"Why do we need children's homes?" By Misao Hanazaki
On a warm day in late February, a group called "Te-wo-tsunagu NPO" (meaning "Hand-in-hand" NPO) held a conference titled "NPO Mini-Forum" in Chiba City, Japan. During this conference, participating parents and the children talked about the future of children and their place in society.
Two children, a ninth-grade girl and an eleventh-grade boy, represented Nonohana-no-ie Children's Home along with several staff from our local support group. Their public speaking skills far exceeded our expectations, especially that of the ninth grader's. She started out by telling us how she came to live in Nonohana-no-ie Children's Home and then with considerable wit explained what her current life is like. She said, "I'm ever grateful
that I started living in Nonohana-no-ie Children's Home, through which I have learned to trust others around me. But I can't help wondering about the reason I have to live in a children's home. What's the point of running a place like a children's home? I mean, why in the world do we even have to have a place like this in our society in the first place?" She went on to say, "Why was it that none of my relatives or neighbors came to rescue me? If they only had helped me ..."
I thanked her by saying that her brilliant comment spoke to the core question of the existence and the importance of social welfare. We must shed more light on the issue of parental (or caregivers') responsibility and sometimes, unfortunately, the lack thereof. After all, most of the children come to live in children's homes against their will. How can we support such children in the best possible ways?
Unlike this ninth grader, one of our volunteers and her two siblings had a fortunate experience in receiving childcare support from her next-door neighbor who had raised them while their mother was hospitalized for four long years. This volunteer chose social work as her profession as her way of giving back to the community.
In this day and age when parental responsibility is called into question, local community support as well as the role of children's homes have become a crucial issue. We want to continue working hand-in-hand with our community to greatly assist those children in need.
(Translated from the original Japanese).
|
|
