By Jessica Kirton | Communication Department
In Japan, the children’s homes often have inadequate resources to best prepare the children to overcome their circumstances. Only 5% of these children have access to wi-fi. Lack of access to crucial resources like computers creates huge deficits between children in the homes and their peers at school. Only 23% will go on to receive higher education or training after high-school, and a further 25% of these children will not complete their training. YouMeWe along with Knights in White Lycra have been fighting to narrow this gap.
On November 9th, an organised charity run took place in conjunction with Dr David Sweet’s ‘7 days, 7 marathons’ challenge. In a feat of amazing endurance, Dr Sweet ran a total of 310km. The finish line on the final day was the children’s home Fukushima Aiikuen. The children of Fukushima Aiikuen had made a finish line and banner to welcome him to the 128 year-old home. They were very excited to see him arrive, and some even ran with him over the finish line. Dr Sweet was sponsored by Skechers, who donated a pair of new shoes for each of the 73 children.
The funds raised on this campaign have been funnelled into homes like Fukushima Aiikuen. As well as providing access to computers, YouMeWe has been devoting our energies to development of our programs within the orphanages. English language skills of the children within the homes are flourishing with the help of our Night Zookeeper program. More children are completing their certifications in software programs thanks to our Digital Citizens Club. Our mentors are helping those kids on the verge of graduating to prepare for the next step; leaving the homes. Building these skills will be fundamental to their success after high-school, and for the rest of their lives.
We would like to thank Dr David Sweet, and all the runners who showed up on the day, along with all those who fundraised. It is so important to keep showing up for these kids; your support enables us to have a constant supportive presence for these kids.
Keep giving, and keep raising awareness!
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” —Simone Weil
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