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TOWAKAI UNIVERSAL MEDICAL SERVICE
A：I’m von Christian Achu from Cameroon. Fong is the surname of his father in Japan, so all his brothers are Fong, Fong, Fong. I am the youngest of seven siblings.
After studying Japanese for 6 months in Cameroon, I came to Japan as an international student in July 2016, attended a Japanese language school in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture for about 1 year and 8 months, and passed N3 before graduating. While living in Japan, I began to be interested in the existence of welfare facilities not found in Cameroon, and attended a long-term care vocational school for two years. When I first saw the nursing care site in the training, I remember being surprised at how the elderly people gathered and lived.
Currently, I work at tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO in the tums group.
Ａ：When I was in Cameroon, I watched TV programs that broadcast Japanese anime all day long. Through the program, I learned about the history of Japan and learned that the postwar Japanese economy developed rapidly. I was impressed by the breakthrough and became more motivated to go to Japan. When I graduated from high school, my sister suggested, “Why don’t you go to either America or Japan to study?” I didn’t have to, and I thought it would be cool if I could master Japanese and Kanji, so I decided to go to Japan.
Ａ：Before graduating from a vocational school, I started job hunting on the condition that the system for accepting foreigners was in place and that I was in Saitama prefecture, where many Cameroonians live, and I arrived at tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO. I called myself to the interview and drove a car!
I had a strong desire to join the company, so I was very nervous, and I vividly remember that I prepared carefully. I asked a lot of questions, but the facility manager acknowledged that I had studied and said, “It’s amazing.” I enjoyed the conversation and had a fun interview. I was very happy that the people in the office kindly talked to me who just came to the interview. I strongly thought that if I joined tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO, I would have a fulfilling working life.
Ａ：As you can imagine, the staff are really kind. Sometimes there are conflicting opinions because everyone is working hard, but the unit leader listens to each person’s thoughts. tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO is a place where employees can work comfortably, so even if you stumble in your work, you can turn your mistakes into aspirations by saying “Let’s do this next time”.
What I pay attention to when working with Japanese people is the wording and facial expressions. Japanese people are serious, so they are always tight. At first, I was often confused by the shrewd Japanese style, but as I got used to it, I am now able to work with a moderate sense of tension.
Ａ：I lived with my grandmother until the third year of junior high school. At that time, I didn’t have proper knowledge of long-term care, but I provided food assistance and excretion assistance. Now, when I am in contact with elderly people in tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO, I remember the time I spent with my grandmother.
Now that I have learned the correct way of nursing care, I am able to work while thinking about what I should do to make the residents smile, so I am happy to grow myself. Some foreign friends work in factories, but I hear that there is no conversation during work. I am grateful for the environment in which I can enjoy working as a long-term care worker while talking with residents and staff.
Also, I’m not good at speaking in front of a lot of people, and it was really hard to present reports at meetings after night shifts, but as I gained experience, I became more courageous and more nervous than before. I can now speak without. Recently, it has become possible to make presentations with pride even in committees where more people gather than in meetings.
Ａ：It is still difficult to support all caregivers and people with dementia. Even though the resident himself does not feel like that, he sometimes hurt others, and sometimes I am hurt by the words and events that suddenly fly. I feel depressed at such times, but I know it’s not intentional, so I try to switch my mind.
In addition, there are some residents who tell me, “Don’t touch my body,” to me as a foreigner. It can’t be helped. I also learned that some Japanese people, especially the elderly, have such feelings, and since this is a resident-first nursing care facility in Japan, accept such voices straight away. I am doing it.
Ａ：There was a resident who smiled when I greeted him. The back of my slender eyes was very gentle, and my smile and voice were fascinating. It is a very memorable person.
A: There are some tall buildings in Cameroon, but the height of Japanese buildings is really amazing, isn’t it? When I go out to the city center and see the skyscrapers, I still wonder, “Isn’t this scenery a dream !?” Also, I was surprised at how well the Japanese people’s time was protected.
Isn’t it angry just to be one minute late? (smile). People really lived in Cameroon, so even if you meet at 15:00, everyone will get together from 15:30 to 16:00. Is it just around me? Trains come on time in Japan, which is amazing.
Ａ： It takes about 22 hours from Cameroon to Japan by changing flights twice (Cameroon ⇔ Ethiopia ⇔ Hong Kong ⇔ Japan). Transportation costs: It costs about 200,000 yen for air tickets. So I have never returned to Cameroon since I came to Japan. Fortunately, my uncle lives in Saitama prefecture, so I can meet him from time to time. You’re talking to a relative in Cameroon on a video call. On holidays, I remember living in my home country by dancing African hip-hop and singing American hip-hop, which I have been familiar with since I was little.
Then, when I told them that I was a Cameroonian, I was often asked, “Isn’t Cameroon hot all year round?” Wasn’t hotter than summer in Japan.
A：The tums group is a corporation with medical, welfare, and childcare facilities, and all special nursing homes for the elderly work with nearby medical institutions to provide the best medical care to residents. When working at tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO, I have the opportunity to see the work of full-time nurses, as well as nurses from tums SAKURA Hospital KAWAGUCHI and tums SAKURA Hospital EDOGAWA, if I have medical knowledge. I thought it could be used for nursing care.
The tums group has a system that supports study expenses to become a nurse even if you are hired as a long-term care worker. When my life is calm and I feel comfortable, I will try the exam to become a nurse.
There is a lot of fun in the tums group. There is an in-house event called “Instagram Award”, and the staff members vote on the photos posted on the group’s Instagram to decide the winning work, but last year, the photo I took as the main character was “Chairman”. Selected for the award. The president, who works hard to grow the group every day, is busy and I haven’t had a chance to meet him, but I’m really honored to hear that he wants to meet me.
A：Having joined the tums group, my income is stable, and I am enriched every day by eating my favorite Japanese food. I feel that the natto produced by tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO is especially delicious. Sushi, which I was not good at when I first came to Japan, is now my favorite. There is no Japanese food that you can’t eat.
It’s difficult now because of the coronavirus, but I want to travel all over Japan in the near future! I am interested in places far from Kanto such as Hokkaido and Kyushu. The facility manager of tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO is from Okinawa prefecture, where the sea is beautiful. I had the Okinawan specialty Soki soba noodles and it was delicious, so I definitely want to go there.
A：If you get a national qualification and work for a long time, you can apply for permanent residence. I want to continue living in Japan, so I hope that I will work hard and get a long-term care visa for 3 years as soon as possible. After that, my goal is to become a unit leader. I will do my best to catch up with the senior foreign staff who are working with Japanese leaders as unit leaders!
Ａ：I’m really glad I joined the tums group. Even if you are a foreign national, you will have the opportunity to be promoted equally with Japanese staff depending on your efforts, and not only the seniors of tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO, but also the people at other facilities of the tums group that you meet from time to time are kind. I think I can work for a long time because I am well-ventilated in human relationships.
About 150 foreign employees work in the tums group. Among them, tums SAKURA no MORI MISATO is multinational with Indonesians, Myanmar people, and Cameroonians. I think that not only foreigners who aim to work in Japan but also Japanese people who are interested in foreigners will be interested.
4-381 Sakae, Misato City, Saitama Prefecture 341-0043 TEL: 048-951-5846
