Thank you for your kind email! I am so thankful for SEMI! I could not have navigated these appointments without you all! You all make living in Sapporo more comfortable and easy!
Sincerely,
-S.C. on Aug. 9th, 2022
Dear everyone in SEMI
Today I have officially become mother to a beautiful princess F. It has been an incredible experience with everyone of you and your kindest and cordial support!
I would love to share with you this news and this photograph the staff took of us just after her birth! I and my family are going to be forever grateful to each member of the SEMI!!
Best regards
– S.R.N. and F.R.K.K on Jun.2022
Dear SEMI staff.
I hope this email finds you well. I am so thankful for the support you gave me from the start of my pregnancy to the end. I gave birth to a baby girl. The baby and I are all doing fine. I felt home with your support and I have nothing rather than THANKING YOU. In the future we may still need your support, please keep on accepting our enquiries. THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
–Y.N. on Apr.2022
Dear SEMI members,
My family and I would like to thank you for your kind assistance and support once again. My surgery went well, even though it was tough, I am recovering steadily. I will be discharged from the hospital earlier and reunited with my family. We are so grateful, this would not have been possible without your patience, tolerance, and understanding.
God bless you all,
―The C. Family on Mar. 2022.
It has been a long time since our last contact by email. Although recently I made a contact with Masayo-san to share an update from me. I would like to inform you all that I will move from Sapporo to other part of Japan in the end of this month. I get job in a company, so I will move with my daughter there. I would like to send my thank and big appreciation for your faithful help all these years during my life in Sapporo. It has been a long journey, and SEMI always be able to help me out. May the Lord bless your kind heart, and bless you and your family with abundant love and blessing. I hope our connection does not stop here. Wherever we will be, SEMI always be a part of our lives. 心より感謝申し上げます。
―L. and A. on Mar. 2nd, 2022
We greatly appreciate your wonderful work and kind support for foreigners like us. It is remarkable that you continue supporting even during this ongoing pandemic. Please accept a small contribution from us. Thank you very much.
―B. A. P. on Jan. 25th, 2022
Thank you so much for providing us the assistance during every hospital visit.
We have no words to express for the help you have been doing us. Being pregnant and delivering a baby in a foreign country is full of stress. However, for us SEMI took all the burden and guided us in every step. Thank you so much for your selfless help you provide us during our hard time. We wish all the best to the organization and every member.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
―S. G., D.P. and S.P. on Jan. 18th 2022.
First of all, I thank to Megumi san for coordinating & helping in arranging our son’s health checkup. It made us to know many things on his health and well-being. Without your help, we would miss the health checkup opportunity.
Next, we make big applause to Kuniko san for coming there early morning and helping us in translation. It is really great and smooth, my wife and myself were astonished by seeing her capability in English. It is huge for us.
Last but not least, we thank to SEMI team for being an anchor for foreign lives in Sapporo to make them consoled in Japanese language understanding. I really felt the importance of this organization to make the lives smooth in Sapporo. I really make my support as I can to this organization to raise and expand their services specially to foreigners with Japanese language difficulty.
―M.S. on Jan. 13th 2022
I am really grateful to all the members of SEMI. In my 4 years stay in Sapporo, from my childbirth till now they support me unconditionally. I am so happy to have them around me whenever I need any help. I hope they will continue their support to the newcomers and help them as I receive from them. Thank you.
―M.A. on Jan. 6th 2022
Thank you very much for your help. My family really appreciate it!
―J. M.C. on Jan.4th 2022
Dear SEMI members,
Hope you are well. I delivered my 2nd baby boy today in my country.
Thank you very much all of you for being with me during my fertility treatment. I was so lucky to have an organization and interpreters like you all in Japan. I never feel lonely although I was away from home. I appreciate your kindness and support.
Thank you very much!
Sending new year wishes for 2022 with our new family member to you all from my country. Happy 2022!
ーP. K. on Dec. 29, 2021
Hey there I would just like to say thanks again for today’s translation from a SEMI interpreter. she was amazing! Kind regards
―A.W. on Oct.28, 2021
I have sent the donation to SEMI Sapporo’s bank account. It is a small amount, but I hope it could be of use for SEMI Sapporo to help more foreigners in need of medical English assistance. I and my son are doing well. I am not sure if SEMI staffs remember me, but SEMI was a great help for me from my pregnancy checkups until when my son was an infant. I am very grateful to SEMI. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank SEMI for all your help in making my pregnancy to infant care very easy!!! I wish the best for the organization and to all the people SEMI is helping.
