Linking with Japan

Kayoko returns regularly to Japan to see her family. While there, she is involved in school visits and lectures and has also had meetings with University Professors and Soroptomist groups. Much of her work involves education around menstrual discrimination and poverty, and she also supports students and teachers with their fundraising efforts for the charity. She has visited some of the schools multiple times.

Hanaru is very grateful to the groups and schools that help with expanding Hanaru's goals in India.

Soroptimist International Groups

Kayoko started meeting with Soroptimist groups in 2025. She helps raise awareness about social issues, poverty, discrimination against girls and women, and the urgent call for environmental sustainability in India. I met with Hachinohe and Misawa Soroptimist members, who were impressed by our dedication. Both Hachinohe and Misawa representatives are very keen to give us their support.

(Soroptimist International, founded in 1921, is a global volunteer service for women. Japanese Soroptimists belong to local clubs that focus on volunteer services and social projects. Members are professional and business women who work to educate, empower, and enable women and girls.)

Schools

Since 2019, Kayoko has given lectures to Junior High School (JHS) students (aged 13 – 15 years) and Senior High School (SHS) students (aged 16 – 18 years) at seven schools in Northern Japan. She tells them about the Charity's work in India and includes references to the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [1].

The Japanese students get the opportunity to understand the different values and customs in India, and find it unimaginable that girls having periods are considered impure, and that some school girls in India are forced to quit their studies due to a lack of sanitary protection and social and religious taboos.

Kayoko gave a lecture to around 600 students at Aomori Akenohoshi SHS.

Aomori Akenohoshi JHS and SHS

Junior and senior students are studying the effects of poverty worldwide and the challenges surrounding menstrual health. Kayoko has lectured hundreds of students and some teachers on different occasions over the years. Students attending Kayoko's lecture in the grand hall, either in person or online, are always keen to find out about Hanaru's approach to these issues in India.

24 SHS students are involved with fundraising, and Kayoko attends their online meetings. Kayoko is pictured being presented with a donation of ¥200,000 (AU$ 2,000), which the students had collected during their school fete - enough to support 100 girls in India.

Eleven teachers and school girls holding up Hanaru's sanitary napkins.

90 senior students participate in a project called 'Team SDGs'. There are 9 teams in this project, and one team of 15 girls is studying issues related to menstruation and poverty. The SDG teams are supported by Ms Keiko Takaki and Ms Emi Toriyabe.

Students and teachers chose to use Hanaru napkins in support of girls in India.

We thank Principal Mr Kon, former principal Mr Sasaki, and teachers Ms Takaki and Ms Toriyabe for their support.

Misawa SHS

Kayoko has visited her old high school in Misawa City, Aomori Prefecture, many times, and given lectures to different groups of students, teachers and guests from the community. Many students stay after the program to discuss the Charity's work further and ask questions.

The students at Misawa have been raising funds to support Hanaru's work and present Kayoko with their donations on some of her visits to the school. During one of her visits to Misawa SHS, she joined the Volunteer Club during their after-school activities. Ms Akiko Tanaka and Ms Hiroko Kamijo run the Club. The students make and sell Misanga friendship bracelets to raise funds for their chosen causes - one of which is Hanaru. Kayoko joined them at the Misawa Sunday Market, where teachers and students held a stall. They started the day at 6 am, set up the tent and stayed all day to sell as many items as possible. They displayed posters of Hanaru's Project in India to raise awareness about the charity's work.

We thank Principal Mr Chiba and English teacher Ms Tanaka.

Club leaders presenting their donations to Kayoko. A student making friendship bracelets to sell at a fundraiser.

Sambongi SHS

Kayoko gave a lecture to 280 Grade 8 and 9 students during their lesson on International Exchange. Sanbongi SHS is particularly recognized for its international outlook. Students at the school frequently participate in cross-border cultural exchange programs, connecting with schools in India and other countries to discuss global initiatives and share everyday school life.

We thank teachers Mrs Tanaka and Mr Toriyama.

