Minna no Lemonade no Kai

Building a Place to Return To

August was a month of building at Minlemo.

We built a welcoming community space in western Japan.

We built confidence through learning and creativity.

And across the country, we continued building connections so that children with childhood cancer, their siblings, and families would know they are never alone.

Even during Japan’s intense summer heat, children joined us from hospitals, homes, and communities throughout the country. Some received care packages. Others met friends online, created something new, or spent time together in person.

Each connection may seem small, but together they create a community filled with friendship, belonging, and hope.

Support Overview

Care package support: 122 individuals

Connection and community support: 91 individuals
(77 online and 14 in person)

Reaching Families Across Japan

During August, care packages reached children and families in 21 prefectures:

Hokkaido, Iwate, Miyagi, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Okayama, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, and Okinawa.

From Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido to Okinawa in the south, every package carried the same message:

You are remembered. You are cared for. You are not alone.

Creating Minlemo no Sato Ibara

This month, we continued hands-on DIY improvements at Minlemo no Sato Ibara, our new community space in Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture, in western Japan.

Minlemo no Sato Ibara grew from a wish shared by children and families:

“We want a place we can always come back to.”

Minlemo has held gatherings in Ibara since 2018. Over the years, families told us how meaningful it was to spend time with others who understood their experiences without needing long explanations.

Their voices inspired us to begin creating a more permanent place of belonging.

Surrounded by nature, Minlemo no Sato Ibara is being developed as a welcoming place where children with childhood cancer, survivors, siblings, parents, and supporters can gather, rest, play, and build lasting friendships.

During August, we worked on the space through DIY projects and continued preparing it so that families can spend time there safely and comfortably.

This is not simply the renovation of a building.

We are creating a place where a child can laugh freely.

A sibling can feel included.

A parent can meet someone who understands.

And a family can think,

“We can come back here.”

There is still much work ahead. Your support helps us purchase repair materials, improve safety and comfort, and prepare future gatherings for children and families.

Although Minlemo no Sato is located in Japan, we hope its circle of friendship will extend around the world.

If you visit Japan someday, we would be delighted for you to learn about Ibara and, when an opportunity is available, join one of our community activities. Perhaps one day, we can sit together, share a lemonade, and celebrate the connections your kindness helped create.

A Summer Filled with “I Did It!”

August also brought the successful completion of our first Summer Homework Support Project.

For children receiving treatment or recovering at home, summer vacation may look very different from that of their classmates. Some spend long periods away from school. Others have to adjust their plans according to treatment schedules, fatigue, or changes in their health.

We wanted every child to have opportunities to learn, create, and enjoy summer with friends—wherever they were.

Across July and August, we offered four online programs:

• A science experiment exploring how pea shoots grow under blue light

• Creating an original picture book

• Making a colorful photo frame from leftover leather materials

• Learning how to express thoughts and feelings in a book report

A total of 58 children between the ages of 3 and 18 joined from nine prefectures. Among them were 27 children with childhood cancer and 31 siblings.

Some children participated to complete their school assignments.

Others simply thought,

“That looks fun. I want to try!”

They experimented, created, asked questions, showed one another their work, and celebrated many moments of:

“I did it!”

The goal was not only to finish homework.

It was to give children a chance to discover something new, feel proud of themselves, and share the experience with friends across Japan.

Online activities make this possible without requiring children to travel or push themselves beyond what their health allows.

Distance disappears.

A hospital room, a living room, and a home hundreds of miles away can become one shared classroom.

Lemonade Continued to Connect Us

As summer came to an end, we continued receiving photographs and kind messages from people who found Minna no Lemonade at FamilyMart stores throughout Japan.

Every photograph reminded children and families that people across the country were thinking of them.

The lemonade may have disappeared from most store shelves by August, but the connections it created continue.

To everyone who picked up a bottle, shared a photograph, or spoke to someone about childhood cancer: thank you.

Your kindness traveled much farther than you may realize.

Looking Ahead to Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

At Minlemo, awareness is not only about sharing medical information.

It is also about helping people understand the everyday lives of children and families—the hospital visits, the time away from school, the challenges that may continue after treatment, and the importance of friendship and belonging.

We will continue our regular support while adding a little gold, the international awareness color for childhood cancer, to our activities throughout September.

We hope more people will learn about childhood cancer while remembering that every child’s experience is different and every family deserves respect, understanding, and support.

How You Can Help

Every donation helps us create another moment of connection.

$3 = one “lemon”

$30 = support for one family

Your generosity helps us:

• Send care packages to children in hospitals and at home

• Provide online learning and friendship opportunities

• Include siblings in activities and support

• Hold family gatherings across Japan

• Improve Minlemo no Sato Ibara as a safe and welcoming community space

• Continue supporting children and families after treatment ends

Whether you live in Japan or on the other side of the world, you are part of this community.

Your donation does more than fund a package, an activity, or a repair.

It tells a child:

“Someone, somewhere, is thinking of me.”

Thank You

Because of you,

a care package reached a child far from our office.

A sibling joined the fun.

A child discovered, “I can do this.”

A family found a place they can return to.

Together, we are building more than programs and spaces.

We are building a community where no family faces childhood cancer alone.

Thank you for walking this journey with us—and we hope that someday, we can welcome you to Japan and share a glass of lemonade together.

Learn More

To see photographs and stories from our August 2026 activities, please visit our monthly activity report in Japanese:

https://ameblo.jp/minnanolemonade/entry-12976604286.html

Learn more about Minlemo no Sato Ibara:

https://www.minnanolemonade.com//

Read about our Summer Homework Support Project:

https://ameblo.jp/minnanolemonade/entry-12975312202.html

Although these pages are written in Japanese, we hope the photographs convey the friendship, creativity, and hope made possible through your support.

Thank you for supporting children with childhood cancer, their siblings, and families throughout Japan.