Interview① (Shonan Mazekoze Keikaku)

Shonan MazeKoze Keikaku is a non-profit organization based in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, that supports children. We interviewed Mr. Ken Harada, co-head of the organization, to learn about their projects. We would like to thank Shonan Maze Koze Keikaku and the people in charge of the project for their correspondence.

The organization is involved in a variety of activities, including support for a place to stay, learning, meals, and sexual education for teenagers. 2016 saw the establishment of Terakoya House as a place for children, and in 2018, the NPO was established to take over that business. In our interview about the children, we specifically asked about their support for the children's place, learning, and meals.

Terakoya House

Terakoya House was established in 2016 by the organization's co-heads as a “third place” for children after school and home. The organization now runs this activity, which is held at parks and youth halls in Fujisawa City.

Terakoya House was established around 2015 to create a place where children could play freely and spontaneously while the issue of “child poverty” began to attract attention. At the time of its establishment, “children's cafeterias” were spreading throughout Japan and attracting public attention, but at the same time, there was a widespread impression that "only poor families use children's cafeterias.”Mr. Harada started the business with the idea of creating a place where anyone could come, not just the poor.

Terakoya House is often used by single parents, children from poor families, and children who have stopped attending school. Mr. Harada says, “As the children attend Terakoya House, we learn about their individual circumstances, such as not attending school or not getting enough to eat.” Despite these circumstances, Mr. Harada operates with the philosophy of “a place where anyone can come” and accepts anyone who wishes to come.

We conducted our interview at a park where Terakoya House was being held. At the time of the interview, children of relatively wide ages were using the house, including high school students who had been attending since elementary school, and elementary and junior high school students. Some of the children called Mr. Harada “O-chan” (old man), and it was impressive to see the very close contact between the staff of the organization and the children.

Study Support

The organization also conducts study support programs for elementary and junior high school students in cooperation with other study support groups. Shonan MazeKoze Keikaku serves as a link between study support groups and children in need, as well as a place to provide study support. Terakoya House, operated by the organization, provides study support to children who are unable to attend cram school due to their family's financial situation or who have been truant from school.

The Law for Securing Educational Opportunities enacted in Japan in 2016 made it the responsibility of the national and municipalities to ensure that students who have not been attending school and others are provided with educational opportunities, and recognized the importance of “diverse and appropriate learning activities” outside of school. Mr. Harada said, “The law has created a public system to provide education to elementary and junior high school students who have not been attending school, but challenges remain.” However, there are still issues to be addressed. There is a lack of backup for children who are not attending school, which sometimes causes them to become shut-ins. In addition, the “after-school study support” program, in which former teachers and others provide after-school study support to small groups of students at elementary and junior high schools, has not been able to keep up with demand due to financial constraints.

Mr. Harada said, “In Fujisawa City, the number of children and students who are not attending school is increasing every year. These children also need opportunities to learn.”

Child lunch box

The organization's “Child Lunch Box” program is designed to support families who have difficulty preparing meals for their children due to economic circumstances or the work or illness of the parent or guardian. The program has been conducted since 2020 against the backdrop of an increase in the number of families in need of meal support due to the elimination of school lunches as a result of the rapid spread of the coronavirus infection. As restaurants began selling take-out due to the spread of the coronavirus, the organization approached restaurants in Fujisawa City for cooperation in order to provide children with lunch boxes from restaurants as well, and currently 17 restaurants cooperate.

The “Child lunch box” program offers boxed lunches from cooperating restaurants for 100 yen, with 300 yen of the 400 yen per meal being paid by the NPO from subsidies and donations from the fund. The program has been well received because it allows people to enjoy a “professional lunch box” made by a restaurant for 100 yen.

Mr. Harada said, "The child lunch box system has been established. I would like to spread this system.“

Organization Management

The organization's activities are funded by donations and grants from individuals, companies, and foundations. In order to secure these funds, the organization needs to increase its credibility and has decided to launch a website. Publicizing the organization's activities, such as through media coverage, is also necessary to increase donations and support. The Child lunch box project was covered by Town News and major media outlets such as NHK, Asahi Newspaper, and TBS Radio, and these articles were also distributed on online news sites. Mr. Harada said, “The media, especially online news, has a strong influence. It has led to donations and an increase in inquiries for volunteers and support.”

Mixed(Mazekoze) communities

The name of the organization, “Shonan MazeKoze Keikaku,” comes from the idea that children, adults, the elderly, foreigners, LGBTQ, and various other communities should “mix(mazekoze)” together and help each other. The park where Terakoya House is located is next to the Public Employment Security Office, and when a soup kitchen was held as part of the activities, Public Employment Security Office users began to use the park as well, and the community became a “mixed community(mazekoze community)” that included adults as well. Mr. Harada is also a member of the Fujisawa City Council and, as a member of the council, he deals with the various problems faced by the community, from children to adults, and serves as a liaison between those in need and the government. Mr. Harada says, “When I am actually involved in support activities, I can apply my experience to my work as a council member. Our activities are mutually beneficial.”

Lastly, we asked Mr. Harada about his philosophy in supporting children. Ms. Harada replied, “It is the responsibility of adults to ensure an environment where children can be children. I want to show children that they can rely on adults in many ways other than at home or school.” He also believes that the philosophy of support should not be, “We should do what we can because we feel sorry for the children,” but rather, “We must do what we should do based on what the children need as a starting point.”