Hachinohe Chiba Gakuen SHS

Kayoko gave an online lecture to 66 Japanese female students, 4 teachers and 4 members of the International Hachinohe Soroptimists: the president, Mrs Izumiyama; the head of the sponsorship committee, Ms Matsuo, and members of the sponsorship committee, Ms Ichisawa and Ms Yamanishi, who organised for Kayoko to give the talk here.

We thank the Principal, Mrs Okamoto and the teacher Ms Miura.

Hachinohe Nejo Municipal JHS

Kayoko gave a lecture to 280 Grade 8 and 9 students during their lesson on International Exchange. The students' survey afterwards reflected that none of them had ever known about the reality of daily life in India, or that such a large number of school girls face the possibility of dropping out of school.

We thank Principal Mr Kimura, Deputy Principal Mr Takino and all the class teachers of years 8 and 9.

Hachinohe Nakasawa JHS

Kayoko gave a talk to 65 students and some teachers. The principal - Mr Takino - invited Kayoko to give a talk about Hanaru's work to his students. He was keen for the students to listen to someone who was born and raised near their hometown talk about their experiences in India.

They also participated in the International Women's Day celebrations in 2023.

We thank Principal Mr Takino and the teachers who organised the event.

Hachinohe Dai-ichi JHS

Kayoko spoke to 125 students. English teacher Ms Ohno invited Kayoko to talk about Hanaru's work as a part of their global studies and SDGs-related programs. It gave the students a rare opportunity to find out about the reality of some aspects of life in India, to appreciate their life and develop positive intentions to be kind and supportive to others, and to become a proactive global citizen.

We thank Principal Mr Sasaki and class teacher Ms Ohno for organising the event.

Online Lectures and Zoom meetings

Kayoko has been conducting Zoom meetings between schools and communities in India and schools in Japan since 2023. Students in both countries are fascinated by the opportunity to compare and contrast different aspects of their lives with those of youth their own age.

Many Japanese students shared their impressions after these online experiences. They were surprised to see such happy faces, with none of the sadness or depressed attitudes they had expected, and the bright colours of the Indian girls' outfits, despite their small one-room houses and poor living conditions.

The photo shows girls from GSSS Karsog in the Himalayas, who enjoyed a Zoom meeting with three Japanese schools (Aomori Akenohoshi SHS, Misawa SHS, and Sambongi SHS).

Students get to see each other's classrooms and differences in daily life and culture.

The photos show two Japanese classrooms and one Indian.

International Women's Day

As part of International Women's Day in 2024, some of the students listened to Kayoko giving an online lecture from Kolkata, India. She talked about Hanaru's work while showing a PowerPoint presentation. At Aomori Akenohoshi, 200 students and 5 teachers attended and at Misawa SHS, there were 78 students and 3 teachers. There is more information about the lecture in this article on the Akenohoshi school website: https://www.aomoriakenohoshi.ed.jp/22866/.

Kayoko and the Ambassadors visited Shahbad Dairy Slum, one of the biggest in Delhi, to distribute Napkin Kits and provide menstrual education. Students and teachers from Aomori Akenohoshi SHS and Hachinohe Nakasawa JHS were able to join this event via Zoom. Ms Keiko Takaki and Ms Emi Toriyabe set up the online meeting with the girls in the Delhi Slum for International Women's Day.

They all jointly celebrated 'International Women's Day' and the traditional Japanese 'Girls' Day'. It was an eye-opening experience for all, but especially for the Japanese participants who realised what life is like in a slum compared to their living conditions.

A report of this event was broadcast on the local TV channel in Aomori - you can see this (in Japanese) at https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/361633?display=1 or in English via Google Translate at https://newsdig-tbs-co-jp.translate.goog/articles/-/361633?display=1&_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

For more information on Japanese links with Hanaru, please look at our Annual Reports https://hanaru.org.au/linking-with-japan.

[1] United Nations - The 17 Goals, https://sdgs.un.org/goals, viewed on 28/01/2024

Hanaru Women's Health Fundraising INC

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