Let’s support Asian children!
~Discussion between the leaders of JICHIRO and Efa Japan~

Poverty kills one child every 3 seconds. The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) white band campaign confronts us with this reality. At JICHIRO, we believe that one of the major causes of poverty is lack of education and to combat this, 3 ‘Children’s Houses’ have been built in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This project has been going for 10 years. In order to get widespread support from more people in the community, this project is now managed by an NPO called ‘Efa Japan.’ Below is a recent discussion between the leaders of JICHIRO (President Kenji Okabe) and Efa Japan (Director Edith Hanson).

Japan is part of Asia

Edith Hanson Director of Efa Japan. Born in Northern India, came to Japan in 1960 and worked as an actress and TV personality. From 1986 to 1999 worked as director of Amnesty International Japan and became Director of Efa in October 2004. Now lives in Wakayama Prefecture.

Kenji Okabe President of JICHIRO. Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Joined the municipal government of Nakama City in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1972. Became general secretary of the JICHIRO Fukuoka Prefectural HQ, then Deputy President of the JICHIRO Central HQ and then President in September 2005. Actively promotes international cooperation and has also worked as the Chair of the ‘Asian Children’s House’ Steering Committee. Is an individual member of Efa Japan.

OKABE: When we asked you to be the director of Efa Japan, you weren’t so positive about the idea at first…

HANSON: I was asked to be a crowd puller for Efa.

OKABE: That’s right, in front of everyone…but over a year has passed since then, how do you feel now?

HANSON: Well, I think JICHIRO has done a very good job of trapping me! I had been working on human rights at Amnesty International for a long time and I was about ready to take a rest. I certainly didn’t want to start anything new and I intended to refuse JICHIRO’s request that I become director of Efa. But I thought I’d just listen to what you had to say…and it sounded very interesting.

OKABE: What exactly did you think sounded interesting?

HANSON: Well, ‘protecting human rights’ is very abstract, right? But Efa helps children—that’s very concrete. And children who are supported thrive—I’ve seen that with my own eyes when I visit the projects. This is very moving, these projects have the power to move people without depending on logic and long arguments. I’m very glad that I decided to accept this job.

OKABE: Well, I’m glad to hear you weren’t trapped by something more sinister…

HANSON: But I’d like to ask you the same question…What made JICHIRO decide to help Asian children? There is so much ‘international cooperation’ around…

OKABE: 10 years ago, in commemoration of its 40th anniversary, JICHIRO wanted to establish some kind of international cooperation project. That ended up being the ‘Children’s House.’ We wanted to do something practical rather than just hold a symposium.

HANSON: Wow, that’s great! Symposiums are also good, but they only last for that day.

OKABE: That’s right. In 1994, Japan ratified the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child. Up until then, the Japanese labour movement tended to look to the US and Europe for guidance and inspiration, and most union study tours went to these countries. But at that time we wanted to think of something we could as a country in Asia. Not only that, we wanted something that rank and file union members could participate in, not just union leaders.

HANSON: That’s great, not only the head honchos with ribbons, but grass roots exchange too.

OKABE: In fact, with the ‘Children’s House’ project, JICHIRO paid for the buildings and the staff, but another aim was to make the projects independent of JICHIRO within 5 years, and managed by local staff.  

HANSON: I would have thought it’s quite hard to achieve independence in 5 to 10 years.

OKABE: So what we did first was to hand over to the JICHIRO prefectural branches which continued to support the project.

HANSON: That’s certainly better than the Central HQ making all the decisions…

OKABE: Than in 2003, we held the ‘Asian Children’s House Evaluation Meeting’ and it was decided to bring JICHIRO support to a close. But many people questioned whether JICHIRO as a whole should no longer have anything at all to do with this project.
HANSON: And that’s where Efa comes in, right?

OKABE: That’s right. In 2004, JICHIRO celebrated its 50th anniversary. It was decided that support for Asia should be expanded to include not just trade unionists, but also retired workers and members of the public in general. So that’s why it was decided to create an NPO.

HANSON: I see…But, you know, there’s one thing that worries me—I am supposed to be the ‘crowd puller’ but Efa still only has 200 members. Even if the union tells its members about Efa, it seems that it’s still difficult to get them to join.
 
OKABE: That’s true. When JICHIRO was directly supporting the ‘Children’s House,’ funding came from union fees, but now union members must pay 1,000 yen per month as Efa membership on top of their union fees. But the biggest problem is that not many people know about Efa.

HANSON: In a world full of commercials, what is the best PR for us do you think?

OKABE: I think you personally are a great asset for Efa—unique…
Last year JICHIRO conducted a survey amongst members and we found out that only 2% of members had participated in international cooperation activities but 15% said that they would like to. Compared to other social contribution activities, this is very high.

HANSON: 15% of 1 million members-that’s huge! That would be the biggest NGO in Japan.

