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The salted onion smell of fresh miso soup hung in the air with the laughter and singing of Okinawan children carried down the hall as Soldiers and civilians with the 10th Support Group arrived at the Yomitan Family Support Center to participate in a two-part community relations project.
The ongoing project is designed to combine local residents and children of Yomitan Village with U.S. Army personnel. On Sept. 30, Soldiers served and shared a miso soup lunch with center patrons and read English storybooks to the children. The Soldiers returned on Oct. 7 to learn how to make the miso soup from scratch.
"Having a good relationship with our host Nation is important to us. Having good relations with local residents in Yomitan Village and knowing who our neighbors are is even more important to us," said Lt. Col. Edward Camacho, the executive officer for the 10th SG.
For the past two years, the ability of 10th SG Soldiers to engage with the local community was diminished due to the pandemic. For the past two months, community events have begun to happen, which gives new life to partnerships.
"Working on community relations projects to enhance a more intimate understanding of each other on a human-to-human level is an element that we have been missing since COVID. We are glad to be able to slowly reintegrate ourselves back into the daily routine of engaging personally with Yomitan," said Camacho.
The center director, staff and volunteers showed appreciation to the 10th SG troops with smiles and constant conversation.
"Our main purpose for the center is to make the Family Support Center users happy and the first time the U.S. military visited here, it made the users happy, so I want to continue this effort," said Noriko Yamashiro, the director of the Yomitan Family Support Center.
The Support Center is managed and funded by the Yomitan Village government which has approved the programs.
"Our higher office with the village has expressed understanding that this is a good program because it helps us work with our neighbors at Torii Station,"
Yamashiro said. "Mutual understanding of each other's culture is important for everyone," Yamashiro said.
The 10th Support Group plans to continue activities on a regular basis with the center in addition to other community relations initiatives throughout the area.
