The Consul of Japan in Cape Town Yasushi Naito will hand over an expanded workshop and seminar room worth R955 660, at a ceremony at the Institute for Healing of Memories (IHOM) in Cape Town next month.

The expanded workshop and seminar room will be used to heal trauma victims from disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape.

The expansion is funded by the Japan government through its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects Programme (GGP), which was introduced in 1989 and prioritises human security for vulnerable and marginalised people within society.

IHOM is a Cape Town-based nongovernment organization (NGO), founded in 1998 by Father Michael Lapsley. It was first developed to run in parallel with South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 1996 to 1997, to create additional platforms for those who wished to share their experiences. 

The Japan embassy said in a statement that it highly regards and respects the work of IHOM, which is aimed to continuously empower individuals and communities and give healing to victims of violence in the form of gangsterism, xenophobia and domestic violence. The embassy also commended IHOM for remembering past injustices and for healing psychological injuries “which redeem the past through prevention, empowerment and rehabilitation”.

IHOM facilitates workshops and events that enable people from different racial, religious and social backgrounds to reach a better understanding of themselves and of each other. 
 
Since 1990, over 601 GGP projects have been implemented in South Africa.

Between April 2016 and March 2017, the embassy of Japan extended GGP assistance to 11 projects, amounting to about R13-million.
 
“The GGP intends to assist NGOs and local authorities in addressing developmental needs in a prompt and comprehensive manner in areas such as social development, education, health, water supply, climate change and a variety of other local needs.”