OKABE: So if those people hear about Efa, I’m sure membership will increase.

HANSON: Anyone who participates in an Efa Tour is sure to become hooked—they’re fascinating! We have one week tours to South-east Asia from 200,000 yen—great deal! You get to have experiences that you never would on a regular tour, as well as sightseeing time. Can’t trade unionists take time off?

OKABE: ‘International solidarity is the real beginning of the labour movement’
 
HANSON: Wow! The scales have fallen from my eyes…

OKABE: But I think it’s true that it is hard for union members to take time off from work…

HANSON: You’re a union! You need to work on that!

OKABE: I couldn’t agree with you more.

HANSON: Plus, on Efa Tours some participants discover a whole new way of living. Some people even forget their jobs.

OKABE: Really? well, that’s …

HANSON: But, as you said before, people haven’t heard of Efa. But often they’ve heard of the ‘Asian Children’s House.’

OKABE: So you have to make sure that your PR tells people that Efa has taken over that project.

HANSON: You’re absolutely right.

OKABE: You mentioned before that the children who come to the House change. In what way do they change?

HANSON: There is a Children’s House near a slum area in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, which functions as a kindergarten for about 20 local kids, who come during the day to study—they’ve changed incredibly.

OKABE: In what way, exactly?

HANSON: In basic ways, but for example, they learn to wash their hands, to comb their hair, about basic hygiene…then the children themselves learn ‘proper behaviour.’ They realise that they can’t just clutch at the legs of adults, they have to stand on their own feet.

OKABE: I see.

HANSON: Then the other children in the neighbourhood see these kids and they also change. It is certainly not a waste teaching only 20 kids—they have an impact.

OKABE: They’re also happy when people send picture books, right? Which are translated from Japanese…

HANSON: Children’s feelings also change when they see beautiful colors and stories.

OKABE: Do you have any plans for new projects?

HANSON: I think it would be great if we could take the children of JICHIRO members on tours to the Children’s Houses.

OKABE: They could well learn more than staying with a ‘Western’ family…

HANSON: Yeah—no showers or convenience stores or computer games. I reckon their values would change. That’s another reason why I would like to increase membership—so we can launch these new projects.

Group membership for local unions now available

From left to right: Tomoka Miyahara (Efa staff), Kenji Okabe (JICHIRO President), Edith Hanson (Efa Director), Kenji Yoshikawa (Efa General Secretary), Kaori Igarashi (Efa staff)

OKABE: JICHIRO HQ used the occasion of its anniversary to start this project and now many local unions are also reaching their 50th and 60th anniversaries. That’s a great reason to join Efa as group members.

HANSON: That’s right. Up until now, we only accepted individual members, but we have started group memberships, so a whole union can join for 50,000 yen.

OKABE: Efa staff are very eager to explain to unions about this new system, so I really hope that each union will take this chance to seriously consider joining. 

HANSON: Efa is also attracting attention from other RENGO affiliated unions. We‘ve had enquiries from a variety of unions saying they want to participate in Efa activities.

OKABE: A couple of years ago you became a member of the RENGO evaluation committee…

HANSON: That’s right, the labour movement has to change. But I don’t think it really has changed that much. In any case, the union movement has an inflexible, insular kind of image. Working is a social activity, part of society, so unions should actively involve themselves in social issues like the environment, human rights and education. They should work with lots of different NPOs.

OKABE: Trade unions have the image of being only for people who are well-off. And indeed, only 18% of workers in Japan belong to trade unions. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore the issue of poverty as if it has nothing to do with us. JICHIRO, especially, is a public service union. We realise that improving the entire community is not about thinking only of ourselves, but about working with those around us to make the world a better place. As you mentioned, JICHIRO has the potential to become an ‘Efa membership expansion powerhouse.’

HANSON: I certainly hope so.

OKABE: In the ILO Philadelphia Declaration of 1944, it says ‘Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere.’ This statement expresses the realisation that poverty in one country, is the cause of conflicts and wars. In other words, we can see that the real beginning of labour unions was the efforts made to deal with international poverty.

HANSON: Wow! I guess some people say that’s just a theory, but how boring is cold hard reality alone? I love reality—of course Efa’s activities are very practical—but without idealism, it doesn’t interest me in the least.

OKABE: There are those who say that human rights campaigns and international cooperation are tantamount to foreign interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign states, but there are some barriers that need to be removed.

HANSON: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the same. There are times when ‘foreign interference’ is necessary. Having human rights standards that should be kept in every country is necessary. How can anyone ignore the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

OKABE: I’ve heard that young union members who have participated in Efa Tours have gone on to become union leaders. This broadens the horizons of trade unions too.

HANSON: By supporting others, you gain new strength for yourself. It’s a win-win situation!

OKABE: Thank you very much for your time.