New Orphans World
We are half Japanese and half American.
We are living in Kobe, Japan.
Ever since we were little kids we have been involved in various volunteer work. Our parents were volunteer workers so we have been exposed to the volunteer world for most of our lives. In 1995, there was a devastating earthquake in Kobe Japan, where we live now. Most of the city was in ruins. More than 6000 people lost their lives. Thousands of buildings were destroyed and thousands of people were left homeless. Our parents immediately collaborated with other volunteer workers and formed an organization to help, comfort, feed and minister to the victims of the quake. We were helping with the volunteer relief work, such as bringing supplies to victims and performing to cheer them up etc...
In April 2007, while traveling in South East Asia, We met a local Indonesian man named Anca, who had been involved in programs to help child victims of the tsunami. We learned from him that he had been sponsored from Europe for about a year and had started educational programs for the orphans in the area. He took us to one orphanage that he had been involved in but unfortunatly had to cancel the programs due to lack of finances, as the sponsors in Europe stopped sending donations. Anca has a very good heart and cares alot for the kids. We wanted to help him. When we arrived at the orphanage, we were a little shocked at the living conditions. The childrens bed rooms resembled jail cells, and because of poor construction the leaking toilets and rain caused slight flooding. There were only a few care takers to watch over the children who's numbers have increased after the Tsunami. We talked with the orphanage director and promised to try and help raise funds for the orphanage when returning back to Japan. As the economy in Indonesia is much different from Japan, just 100 yen can be equal to at least 5 childrens dinner. A little over here can go a long way over there.
Its been a year now since we`ve been back (In Japan) and we have not yet been able to help the Sumatra orphanage. We have decided and been preparing for what we will do. From April 2008, we will ride bicycles across Japan, from Okinawa to Hokkaido, not only to find sponsors and gather donations, but also to help raise awarness. We would like to promote our project through-out Japan.
We have also visited an orphanage in Cambodia. In the future we would like to find sponsors for each child individually. Also, we hope to start an N.P.O. (Non Profit Organization) focusing on helping orphans and orphanages all over Asia.