Hands On Tokyo Youth Impact Project

Even after Japanese government has announced the end of the Covid era, comparing to some other countries, Japan still keeps cautious measurements towards Covid-19. May be half of the people have their masks on even if they are walking outside in the city. However, most of our partner organizations are  opening up to the ideas of having more face-to-face interactions. We are truly excited to actually meet and spend more time together with elderly citizens from senior homes and doing activities together with people with special needs. 

We deeply appreciate your continuous support to help us keep addressing the needs of our community. None of our services would have been possible without your generosity, commitment, and trust towards our organization.

The Hands On Tokyo Youth Impact Group continuously strives to find unique ways to interact with a wide range of partner organizations. We have regular discussions with youth members to explore creative ideas that help promote volunteerism and encourage our youth leaders to continue serving for the inclusivity of the community. 

Among many of our Youth Impact activities, we would like to do the report on this activity that happened on Sunday, May 21st.

Since 2022, Hands On Tokyo has been working closely with Pirika Inc. Pirika aims to solve environmental problems with the power of science and technology. In part of that mission, they have  developed the street cleaning app, Pirika. This app is designed to encourage people to pick up trash from the streets. When you upload pictures of the trash you pick up form the street, you will receive many thumbs-up from the people in the community through the app. To be able to see the amount of  trash you picked up in actual numbers and receiving thumbs-up from the others really change the motivation of the people.

Thirty two youth members gathered on Sunday morning at Shibuya station. Our Youth Impact members had arranged tongs, gloves and trash bags prior to the event. After all volunteers received their tools, they all spread out to clean up Shibuya streets for an hour and gathered back in front of the shopping mall called Miyashita Park. We then walked to the designated area where we were instructed by Shibuya City ward office to dispose the trash we picked up.

Below is the report from one of the Youth Impact members about her experience doing Pirika street cleaning activity.

 “The most recent HoT x Pirika trash clean-up was hosted in Shibuya this past Sunday. These clean-ups are held almost once a month and give people the opportunity to volunteer and help the community while also using the Pirika app, which allows people to post the trash they clean up and get thumbs-up from other people in the community. It’s always rewarding to see all the trash people have picked up from the clean-ups all piled together. It really shows the impact of the work we’ve done cleaning up Tokyo. Through this experience I’ve learned how to lead volunteer initiatives and how to make a difference big or small within Tokyo.”

-- L.F. Youth Impact High School Member

Hands on Tokyo Youth Impact Program guides young leaders to design, plan and execute their own projects. To make these projects practical enough for them to carry out, youth members need to see and learn what is going on in the society. In order for youth to actually learn and grasp the reality, it is extremely important that they go out and dive into the communities themselves. This street clean up activity in Shibuya, which is the area that many young students hang out and enjoy, was one of the best chances for youth members to get in touch with the environmental issues that this country faces in a very real way.  

All of the work we do would not be possible without the support from you, our donors. Through your generosity we will empower more youth, and together, continue to make a difference in our community!

Thank you for your continued support and trusting our organization.