JICA South Africa Office

09/06/2026

SHEP Empowering Growth and Transforming Lives

From 1 to 4 June 2026, a delegation from JICA South Africa, which oversees the implementation of the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion (SHEP) Approach, conducted a mission to the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The purpose of the visit was to monitor progress, engage with stakeholders, and witness firsthand the transformative impact of SHEP activities across the country.

The mission commenced with a high-level courtesy meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture, where the delegation was warmly received by Mr. Sydney Boy Simelane, Principal Secretary. In his remarks, Mr. Simelane expressed his heartfelt appreciation to JICA for its steadfast cooperation and invaluable support to Eswatini’s agricultural sector. He emphasized that such partnerships are instrumental in strengthening smallholder resilience, enhancing productivity, and fostering inclusive economic growth.
During the field visits, the JICA team engaged with several farmer groups that have embraced the SHEP approach—an innovative methodology that shifts farmers’ mindsets from “grow and sell” to “grow to sell.” The outcomes observed were both inspiring and compelling. Farmers shared stories of transformation, highlighting increased incomes, improved market access, and enhanced decision-making capabilities.

Notably, many beneficiaries reported tangible improvements in their quality of life. Some farmers proudly described purchasing vehicles following successful harvest seasons, while others invested in upgrading irrigation infrastructure, enabling them to sustain production even under challenging climatic conditions. Several households have also undertaken renovations to improve their living environments—clear evidence of the project’s broader socioeconomic benefits.

Among the most touching moments of the visit was an interaction with a passionate female farmer, whose story vividly illustrated the human impact of SHEP. With radiant joy, she shared how the additional income from her farming activities had enabled her to purchase beautiful clothes for herself—something she once considered a luxury. Her smile, filled with pride and optimism, stood as a powerful testament to how empowerment through agriculture can uplift not only livelihoods but also dignity and self-confidence.

The mission reaffirmed the effectiveness of the SHEP approach as a catalyst for rural transformation. By equipping farmers with market-oriented skills, fostering collective action, and strengthening linkages with value chains, SHEP continues to unlock the potential of smallholder farmers in Eswatini.
As JICA and Eswatini deepen their collaboration, their shared vision remains clear: to nurture a vibrant and resilient agricultural sector that drives sustainable development and leaves no farmer behind.

https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html

03/06/2026

03/06/2026

「JICA海外協力隊の世界日記」を更新しました。

𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗜𝗖𝗔 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆 “𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀”

JICA Volunteer’s World Diary is a blog site that shares the daily lives of JICA volunteers working outside of Japan through personal diary-style stories.

#10 日帰りスクールトリップ
🚌早朝4:30出発、生徒150人とムプマランガ州からリンポポ州へ🚌
歌って踊る移動やスポーツ交流を通して、日本とは異なる学びの形を体感⚽️🏀
同じ南アフリカ国内でも、言語や文化の違いが生徒同士の関わりに影響することを実感しました。
多様性と教育の在り方を考える、貴重な一日でした✨
👇
https://world-diary.jica.go.jp/JICA_South-Africa/activity/post_7.php
👆

🚌 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 🚌
I am a JOCV working at a secondary school in Mpumalanga. I went on a day-trip school excursion.
All 150 learners departed at 4:30 sharp to Limpopo.
The trip to Limpopo was highly energetic, filled with laughter singing, dancing, and sports exchanges, demonstrating a style of learning very different from Japan ⚽️🏀
It was evident that even within South Africa, differences in language and culture clearly shape how learners interact with each other.
A truly valuable day reflecting on diversity and the role of education ✨

#11 南アフリカ・シロアム小学校での挑戦 ～ 算数と文化で架ける虹の橋～
🌏リンポポ州の小学校で算数を教えています🌏
算数が苦手な子どもたちに「できた！」の喜びを届けるため、少人数授業や教材づくりに挑戦しています✏️
日本を紹介する通信「Rainbow Bridge」も発信中🌈
小さな学びが未来につながりますように。😊✨
👇
https://world-diary.jica.go.jp/JICA_South-Africa/post_8.php
👆
🌏 I am currently teaching Math at a primary school in Limpopo🌏
Amongst other things, I'm actively supporting learners who struggle with math through small-group lessons and creative teaching materials ✏️
I also showcase my Japanese culture and education through my newsletter called “Rainbow Bridge” 🌈 in the hope that small moments of learning will lead to a brighter future 😊✨

https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html
バックナンバーはこちら / Past diaries here👇
https://world-diary.jica.go.jp/JICA_South-Africa/

#南アフリカ

01/06/2026

JICA senior returns to South Africa 30 years later

Mr YANASE Naoki brings with him 33 years’ experience in JICA. As bonus, “the head and the heart” are perfectly synchronised. In the few days since his arrival on 19 May 2026, he has proven to be apt, authentic and accessible; ideal qualities for this post.

