Statement of intent
GRAND OKINAWA REUNION CLASS OF 39
In November, 2014, which was our year of Tushibee (the celebration of our 48th year) , The class of 391 held the “Tushibee Great Reunion“ at Ginowan Convention Center, with over 1300 former students attending. The purpose of this reunion was to invite all Classmates of 39 from all over Okinawa so as to strengthen our common bonds as classmates and expand our social networks, in order to live more prosperously and to responsibly support and guide the next generation. The reunion made it possible to learn about career fields we would not normally encounter in our daily lives, just by meeting so many fellow attendants. Moreover, we were able to contribute over 700,000 yen to Okinawa prefecture as our charity activity.
Even after the reunion, we kept in touch through the moai gathering, golf competition, beach parties, and so on, to continue to strengthen our bonds. As we approach the age of 55, we have all further built up our careers, households, and social lives. Born in Showa, and having lived through Heisei, we are now in Reiwa. Let us gather once again in a display of unity and show our kind and gentle spirit to each other, in a fun and welcoming environment. Our purpose of holding the reunion this time is to meet with more of our classmates so that we can reinforce our bonds once again and be able to act as one union.
This time having “ YUI “ (unity or to be united) as our theme, we would like to broaden our viewpoint not only within Okinawa but also overseas and call out to “Sekai no Uchinawan-chu“ (Okinawans all over the world) to participate, so that we can strengthen our unity from a global perspective and help and support each other with the spirit of unity (YUIMALU2). Let us all use this global spirit of YUIMALU to help each one of us prosper and thrive, and together, we can grow our social networks and use our collective power and influence to contribute to and guide society responsibly. Strengthening these networks is therefore a primary goal of this reunion.
As committee members, we have considered what we can contribute this time to society and give back Okinawa, the island that raised us. Concerning the issue of child poverty and child neglect, we have decided to use the proceeds to the support activity that protects and nurtures the children of Okinawa.
1 class of 39 - In Japan it this means we were either born between April 1st of Showa year of 39 and March 31st of Showa year of 40 or were students in the same grade with those people.
2 Yuimalu - a very important Okinawan Hogen word that shows our spirit of supporting and helping each other. Helping one person can perhaps lead that person to help another, eventually forming a chain reaction leading to world peace.