Tabidachino Nakamano Kai

last updted: Oct 5 1995
Japanese/English

What is Tabidachino Nakamano Kai?

Literally meaning of Tabidachino Nakamano Kai

Tabidachi means departure or start.
Nakamano Kai means association of comrades.

Origin of Tabidachino Nakamano Kai

Tabidatino Nakamano Kai(TNK for short)started as a voluntary association that supported children with disabilities and their families in 1973.In the beginning TNK organized recreational activities and camping programs through which it tried to make chances for both children with disabilities and those without them to do things together,and get to know each other.TNK also encouraged the parents of the children to participate in those activities and programs as supporters.
Now TNK has its own camp ground and provides various kind of outdoor programs there to support a wide range of people with disabilities from small children to young adults to enjoy themselves fully in the nature.

Who are the Members of TNK?

Tabidachino Nakamano Kai is a networking organization consisting of individual citizens and several community based citizens' groups.Its membership is open to any person who is willing to accept its purose.And it actually has a variety of individuals including both people with disabilities and those without them.But many of the members have so called "intellectual diabilities".(Intellectual disability means any kind of difficulty one has in doing some ordinary intellectual works such as ordinary reading,writing,speaking and understanding of native language,elementary calculation,and so forth.)

He is Yoshifumi.N.
He is a member of YUYU.
He learns calligraphy every Thursday night.
These chinese characters mean "Birds are singing,Flowers are dancing."

What is the purpose of TNK?

The main purpose of TNK is to support people with disabilities to live and work in the community independently.It for instance,has succeeded to help one of the members with "intellectual disability"to get a job as a teacher at children'sday care center.Another member has moved in one of the threegroup homes that TNK runs from his parents'home.Now he si preparing to rent an apartment just for himself and live more independently.

What are the Major Works of TNK?

the followings are the major projects of TNK today.

1)Workshops

It runs three workshops in the community.people with intellectual disabilities come to the shops and work there getting some support from some staff members of TNK and/or volunteers.

2)Group Homes

It manages three group homes in the community.They are for people with intellectual disabilities.TNK opened those homes to increase the alternatives from which people with intellectual disabilities can choose about where and how to live.

3)Community Action Center "YuYu"

TNK has one community action center named "Tabidachi Chiiki Center YUYU".The major works of rhe cener at this moment are as follows.

(1)To help people with intellectual disabilities to plan and manage their own recreational programs.
(2)To recruit and train people who want to be guide helpers.The guide helpers'main roles are to help people with intellectual disabilities to decide what they want to do independently,and to facilitate them to do what they want to do outside of their home.
(3)To help people with intellectual disabilities to organize their own self-advocacy groups.
In 1994 in Osaka Nakamano Kai hosted a national conference for mutual exchange and support of people with intellectual disabilities.It was the first conference of that kind in Japan.This coming November(from the 23rd to the 24th of November 1995)Nakama Kai will participate in the 2nd National Conference of People with Intellectual Disabilities in Tokyo.Some members of Nakama Kaiare very active in the organizing committee of the conference.
(4)to make opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities and their supporters to study to become good facilitators who can help people withintellectual disabilities to have more alternatives about their own lives and to make independent decisions about their own lives.
For example,YUYU runs a group to study theories and skills of facilitation.In the group the members read various kinds of handbooks for facilitators and discuss over them.Many of the books are from other countries such as U.S.A,Canada and Sweden.They also share their own experiences as facilitators and give advice with each other in the group.

Now at YUYU most of the staff members are without intellectual disabilities.We the TNK members hope people with intellectual disabilities themselves will be able to take the leadership of their own programs and manage their groups more independently in the future.

We had annual Sports Festival on October 1st at Nagai Park.
They are playing "Tamaire".
"Tamaire" is very popular game in Japan.

Major facts about the history of Tabidachino Nakamano Kai

1973 Camping programs for the children with intellectual disabilies going to Ikuno-kodomono-ie(a child day care center integrating both children with and without disabilities)started.

1979 Tabidachino Nakamano Kai was founded.

1980 Tabidachino Nakamano Kai started the construction of Myogadani Kodomomura Kyanpujo(a camp site).

1981 Opening of the Wadachi Sagyosho(a workshop).

1983 Opening of the Second Wadachi Sagyosho(a workshop closed in 1989)

1984 Ikuno Recycle Center was founded(It developed to be an independent private cooperation).

1987 Tabidachi Kyodo Sagyosho(a workshop) was founded.

1991 1)Warakuso(a group home) and 2)Donguri sagyosho were founded. 3)Guide-help programs got started.

1992 Tabidachi chiiki center YUYU(a community action center) was founded.

1993 Kirara(a group home) was opened.

1994 Norokko(a group home)was opened.

1995 The second Donguri sagyosho was founded.
Tombomaru(a group home)was opened.

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tabidati@mxa.meshnet.or.jp