Chance For Children Spotlight Interview with Hikari Naito - #MyGiving Story

Making sure that no child is left behind, Hikari Naito, joined Chance for Children because of her own childhood experiences! We at Giving Tuesday Japan had the exclusive opportunity to interview her about her mission, what inspired her to join Chance For Children, and how we all can support this amazing cause.

Take a look at the My Giving Story interview between Hikari and our Global Community Team Leader, Jasmine, below!

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Jasmine: Hello Hikari! So nice to meet you. Please introduce yourself. Where are you from? What is your occupation? What is the background of your (your family's) charity work (how do you give back, why do you give back, how do you encourage others to do so), etc?

Hikari: Nice to meet you. My name is Hikari Naito from Chance for Children (CFC), a public interest incorporated association. I became interested in the social sector after participating in international cooperation activities at an NPO during my university days. After graduating from university, I worked for local governments and private companies while also doing pro bono work at a company that deals with fair trade products in Africa and helping out with NPO activities on a spot basis. After that, I joined Chance for Children in 2022.

Jasmine: When and by whom was Chance for Children founded?

Hikari: Originally, "Chance for Children" was the name of a child poverty countermeasure project started by an NPO that supports children and young people in response to the Lehman Shock in 2009. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Chance for Children became independent from the NPO and was incorporated by its current representative directors Yusuke Imai and Satoshi Okuno.

Jasmine: What kind of activities does Chance for Children do?

Hikari: In Japan, about one in nine children live in relative poverty. Compared to children from economically disadvantaged families, children from economically disadvantaged families have difficulty accessing learning opportunities outside of school, which creates educational disparities due to the family's economic situation. To eliminate these educational disparities within the country, we provide "study coupons" to children from economically disadvantaged families that can be used for extracurricular education such as cram schools, extracurricular activities, and camps.

The study coupons are provided to children using donations we receive from supporters as the source of funds. There are several reasons why we provide them in the form of coupons rather than cash. For example, one of the major features of support through coupons is that they can be used only for education, so children can be provided with educational opportunities. In addition, Study Coupons can be used at over 4,800 locations, including cram schools, sports clubs, and music schools. Another feature is that children can freely choose where to use the coupons, depending on what they want to learn and do.

In addition, each child who uses the coupons is assigned a university student volunteer, a "brother or sister." The university student volunteers are like "older brothers and older sisters" who help children use the coupons and give advice on their future careers, and listen to what the children have to say.

Jasmine: What made you decide to participate? How long have you been with the team? What is your role at Chance for Children?

Hikari: I was originally interested in social sector activities, but the reason I decided to participate in Chance for Children's activities in particular was because of my own childhood experiences. I spent my childhood abroad before returning to Japan and entering a Japanese elementary school, but there was a time when I struggled to fit in, not being able to keep up with my studies or get along well with my friends. I was introverted and lacking in self-confidence at the time, but what gave me the opportunity to change was meeting the teachers at the cram school and art class I attended after school.

From my own experience, I felt that Chance for Children's activities, which provide children with diverse learning opportunities and opportunities to meet diverse people who will watch over them with warmth, were meaningful, so I joined their activities. This July marks my third year at Chance for Children. I am currently in the PR and fundraising department, and am in charge of events planning and information dissemination for individuals and corporations who support us.

Jasmine: What is your mission?

Hikari: To make many people aware of the issues of child poverty and educational inequality, and to increase understanding and sympathy for Chance for Children's activities.

Jasmine: What are your goals?

Hikari: Currently, I am planning an event to report on our activities for supporters and preparing to publish our annual report. Our short-term goal is to provide supporters with an opportunity to learn more about Chance for Children's activities through these contents and to make them feel glad that they supported the organization.

Jasmine: What services does Chance for Children provide? What services would you like to add in the future? Do you have plans to expand your business?

Hikari:　Chance for Children has two main businesses. The first is the "Study Coupon Business," which is mainly used by junior high and high school students. In the Study Coupon Business, coupons can be used for a variety of activities, not just studying, but since most of the users are junior high and high school students, most of the children use the coupons to improve their academic ability and prepare for exams in preparation for further education. The other business is the "HelloCul" business, which is aimed at elementary school children.

HelloCul stands for "Hello culture, hello local," and is an initiative that aims to connect children with the local community through sports, art, outdoor experiences, and more. Like Study Coupon, Harokaru also provides coupons to children from economically disadvantaged families, but the big difference is that the coupons can only be used for experiential activities (sports, art, camps, etc.) held in the community.

Study Coupon and Harokaru are currently being rolled out in several regions. In the long term, we aim to spread these activities to various regions and enable more children to access after-school learning, in order to eliminate educational disparities among children.

Jasmine: What is one of the most difficult aspects of Chance for Children?

Hikari: Every year, we receive requests from many children to use the coupons. However, since the source of funding is limited, we cannot provide coupons to all children who need them.In order to provide coupons to as many children as possible, we need to increase the number of friends who support children with us.At the same time, there is a limit to what we can do alone in this activity. Currently, several local governments are implementing Study Coupon projects as a policy using tax money, but we would like to challenge ourselves to create a foundation for the Study Coupon system to be used in more local governments.

Jasmine: Are there any events planned for Chance for Children in the future?

Hikari: We are planning an online activity briefing on July 30th. If you would like to know more about child poverty, educational disparities, and Chance for Children's activities, please feel free to join us!https://cfc.or.jp/archives/42587

Jasmine: How can I participate in Chance for Children?

Hikari: First of all, we would like you to learn about our efforts through the activity briefing. Chance for Children is also running a "Summer Education Fundraiser" campaign until September 30th. We would appreciate it if you could support our activities to support the learning of as many children as possible!https://cfc.or.jp/archives/42500

Jasmine: Before we contacted you, did you know about Giving Tuesday? Or have you participated in it? Is there anything you would like to do in collaboration with Giving Tuesday in the future? How can we (Giving Tuesday Japan) support Chance for Children?

Hikari: I first learned about this initiative when I was contacted. I think it's a wonderful initiative that calls for widespread participation and encourages everyone to do what they can. First of all, I hope that this article will help those who participate in Giving Tuesday learn about Chance for Children. And in the future, I would be happy if we could work together in the form of a joint campaign or something similar.

Jasmine: Hikari, thank you so much for your time. Everyone, please check out Chance for Children's website and social media to learn more and stay informed on all things around Japan and Tokyo! Until next time!

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