ーS.B. on Oct. 27, 2021
Dear SEMI Sapporo,
Today, P and I made a donation to the SEMI Sapporo account. I hope you receive it ok.
We want to take the opportunity to say THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for everything.
We are truly grateful to those that attended appointments with me and my children over the past 3 years especially to those who were there before, during (for my second birth alone) and after the births of my two children. We really cannot begin to thank each and everyone of you for everything.
The service you provide is incredible, it’s reassuring, it’s professional and so very very helpful. I couldn’t have done it without you.
I know you’ll continue to help people and families like you have with us, we wish you health, happiness and success in the future.
Off to Ireland we go!
―From K, P, L and Ú on Jul. 20, 2021
Dear SEMI partners,
It has been a month since our son was born, so much as there is a whole journey ahead, it has already been a life changing experience for our small family.
This email is to extend our heartfelt appreciation for the support you offer us as foreign parents, thereby making our journey easier. Without extended family, and far from home, the support you render is highly appreciated. Thank you so much.
Warm regards,
― H., F. and R. Y. on May 31, 2021
If it was not SEMI’s help, I wouldn’t get a better treatment. Fortunately I’m already fit and now preparing to fly back to my country with my family.
I also would like to say thank you and goodbye to all SEMI interpreters. Thank you very much for helping me and my family during living in Sapporo. Please keep helping foreigners who are like me. We will always remember SEMI’s help reminiscently.
― W. T. and Family on March.10, 2021
Dear SEMI,
I highly appreciate your valuable service. During my pregnancy as well as while taking fertility treatments I received your service. Now as a mother and also during postpartum period you all helped me and guided me. Actually I have no words to express my gratitude.
Thank you all SEMI members !
― P. K. on Feb.17, 2021
SEMI sans are the blessings of our Japan life. We will always remember you as a very great person with pure soul. We will leave Japan at April 8th. We are taking many good memories with us including our memorable journey with SEMI San.
Thanks a lot dear.
―R.S. A and A. Z.on Feb. 23, 2021
Take Home message
Although it’s possible to find an interpreter who can go with you to see the doctor, I noticed that the most challenging issue in other cities, is the exact explanation of the patient’s complaint that may lead to an improper diagnosis or un-trusting the doctor’s decision. This is because of the lack of medical terms between the 3 sides (Patient-Interpreter-Doctor).
Thanks to SEMI, they played this role in a professional way that helped all foreigners in Sapporo NOT to face this problem.
－Dr. S.S.(a pediatrician) on Oct. 2nd, 2020
Dear all members of the SEMI-Sapporo team,
We would like to inform you all that we have permanently moved back to our country, India. We are deeply indebted to you all for your kind help. Your incredible support during our stay in Sapporo especially during the birth of my baby is incredible.
Once again, we sincerely thank you all very much for your invaluable time and extreme kindness. Thanking you.
－B, Y & P on Feb.8, 2021
On behalf of my husband and our families, we would like to sincerely appreciate your services and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the help and time that you continue to give us during and after pregnancy.
We really appreciate the work you are doing and you made this journey very easy, memorable and fun. We are really humbled and blessed to have this opportunity to meet you all.
So thank you so much once again- mummy, daddy and baby are doing well at home.
Thank you very much,
－The C family on Dec.9,2020
Hope all of you are doing well.
I am very happy to share that last week we were blessed with a baby girl. At today my wife and my baby were discharged from the hospital. Now we are at home and we are fine.
I am writing this email to say our cordial thanks to all of my dear friends who work at SEMI. We are so grateful to all of you for your cordial support from very beginning to the end of this journey. We believe without your support it may not succeed. We found all of you not only as supporters but also as a best friend here to make our life easier. You guys are great heart people.
Finally, take care of yourself and stay well.
Hope we will meet again with your support. Stay blessed.
Best regards,
－I and A on Nov. 25, 2020
I am sending this e-mail to say thank you. Thank you for coming along with us during M’s pregnancy since the beginning until delivery.
It was a long journey and you have helped us communicate with medical staff in the ways only you can do. M and I are grateful for your kind attention, patience and time during these last months. As you may know, our baby was born last week on Tuesday and since Monday we took her home. She is healthy and M is doing well.
