Faamanū Swerlling, a 15-year-old male student at Loto Taumafai Society for People with Disabilities won the silver award at the World Picture Contest held by the Japanese Association, IE-NO-HIKARI in late 2022.
The contest, which aimed to create friendships and mutual understanding between children worldwide, received over 9,300 entries from 56 countries.
Faamanū Swerlling’s artwork “My Samoan Culture (Chiefly Tools)” was selected as one of the top 60 entries from all over the world.
Through JICA’s partnership with Non-Government Organisations (NGO) in Samoa, 21 children from three NGOs entered the contest, which provided them with an opportunity to connect with Japan and the world through their artwork and experience the joy of drawing.
We are grateful for Mr. Faamanū Swerlling and all the children who participated in this global contest.
Although the prize-winner has moved to American Samoa, he expressed his joy over the phone.
JICA Samoa Resident Representative, Ms. Yumiko Asakuma, presented the award on behalf of IE-NO-HIKARI Association to the Aunt of Faamanū Sterlling, Ms. Maria Upulasi.
Ms. Upulasi happily accepted the award on behalf of her nephew mentioning Faamanū will soon receive his award when he visits Samoa in the coming weeks.
Ms. Asakuma shared that Samoa is the fourth country she has worked as Resident Representative after India, Bhutan and Nepal.
Aunt of award winner Mr. Faamanū Sterlling – Ms. Maria Upulasi (left) with JICA Resident Representative Ms. Yumiko Asakuma
‘I have learnt that a disabled person is not a person with disabilities, but a person with different abilities (Indian-English saying)’.
This is shown in the awards ceremony today – celebrating a very talented student with exceptional Arts abilities.
She added ‘The competition is held annually. We look forward to seeing the students’ artwork next year. We hope to secure a Japanese volunteer for Loto Taumafai soon, further strengthening the friendship between JICA and Loto Taumafai, as well as the partnership between both our countries’.
Loto Taumafai Society for People with Disabilties Representative and Finance & Administration Officer Ms. Leata Toma said ‘We are honored at Loto Taumafai to be included in this art competition. Thank you for not leaving out Loto Taumafai from your educational programs. This recognizes artistic talents and achievements of our students’.
Loto Taumafai Society for People with Disabilities is one of the oldest NGO in Samoa, established to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Samoa. JICA has dispatched a total of five volunteers in the fields of welfare for persons with disabilities and occupational and physical therapy, beginning with the first volunteer deployment in 1990 and continuing through 2000 until evacuations to Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.