Mr Yanase is the newly-appointed Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD). He’s the third JICA officer to assume this post, consecutively, since the start of this exemplary partnership more than ten years ago.

Mr Yanase has held several prominent positions in his career, of note Director General of the Africa Department at JICA Headquarters from October 2022 to September 2025.

Mr Yanase joined JICA in February 1993 after working in commercial banking. About half of his career at JICA was devoted to Africa-related assignments, significantly Ghana and Mozambique.

In addition, he was seconded to the Policy Division of the Economic Cooperation Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to follow up on the very-first Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD I), held in Tokyo in 1993. Feeling nostalgic, Mr Yanase shared a full-cycle experience: 𝘐𝘯 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 1996, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 (𝘜𝘕𝘊𝘛𝘈𝘋) 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢. 𝘐, 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘈𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘐𝘊𝘈𝘋 𝘐𝘐 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘰𝘬𝘺𝘰 𝘪𝘯 1998. 𝘐𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵 2025, 𝘐 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘐𝘊𝘈𝘋 9 𝘢𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘐𝘊𝘈 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺.

With the areas of collaboration between AUDA-NEPAD and JICA now seeing 12 sub-themes, and considering the job at hand, Mr Yanase stated: 𝘔𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 12 𝘴𝘶𝘣-𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘜𝘋𝘈-𝘕𝘌𝘗𝘈𝘋’𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘑𝘐𝘊𝘈 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘜𝘋𝘈-𝘕𝘌𝘗𝘈𝘋, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘑𝘐𝘊𝘈 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘜𝘋𝘈-𝘕𝘌𝘗𝘈𝘋 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘐𝘊𝘈 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴.

Mr Yanase’s arrival sees a new journey of collaboration between AUDA-NEPAD and JICA, and we wish him well.

https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html

29/05/2026

𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮

Mr HOMMA Toru. Gentleman Extraordinaire. One look at him and you know the work will get done. His presence commands respect. Small wonder then that he was selected as Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).

Alas, in development, there’s always a beginning and an end. So it was with Mr Homma’s tenure, which ended on 27 May 2026 following three productive years spent across the length and breadth of Africa. The Continent’s development fraternity will long remember him for his no-nonsense approach to tackling and resolving the direst of needs with a diplomatic finesse rarely seen.

Under Mr Homma’s watchful eye, a team of JICA advisors of Japanese nationality collaborated with their AUDA-NEPAD peers on a range of areas. To this day, success stories continue to make headlines.

When Mr Homma reported for duty in 2023, there were only five areas, namely 1) Regional Integration, 2) Africa Kaizen Initiative (AKI), 3) Initiative for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa (IFNA), 4) Home-Grown Solutions (HGS), and 5) Policy Bridge Tank (PBT). However, his vision and drive transformed these areas into 12 sub-themes, namely 1) the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), 2) Trade Facilitation, in particular One-stop Border Post (OSBP), 3) Power/Energy, 4) Digitalisation, 5) AKI, 6) African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), 7) Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Implementation, 8. Blue Economy, 9) HGS, 10) PBT, 11) Co-creation with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and 12) Africa Clean City Platform (ACCP). Whilst JICA advisors were working across all sub-themes, Mr Homma himself was heavily involved in industrialisation (AKI and AfCFTA), HGS, PBT, and ASEAN.

The Partnership between AUDA-NEPAD and JICA spans more than a decade. The partners’ annual consultation, leading to the growth of existing initiatives and the birth of new ones, has become a calendar highlight. When deliberating on his vision for the Partnership, he said: 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.

Although Mr Homma will be resuming his duties at JICA Headquarters in Tokyo, his portfolio will undoubtedly afford him a return to the people and places he has grown so fond of.

Mr Homma was the second JICA officer to hold this post, but continuity will prevail. Watch this space for the introduction of Mr Homma’s successor!

Hashtags:
https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html

27/05/2026

He’s done the math, for now

Mr ITAGAKI Akiho took a calculated risk when he chose to invest three years of his life in South Africa. His experience, not only as teacher, but also as change agent, has been nothing short of rich and rewarding.

Mr Itagaki returned to Japan on 26 May 2026 following the successful completion of his tenure as JICA Advisor under a technical cooperation initiative titled Strengthening the Implementation of Mathematics Education. Mr Itagaki was hosted by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), which deals with all public schools from Grade R to 12, including adult literacy programmes.

Mr Itagaki’s sole purpose was to improve Mathematics at primary level. He supported teachers to better prepare and deliver lessons, and helped learners to better understand a subject traditionally perceived as complex. Personifying quiet strength, with a firm belief in simplicity, Mr Itagaki went about his business with the utmost of ease.

