×

Junior Writers Reporting

Kusuna-Nepal Friendship Association supports children in Nepal unable to attend school

The Kusuna-Nepal Friendship Association, based in Minami Ward, Hiroshima, lends support to children in Nepal. Members of the association have become foster parents for children who are unable to go to school, due to poverty, and provide financial assistance to patients who lack the means to pay for the cost of medical treatment.

The association was born as a result of the 12th Asian Games, held in Hiroshima in 1994. As part of the city’s efforts to support the event, every community center stepped up to aid the players of one nation or region. Kusuna Community Center, in Minami Ward, became the base for Nepal.

In order to sustain their exchange with Nepal after the Asian Games, local residents established the friendship association in 1997. It currently has about 30 members.

The group raises funds for their activities by selling Nepalese folk crafts or Nepalese-style food at events. They send about 300,000 yen each year, on average, to Nepal.

The leader of the group, Ryuichi Yamazaki, 73, is a resident of Minami Ward. He points out that Nepal is one of the poorest countries in Asia and many children there are unable to receive a decent education. “I want all children to be able to go to school to learn the basics and live life to the fullest,” he says. “In the future, I hope they become young people who can help change Nepal for the better, little by little.” This hope is what sustains the steady efforts of the Kusuna-Nepal Friendship Association. (Yumi Kimura, 17)

(Originally published on November 25, 2013)

Archives