From the bottom of our heart, we thank you for this amazing work done. From now on, we hope to see you on our next visits/check with our baby. Again thank you very much for everything, we pretty much appreciate it and we pray for more blessings upon you all and SEMI’s farther development.
― E and M on Nov. 22, 2020
Alhamdulillah, we are blessed with a baby boy today evening. Thank you so much…. We are grateful to you and SEMI for the rest of our life….
― from H. and S.on Nov.19, 2020
On August 31, our son J was born at K hospital Sapporo.
All through the pregnancy period, SEMI staff were always there at our beck and call. Our mails and calls always got positive and quick replies.
Here is to express our deep gratitude for all you have done. We pray these gestures of love and kindness will continue to grow and yield good fruits.
God bless.
ーH, G, and J on Sep. 8, 2020
It is very helpful for foreigners like myself and I’m very grateful for their support and help. Please continue to help foreigners.
― from K. C. on Aug. 17, 2020
This is to appreciate the great work you did during my pregnancy, postpartum recovery and even helping us to take our baby girl to the pediatric clinic. Me and my husband, immensely grateful to the members of the SEMI. Thank you.
― from D. & W. on Aug. 15, 2020
My husband and I are beyond grateful to have come across your website. Your team has been very professional with all the translations and medical terms for our treatment. We want to thank all the wonderful ladies who have been part of our journey. Thank you for all you do! Without you, this would not have been possible.
Kind regards,
M.and M. on July 28, 2020
We are very happy to announce the arrival our new baby boy in May, 2020 in India. We are always indebted to SEMI, for all the good support that we received while consulting doctors in Sapporo.
Thank you very much SEMI,
ー ️ from B. & P. on May 18, 2020
I am finishing a research project on the availability of online healthcare resource information (English) in each prefecture of Japan. I can tell you there is a lot of information presented by Japanese medical institutions and prefecture governments that is technically English but actually doesn’t actually provide much useable information.
I wanted to commend your organization for keeping an up-to-date website with translations that are friendly, relevant and understandable. Surely you are improving the health equity of minorities in Japan.
ー ️ from R.M. on May 16, 2020
I am glad to announce the successful delivery of our baby today. We are grateful for all of your time and assistance. Thank you very much.
Best regards,
ー ️ from J. and E. on Apr. 16, 2020
Just to let you know that we took my sister to Tsuji’s clinic and then to Higashi Tokushukai hospital, they were all amazing to us and they were able to identify her problem.
She has kidney stones (again, it is something usual for her) and they prescribed her some painkillers as there isn’t much to be done besides waiting for the stones to be eliminated by her body.
I would like to take this time to truly thank you for your kindness and availability to our situation, your advices were super useful to us and we were able to handle this situation in one afternoon, thank you, thank you, thank you!
Wish you all the best, you are all stars here in Japan ♥
ー ️ from T. L. S. (a tourist from Brazil) on Jan. 24, 2020
I believe the service you provide for foreigners is important, useful, and interpreters do it well. Keep on the good job!ー from K. O. on Dec. 20, 2019
Dear team SEMI,
Today I got discharged from hospital. The surgery and all administrative work went smoothly, this wouldn’t have been possible without your wonderful support. I am very grateful to my SEMI coordinators and interpreters. SEMI’s work is truly a blessing for foreigners like me.
Thank you very much ーFrom B.A.P. on Aug. 24, 2019
Hi there!!
Baby L, E & I would just like to say THANK YOU SOOO SOOO MUCH to SEMI!!!!
We couldn’t have gotten through this time without everyone’s help!!!
We really can’t thank y’all enough!!! ーFrom C.H. on Aug. 8, 2019
I highly appreciate the support and the service throughout the visits to the clinic. All interpreters are very professional and explained everything clearly. This is a great support for me. Thank you for your kindness and the great service. ―From P.K. on Aug. 3, 2019
Good morning ,
Really I would like to express our deep gratitude me and A for your continuous support and help during our long journey tell we are going home now. Really your help facilitate many things during this journey. Many thanks for your priceless help.
Please accept our deep gratitude.——From A. N. and M. on Nov. 21, 2017
Dear Akiko
Good day. I just want to thank you for all your assistance in helping me finding a hospital and providing me with an interpreter.
