REBOOTING JC IKI IKI LIGHT (JAPANESE CANADIAN LIVELY LIGHT).

JC Iki Iki Light is a dementia-friendly social connection program that Nikkei Seniors Home currently runs with staff and volunteers who are specially trained and educated on the issue of dementia. The activities focus on wellness, communication, companionship, and engagement in a social environment. Core activities include oseteofit (a certified exercise for individuals with low bone density, mobility difficulties, or who are at risk of fractures and falls), art table, Japanese style lunch (bento boxes served in kyushoku [Japanese school lunch] style), sing-along and chatting time. The program was created to cater to Japanese Canadian seniors with dementia who were not able to access this type of service in the Japanese language. The term “Iki Iki Light” was modelled from Japanese seniors’ care system, where the terms such as “Iki iki” “Waku waku (excitement)” are used for activities so that Japanese seniors can easily relate to them.

The aim of this proposal is to reboot the current program by catering it to the 24 Japanese Canadian survivors and beyond. We have targeted that this Rebooting project will run 12 weeks from February 2022 through April 2022. It will be offered virtually and in-person, with hopes that it will reach Japanese Canadian survivors in remote areas in BC. This hybrid programming also gives us the ability to follow the Health and Safety protocols for Japanese Canadian survivors to be in a safe and friendly environment. We expect this program to continue far beyond the proposed timeline and become a staple in supporting Japanese Canadian connections across Canada.

• Listing ID: 1539
• Primary Applicant: Nikkei Seniors Health Care and Housing Society
• Event or Completion Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022
• Approved Amount: $10,000
• Location: Burnaby, BC