PANO – Two volunteers from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)Yoriko Yamaguchi and Aiko Inoue have been working with the Management Board of Duong Lam Relic to reawaken the values of ancient wooden houses as well as cultural heritages in the area.

Yoriko said she was really interested in restoring ancient villages in Vietnam as the structure of ancient wooden houses here is similar to those in Japan, and they can apply Japan’s restoration methods in restoration work  

Yoriko confided that language gap is their big challenge though they had learnt Vietnamese before coming to Vietnam, they still meet a lot of difficulties in communicating with Vietnamese staff.  

Within a year working in Vietnam, Yoriko, Aiko and some senior experts from JICA could help restore six ancient houses, a village gate and one pagoda. At present, they are carrying out the restoration of Tham Hoa Giang Van Minh Church in Mong Phu Village, the historic site relating to life and career of Tham Hoa Giang Van Minh (the third highest academic title in the feudalist system).

Apart from restoring ancient relics, the two Japanese girls also provide local people with information and methods on how to preserve ancient houses. Every day, Yoriko, Aiko and other staff of the Board of Management, come to each household to call on them to carry out tourism services in response to campaign, “We love Duong Lam”, launched by the Management Board of Duong Lam months ago, to popularise tourism in this historic site.

The two Japanese girls’ efforts and contributions have been greatly acknowledged and appreciated by local authorities and people.

Translated by Tran Hoai