The “Daily Souya” newspaper, dated Dec. 11, 2012, reports that a scholarship fund named “MacDonald’s Encouragement Study Fund” has been established on Rishiri Island. A committee to support and manage the Fund has also been formed with Mr. Kyoji Furukawa as its first President. Since the beginning of 2012 the leaders of Rishiri Island held a series of meetings intended to get the ground work done for devising a scholarship fund which would benefit the students of the only public high school on the island and in particular to encourage them to study English. One or two top students will be chosen from the English-language class and will be sent to America – to Oregon and/or Washington – to experience American life and to further encourage their English language skills. The program hopes to nurture the type of “internationally-minded person” who will become a human asset to Rishiri Island and will help to sustain the prosperous and happy life-style of Rishiri Island. Committee members hope that this program will encourage more students to attend Rishiri Public High School [whose student body is in decline]. We at Friends of MacDonald happily and enthusiastically go “on record” in fully supporting the “MacDonald’s Encouragement Study Fund” and it’s exchange program.
For those of you who are interested in assisting this fledgling program by either donating funds or hosting a student from Rishiri – or both – please contact Friends of MacDonald at amm@friendsofmacdonald.com .