When Mr Itagaki arrived on 28 May 2023 as first-timer to South Africa, he had the following to say: I love Mathematics, children, and new challenges, so my assignment in South Africa seems perfect to me. Filled with nostalgia before tackling the journey home, and echoing DBE’s sentiments on education, he said: With every child a national asset, I’m pleased to have contributed to the establishment of a South African education system for the 21st Century, now in the making.

With Pretoria as base, and joined by his wife, Mr Itagaki enjoyed the splendour of the country, in particular the Drakensberg. He also kept holistically fit by playing tennis with colleagues and locals.

We wish Mr Itagaki the very best, hoping our paths to cross again.

https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html

25/05/2026

Japan Centre interfaces with Hydrobioscapes

Amidst widely-reported unpleasant weather in the Western Cape, the sun shone in Stellenbosch, proverbially speaking, when several global researchers gathered for a week of intense discussions. The business at hand was climate modelling and hydrological research under a hydrobioscapes project, focusing on Climate and Water, led by the Stellenbosch University (SU).

The gathering, hosted by SU’s School for Climate Studies, was held from 11 to 15 May 2026. Joining SU, were (amongst others) the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), each leading research on Energy and Agriculture. Coming from further away, the University of Tokyo (U-Tokyo) was represented by three researchers dualling as facilitators. SU’s Centre for Collaboration in Africa (CCA), which advocates for partnerships across Africa, invited researchers from Ghana and Zambia for observation.

The gathering offered training on applications for the isotope-enabled global and regional spectral models (IsoGSM and IsoRSM), and a field visit to the Cape Point Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP). It also shared research progress and findings to date, strengthened team collaboration and networking, and built capacity for early-career researchers.

The gathering, the second of its kind, follows the kick-off workshop held from 8 to 9 July 2025 in Stellenbosch.

This initiative is one of many undertaken by the Stellenbosch University Japan Centre (SUJC) in pursuit of the circulation of expertise between African and Japanese universities, as well as among African universities.

https://ejust.edu.eg
https://jkuat.ac.ke
https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp
https://www.sun.ac.za
https://www0.sun.ac.za>japancentre
https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html

22/05/2026

Are municipalities financially healthy?

South Africa’s 17 non-delegated municipalities, scattered across the country, account directly to National Treasury (NT) for their finances. In turn, NT is enabling them to better serve populations in their catchment areas by supporting their budget formulation and implementation through periodic engagements. This includes budget assessments for the Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework (MTREF).

Each year, around the advent of Winter, NT invites these municipalities to Pretoria, Gauteng, to assess their tabled MTREF budgets prior to adoption. Municipalities, comprising of municipal Managers, chief financial officers and other senior managers, present the status of their institutional arrangements, financial governance, financial health, and service delivery. In turn, NT shares expert advice and recommendations on presented budgets. Municipalities need to factor in these recommendations into their final budgets before adoption.

Parallel to “business as usual”, NT’s Intergovernmental Relations (NT-IGR) and JICA are currently implementing an initiative to strengthen financial sustainability in municipalities, focusing on George and uMhlathuze as sample sites for eventual replication to the other 15.

JICA is in the process of recruiting local consultants on Asset Management, Pooled Finance, and Development Charges. For this reason, JICA joined two of the mentioned engagements for the 2026/27 round; George in the Western Cape on 13 May 2026, and uMhlathuze (Richards Bay) in KwaZulu-Natal on 14 May 2026. Mr Jan Hattingh, Chief Director of NT-IGR’s Local Government Budget Analysis, was the presiding officer, supported by colleagues from this unit. Both municipalities fared well, with funded budgets as outcome.

https://www.treasury.gov.za
https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html

05/05/2026

Completion of Disability Awareness Booklet

The Respite Care Project, currently being implemented by South Africa’s Department of Social Development (DSD) and JICA, has just produced the Disability Awareness Booklet.

This Booklet provides accurate information on a wide range of disabilities and medical conditions, as well as preventing the isolation of children with disabilities and their families by promoting understanding and awareness.

The Booklet was initially drafted based on literature from Japan. It was then refined with input from DSD colleagues, caregivers at project sites, and disability organisations in South Africa, resulting in a version tailored to the South African context. In addition to the English edition, versions were also produced in Afrikaans, siSwati, Setswana, and isiZulu to ensure accessibility for people at project sites in their native languages.

In April 2026, when the Project Team visited the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga, the Booklet was presented to key stakeholders. It is expected that the Booklet will be effectively used to strengthen stakeholders’ capacity, and support ongoing disability awareness activities.

Gaining knowledge can help children with disabilities and their families lead better lives. As respite care continues to expand steadily, the Project Team will remain committed to its efforts, with the hope that understanding of disabilities will also continue to grow.

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https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html

24/03/2026

https://mg.co.za/the-diplomat/2026-03-23-africa-ticad-co-create-innovative-solutions-with-africa/

https://youtu.be/Getk5X-Wykk Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with overseas offices across the continent, works with African countries to pursue h