rocinantes, an NPO in Kitakyushu that has been providing medical and health care services in Sudan. The classes are held on weekday evenings.
In Watari, Miyagi Prefecture, there’s a terakoya at a housing complex that is open every day, while in Natori, also in Miyagi, peripatetic classes are held by Rocinantes staff at three locations.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/07/national/social-issues/terakoya-let-tohoku-kids-study-in-peace/
