I am a busy person. I don't have a crock pot, I have a high-pressure cooker. And sometimes it seems time is the most precious commodity to me in the whole world. I was invited to five parties the weekend before Christmas and showed up at four. There was one that I didn't attend. The photos shown here are from 2007.Nono Hana No Ie (translated as Wildflower House) is a private orphranage which is unique in having goverment recognition and support. http://www.hanazaki.jp/english/index.html
Thirteen years ago, I reported on this orphranage in early November. Amazed at the loveliness of the children there, and with Christmas around the corner, I asked whether it would be possible for me to organize my readers and friends to give presents to the children.If this had been a truly government-run organization, I would have never endured the paperwork necessary for such a proposal to transpire. Sadly, beaucracy here squashes good ideas so frequently. Fortunately, this place is run by Misao Hanazaki, a Mother Theresa-like figure and she is always open to ideas.
My good friend, the photographer Takashi Morizumi took heartwarming photos of the children. In particular, the boy in the above photo, Kazuhito was five and just so photogenic and he became the poster child for the Santa Claus Group.
I hated the idea that kids in orphranages only got people's leftovers and I stated firmly that the kids would get to choose their own gift of around $50. This made organization much more challenging. With 40 children, it was not always easy to ensure that each "Santa" would buy the right gift for the right child. There were also troubleshooting incidents when things kids asked for were sold out. For course, I also worried how many volunteers we would get.
Because my story ran in the highest circulation English daily, foreign readers loved the idea and without e-mail, through faxes, Santas from all over Japan raised their hands and went out to shop. When the packages arrived at my home, it really felt like the best Christmas ever! The gifts weren't mine (though some even sent ME gifts for having the idea), I was overjoyed by the number of kind people in the world.
The second moment of pure delight was seeing Kazuhito's surprised face when Morizumi-san and I came with the gifts. "There is a Santa Claus.... It's a miracle! It's our miracle!" he shouted. All the kids gathered around. It seemed that there was a big debate amongst the kids the previous night whether we would actually show up. "Who would want to buy US presents?" they kept wondering.
The second year, without a news story, made the campaign more difficult. I asked my husband whether I should keep doing this and he said, people will appear and he vouched that we would buy all the presents from our savings if it came to that. Now you must understand that my husband did not grow up with Christmas. Never had presents. Have no clue what Christmas spirit means. He is not a charitable chap by nature. Stingy in fact! But something about this touched him. He never once showed a long face about helping with the tedious chores required. Moreover, he publicized the campaign at his company and about half of the Santas came through him in year two.
Always wanting to do something new, I asked Santas whether they would like to go and meet the children. A small party began like that. The kids were just happy to talk to people who'd listen to them.
Kids opening presents are quiet as mice. Year three went well as I recruited more friends. But year four was a critical one. I was in graduate school in Canada, pregnant and my father was dying of cancer. I had no spare energy to devote to these children and wrote a letter stating my personal issues and called it off. Two friends and wonderful human beings decided to take over Santa Claus Group for me. They are still running the show, despite personal tragedy and a ridiculous work schedule. I cannot express my gratitude and admiration for them.
When I covered the Maguro Festival story in Kagoshima, I spent a lot of time with the original organizer Mr. Matsumoto. For over ten years, he shouldered the responsibility of organizing it by himself. The effort wore him down and he called it quits. But so many people wanted it to continue, a committee began. "When a group rise up to do something, that's when it becomes real." I think of the Santa Claus Group the same way.
All the same, I still harbor guilt over abandoning children who have been abandoned already. My priority is my own family, as small and selfish as it may seem, I view bringing up two children to be decent, loving human beings the biggest challenge. Charles Dickens coined a phrase in his novel Bleak House "telescopic philanthropy," meaning it seems more rewarding to take on far away problems and mocked a woman doing charity for African children while her own are starving and freezing. I have met a few of these women in real life. I am doing what I should be doing at this stage of my life. I am optional there, Minako and Hiroko are not.
A girl showing off her new iron. Kids must leave when they turn 18, and she is preparing stuff for living on her own. What I am most proud of about starting this thing was how others have began their own campaigns. Wildflower House has a sister home, Cosmos House, a sheltered for battered foreign women and their children. I sent the proposal to a friend at AP/Dow Jones news service, and they had enough volunteers to do all the kids at Cosmos House every year by themselves.
One reader who belongs to the influential American Chamber of Commerce raised enough money to build and manage a home for those over 18, on the same property. Sadly, many children have some type of mild disability that makes independent living and working difficulty. Tad ensured that they still have a familiar place to call home. When Rio visited there for the first time last year, Tad took him aside and told him the story of how it started. He said, "Your mother is a wonderful person." I cried inside.
My dedicated friend Hiroko has so many generous friends that they have started a small scholarship fund.
A small dream, but I hope to someday soon organize a campaign for the kids to buy sport equipment. Lots of the kids belong to soccer and baseball teams and government funding does not allocate "club expenses." Gloves they can used hand me downs, but shoes are difficult. I have bought so many pairs of cleats over the years.
A college volunteers does magic tricks. He's good. It's so wonderful everyone helps out in their own ways. Unlike many societies around the world, community service is so rare in Japan. But in my fifteen years here, attitudes have changed. I am convinced that people do want to help but just do not know how.
This campaign is one of the proudest moments I've ever had my pen though. This idea is so common in North America, and yet in Japan, it really sparked community and it's grown so much. It is a gift that continues to give.
This campaign is one of the proudest moments I've ever had my pen though. This idea is so common in North America, and yet in Japan, it really sparked community and it's grown so much. It is a gift that continues to give.