Shihoko San was very kind, accommodating, and understanding at the same time. It was really nerve-racking at first but Shihoko San was very helpful and explained to me everything in the way that I can understand. I am very grateful for it. I am feeling so much better now and on the following month I will have another appointment and it is already arranged thanks to Shihoko San.
Thank you again for your generosity I am truly humbled. As a foreigner your organization makes our lives better and may you continue your service for many years to come. Your kindness and generosity will remain with me forever.―From M.A. on Apr. 26, 2017
Thank you very much again SEMI, for sending Yoko K. san to help, it is incredible how much difference makes an interpreter. People of the Hospital seem to be more patient and keen to teach, such time given, the human interaction, helped greatly, creating sort of a trust bond helping me relax a little and do what I needed to do. If Yoko K. san wasn’t there I may have delayed my check again, worsening my troubles.
Most grateful thanks again,——From E. S. on Dec 22, 2016
With a hearth full of joy.
Today been the last day of my medical checkup, I will like to express my profound gratitude to the Sapporo English medical interpreters. I love and appreciate all your effort towards my medical checkups and would like to say a very big thank you for all your efforts. Thanks for the translations, thanks for your supports and thanks for being there for me, my God will continue to bless you all. THANKS A LOT AND LOVE YOU ALL “——From A. M.
Hi there. I am a graduate student in Hokkaido University and have my family living here with me; my child who is two years of age and my wife who is working part time. My wife and I hardly speak Japanese, so every time we need to take our child to medical check-ups, vaccination, etc we really have a hard time and we are reluctant to do so. When the time that we need to apply our child to a nursery it was extremely difficult. When we learned about SEMI it was a great relief and was able to apply at the Kita ward. I have used their service for a few times but I can say that you will get all the help you need starting from making a call to a clinic, filling up some papers, translation, and they will even explain the situation and they do this in a nice and comfortable way. The good thing about their system is that they don’t ask for anything, they are just here to help foreigners like us who can’t speak Japanese but of course there are some ways that we can help them too and I think that it is not that difficult. If I have to rate their system I can say only one word, GREAT!!! Thank you very much SEMI for your help.”——From E. S.
I have been introduced to SemiSapporo through my wife Japanese teacher. I had a sever back pain that lasted for long time, however, I was lazy to go to doctor mainly because of the language barrier, but after I contacted SemiSapporo group, I found my self with a doctor the next day. The interpreter was extremely nice and supportive with fluent English skills, and she did not only interpret for me, but also she was caring for my situation, and took her time to wait with me for a long time till I got to the doctor room. From that time, I feel relief now about my medical situation, since I know there is some one there to help. Thank you very much.”——From T. D.
We had only been in Sapporo for a few months with very little knowledge about Japanese culture or the language when I started going to the hospital for maternity checkups. Before I knew about SEMI and their services, my husband and I struggled through the appointments especially because of communication problems. As we were first-time parents, the inability to communicate added to the growing anxiety we had of the pregnancy and birth. SEMI really helped us feel more at ease, accompanying us to hospital visits when interpreters were needed and making it easier for us to ask questions to hospital staff. Regardless of how early or late it was during the day, SEMI was always there for us, helping us with communicating and filling out forms that were all written in Japanese. Without them, we would have been at a loss.
Thank you again SEMI for the help you have given us during our pregnancy and even after the birth of our son. We would have been at a loss without you. We are truly grateful for the work you do.——–From S. P.
I was very lazy to go to hospital because i couldn’t speak and write Japanese. It was very easy to contact SEMI volunteer and things went well at the hospital. The interpreter was very kind and was able to explain procedures, instructions ,…. So i was very satisfied. Thank you so much SEMI volunteers for your help. ——–From H. M.
Last year I was in Sapporo for a few months, and had to go to a doctor to refill my prescription. I contacted SEMI, and they called several
doctors to find out which was most convenient for me. Once they set up an appointment, they gave me directions to the clinic, and offered to accompany me. They were very helpful, and I highly recommend their
services. — From E. K.
It is with sad heart that this email is now officially also a good-bye to you, Megumi and Shihoko, but also to Saori-san, and the entire SEMI group. Your group provides such great value to foreigners like me, and your kindness and patience is second to none. I am so happy that I have met so many of you (either in clinics, or during my presentation) and my encounters with you, even in the clinics, will stand out as a highlight of my 4 month stay in Sapporo. I will miss you and always remember this as a very good time. ——From W.C.
