HIWC organized a trip for families to get a behind-the-scenes visit to Asa Zoo on November 6th. We started off with a lively Q&A and presentation on various animals in the zoo. We found out that Asa Zoo is home to the world's oldest black rhinoceros in captivity. Her name is Hana and she's 45 years old. She and her mate Kuro came to Hiroshima from Kenya in 1971. Later in the tour we had a chance to feed Hana some tasty leaves and branches. We also stopped by the kitchen where we saw buckets of apples, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables. Then we went to the clinic and one of Asa Zoo's six veterinarians showed us X-rays of various animals. We finished up the trip with lunch, petting rabbits, and visiting the baby Malaysian tapir who was born October 8th. Click here to see pictures from the trip.

Each year HIWC donates to a charitable organization. The club normally gives to organizations within the Hiroshima area, but for this year members chose to donate 800,000 JPY to a community affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The donation went to Team Aki / Rikuzen Takata Dream Support, a group which aims to send direct and timely aid to Rikuzen-Takata. Mr. Kaz Meiki gave a presentation on the group's work during the HIWC General Meeting on 12 September 2011. He and several other volunteers traveled to the Tohoku region on 23 September 2011, and Team Aki then disbursed most of the funds to the Rikuzentakata Women's Club. The Club's purpose is to help children in the area who have lost parents. Team Aki also purchased winter clothing items (hats, scarves, mittens, etc.) for the children since cold weather is rapidly approaching in that area.

Below are letters accompanying the HIWC donation.

陸前高田市 婦人会御中
広島インターナショナルウーマンズクラブ（ＨＩＷＣ）を代表し、

この度の東日本大震災で甚大な被害に遭われた皆様に謹んでお見舞いを申し上げます。
ＨＩＷＣは広島在住の外国人をサポートするという目的で３０年前に設立された団体です。クラブでは色々な社会的また文化的な活動を通して会員の交流を深めています。
現在、クラブは英語を話す外国人と日本人から構成され、会員相互の情報交換、親睦、国際交流の場となっています。
また、ＨＩＷＣでは、新たに数年あるいは長期にわたり広島で過ごすことになった外国の女性たちの広島での生活を快適なものにするため、様々なサポートを提供しています。
地域貢献のひとつとして慈善活動も行っています。
明木一悦様のご紹介で今回は陸前高田市 婦人会に寄付をさせていただくことになりました。
３月１１日の大震災と大津波により被害に遭われた皆様方、特に子供たちのためにお役にたてていただければ幸いです。 明木一悦様のご紹介で今回は陸前高田市 婦人会に寄付をさせていただくことになりました。 一日も早い東北地方の復興を心よりお祈りいたしております。 ブレンダ・ドゥープル 広島インターナショナルウーマンズクラブ会長

September 20, 2011

Rikuzentakata Women’s Club
Miyoko Sasaki

Dear Sasaki-san,

On behalf of the Hiroshima International Women’s Club (HIWC), I want you to know that our members empathize with the adversity that you and your families are experiencing in the Tohoku region of northern Japan.

Our HIWC was founded 30 years ago to help provide a service to the international community. The intent was to bring people together for social and cultural events. Today, the club consists of both Japanese and foreigners and still provides unique opportunities for all its members to share information, goodwill, and international friendship. It is an important support group for foreign women who have come to live in Hiroshima for a few years or a lifetime. We are also proud to have been able to make charitable donations to organizations within the Hiroshima area.

This year, with the help of Mr. Kaz Meiki, we are very proud to be able to send a donation to your organization and to help in your efforts to support children in the aftermath of the devastation of March 11.

We sincerely hope for the early recovery of the Tohoku region.

With warmest regards,

Brenda Douple

President
Hiroshima International Women’s Club

Soon it will be the holiday season, and we would like to invite you to join us on this festive occasion to share an evening with good friends at the very elegant La Cigale restaurant at the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. A two piece music ensemble will be playing through the evening to
entertain.

The Hiroshima International Women's Club – HIWC - is planning a trip to Hiroshima Asa Zoo, which celebrated its 40th anniversary on September 1st, 2011. Asa Zoo has about 170 kinds of animals from common ones like the giraffe and lion, to rare animals such as a giant salamander called Andrias. Their study of Andrias' life in captivity has been of high value academically among zoological gardens around the world. Their black rhinoceros named HANA has bred ten babies at the zoo to date. Ten babies in captivity is a record number for zoos around the world.

HIWC would like to cordially invite HIWC families to join our special excursion to the zoo. As part of our tour through the zoo we will visit the kitchen for the rhinoceros and feed HANA. This is a unique and valuable experience for participating children. The Tour will be conducted in both English and Japanese. If you have any special requests on what to see and what to do, please let us know. The zoo will do its best to accommodate our requests as much as safety and time permit.

The HIWC Board will hold its Handover Meeting on 27 May 2011 at the Peace Culture Foundation seminar room. The meeting will be from 13:00 - 16:00. See a map. The next Handover Meeting will be 12 May 2012.