Hello, everyone!

My name is Dewi Caesaria Fitriani from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I work as a research assistant in health and demographic surveillance system, and I am a nurse who is interested in pediatrics and disaster management. I was invited to join the Sakura Science Plan (SSP) exchange program hosted by Kochi University as a Master of Nursing student at Universitas Gadjah Mada, in March 2017. It was my first time in Japan, which I had always dreamed of since listening to my father’s fascinating stories about living there. I have been passionate about Japan since I was a child, and I am so grateful for the chance to be one of the SSP delegations with my seniors. I was the youngest one, but I was so very grateful and learned a lot from them.

During SSP, I learned more about disaster management systems in Japan, especially in the nursing field. There were not only delegations from Indonesia, but also from Nepal. We observed and discussed more about the disaster risk management with the experts, Japanese students and nurses, the local government, and also community members. We had a focus group discussion and made an action plan about disaster risk reduction for people with disabilities. We also did an emergency simulation of triage after a disaster. What amazed me the most was when we visited one of the health science centers in Kochi to see emergency life-saving helicopters─the so called “Doctor-Heli.” I watched it on TV before and seeing it in person made me very excited, even though we couldn’t ride it for safety reasons. It was a truly wonderful experience for me.

I got many insights and ideas for my thesis topic related to disaster preparedness for parents with special needs children. By learning from Japan, it made me more aware and interested in how to create and develop the disaster management system that is inclusive for everyone in Indonesia. SSP had a big impact on my life and it opened up the opportunity for me to visit Japan again later. I am honored to be a part of SSP alumni, especially Sakura Association Alumni in Indonesia (SAAI). I also had a wonderful experience joining the Ad-Hoc Committee of SAAI as the Head of Research Division and collaborating with other alumni to organize two virtual scientific events.

Thank you for reading my story.