Junior Writers Reporting: Student council at Hiroshima’s Senogawa Junior High School raises funds in support of Ukraine
May 23, 2022
The ten-member student council executive committee of Senogawa Junior High School, located in Hiroshima’s Aki Ward, recently held a fund-raising event at the school in support of the people of Ukraine, a country that has been invaded by Russia’s military. Over the three-day event, a total of 40,363 yen was collected. The money is scheduled to be sent to the Hiroshima Chapter of the Japanese Red Cross Society for use in relief operations in Ukraine.
As president of the student council, I called on the executive committee to organize the fund-raising project. The idea came from my experience of interviewing Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, when he visited Peace Memorial Park, located in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, in March earlier this year. I was encouraged by Mr. Emanuel’s words “you don’t have to wait until you grow up to make a difference and a change in the world.”
Ten of us spent about two weeks preparing donation boxes using the same colors as the Ukrainian flag. We asked for donations near the shoe boxes at the school entranceway when students arrived at school first thing in the morning. Many students and teachers made donations.
There was one student who donated all the five-yen coins he had been saving for a long time. Ko Nagano, 14, a third-year student, said, “I want to support the people of Ukraine in any way I can.”
Daigo Okitsu, 13, a second-year student and member of the executive committee, said, “When I saw the news about Ukraine, I came to realize that peace is not something to be taken for granted. I hope that people suffering in the war are able to return to their normal lives as soon as possible.”
The people of Ukraine continue to live in fear, evacuating to safety or hiding out in air-raid shelters. Through our fund-raising effort, I have come to believe that each and every junior high school student can do something. I now hope to ponder peace and put my ideas into action. (Sakura Tanimura, 14)
(Originally published on May 23, 2022)
As president of the student council, I called on the executive committee to organize the fund-raising project. The idea came from my experience of interviewing Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, when he visited Peace Memorial Park, located in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, in March earlier this year. I was encouraged by Mr. Emanuel’s words “you don’t have to wait until you grow up to make a difference and a change in the world.”
Ten of us spent about two weeks preparing donation boxes using the same colors as the Ukrainian flag. We asked for donations near the shoe boxes at the school entranceway when students arrived at school first thing in the morning. Many students and teachers made donations.
There was one student who donated all the five-yen coins he had been saving for a long time. Ko Nagano, 14, a third-year student, said, “I want to support the people of Ukraine in any way I can.”
Daigo Okitsu, 13, a second-year student and member of the executive committee, said, “When I saw the news about Ukraine, I came to realize that peace is not something to be taken for granted. I hope that people suffering in the war are able to return to their normal lives as soon as possible.”
The people of Ukraine continue to live in fear, evacuating to safety or hiding out in air-raid shelters. Through our fund-raising effort, I have come to believe that each and every junior high school student can do something. I now hope to ponder peace and put my ideas into action. (Sakura Tanimura, 14)
(Originally published on May 23, 2022)
