SOUTH INDIA
- Activity Started:1981
- Activity areas: Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh
Our Story
(1) Founding of OISCA and relation with India
The relation between OISCA and India dates back before founding of OISCA. Rev. Nakano Yonosuke, Founding President of OISCA established International Foundation for Cultural Harmony and sent a world declaration to international knowledgeable persons. He appealed for true happiness of mankind, way of world peace, discussions toward building a new world order for that purpose. Then in 1961, international conferences were held twice. As many as 480 persons gathered in Tokyo, OISCA Charter with a philosophy that transcends religion and ideology was drafted and on October 6 of the same year, OISCA as a national-level international organization was born. Thereafter, international conferences were held five times until 1964. About 800 representatives from India attended the conferences and had a great inference on the charter and activity policy.
(2) Initiating OISCA development cooperation and OISCA India
Afterwards from around 1964, India was struck by an unprecedented food crisis and made a request for cooperation to OISCA. So hurriedly, “an emergency food production survey team” headed by Mr. Aizawa Hideyuki was organized from among the members of OISCA Japan and dispatched to India in 1966. The OISCA team members set up demonstration farms in areas of severe hunger such as Kashmir State, and gave agricultural guidance. At that time, OISCA India was organized by the then Indira Gandhi administration and Indians in order to accept some 250 Japanese volunteers and support their activities.
(3) South India Chapter
South India Chapter organized workshops and Global Youth Forums under our Children’s Forest Program. Since we introduced CFP, we have covered more than 2,000 schools and annually involves and educates more than 100,000 students.
