GenkiJACS 2010 Charity Donations

Each year GenkiJACS gives at least 5% of profits to charity, usually to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. This year we were lucky enough to be able to expand our charitable giving program greatly, both in total funds donated and in where we donate to. After receiving suggestions from our staff, we gave money to the following organizations this year:

UNICEF (roughly 40% of total donation)
国境なき医師団 (Kokkyo naki ishidan, Doctors Without Borders) (30%)
世界の子どもにワクチンを (Sekai no kodomo ni wakuchin wo, Vaccines for the world’s children) (20%)
母の家 (Haha no ie, Mother’s House) (10%)

The last of those, Mother’s House, is a home for abused or abandoned children in Kitakyushu. As family structures in Japan are so strong, in many cases abused children are taken in by other members of the same family. This means that there are fewer children in this kind of facility than in most other countries. But it also means that the funds provided to support this kind of home are very low. We visited Mother’s House recently, and were struck by the need for more clothes and toys, but also by how well-adjusted the children there seemed, proof of the great work that the staff there do.
We’re proud to be able to support all of these organizations not just morally, but financially too. Living in Japan, it’s easy to forget that there are parts of the world, and even parts of Japan, where people struggle every day with terrible burdens. We hope to be able to do more in the coming years to help.