CommonSense Media Balance
Our curriculum is based on the Digital Citizenship content of CommonSense Media which we translate and teach the principle in the first half of the class and then have paired it with a writing lesson on NightZookeeper which is how we re-emphasize the concept for the full lesson. Some of the YouMeWe Ambassadors come back from university to help out with the younger kids.
This weeks Digital Citizens lesson at St.Francis. New volunteers.
One of the graduates came to visit and showed us the movies she has been making using her iPhone. We are introducing her to a film director and transferring the video equipment to this home for her to utilize.
Another youth is in college studying fashion and coming to help us in the evenings on Mondays.
We have volunteer teachers from the US who are high school students teaching other high school students on the weekend.
We also work with Ruth Gilmore Ingulsrud of JOEE who is teaching the very little kids English with puppets online.
We rarely see all of the kids of the home at one time. Last week we peaked into the pod with the kids who are 2 years old to 5. So much energy and waiting to grown up and join us.
Little by Little Campaign
The campaign kicks off now.
In commemoration of Tohoku’s revival since the earthquake and tsunami disaster of 3/11, YouMeWe is fundraising for COVID-19 aid packs to send to care homes in the Tohoku area. These kits will include essentials such as disposable/reusable masks and bottles of hand sanitizer. Each donation will be match-funded with GlobalGiving’s 2021 March Little by Little Matching Campaign runs from Monday, March 8, at 00:00:00 ET to Friday, March 12, at 23:59:59 ET.https://www.globalgiving.org/march-2021-little-by-little....
Even the smallest donations can have a significant impact on the lives of children and staff at care homes. YouMeWe’s campaign in commemoration of the Tohoku anniversary is your chance to make a large impact by helping to protect homes from COVID-19.
Donate now on Global Giving for the KIWL 2021 ride which will end in Fukushima Aiikuen children’s home this year. https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/kiwl-2021-bike-ride/
Thank you en world for the donation!
A massive thank you to en world for the contribution to our “Cityzens Giving for Recovery Yokohama" matching project!
One thing has remained constant in en world’s journey from recruiting services start-up in 1999 to one of Japan’s leading talent acquisition and management firms today.
The en world way is to partner long-term with clients and job-seekers to support in the most comprehensive way possible the process of identifying, attracting, retaining, and developing global talent for global organizations in Japan.
Thank you Intralink for the donation!
A massive thank you to Intralink for the contribution to our “Cityzens Giving for Recovery Yokohama" matching project!
Intralink is an international business development and innovation consultancy with a deep specialism in East Asia. They enable: western companies to expand in Asia, Asian corporates to collaborate with global innovators, government organizations to grow their regions' exports and attract foreign investment.
New Intern-Summer
Hello, my name is Summer! I live in the US, and I began this internship after completing all of my college courses. I joined YouMeWe in December, hoping to study more in regards to such things as community outreach, communication, general marketing, and Japanese culture. In my spare time, I enjoy the gym, martial arts, and webcomics. I look forward to continuing studies here at YouMeWe, where I can also work to improve the lives of others.
Stay safe!
New Intern- Rob
Rob is originally from New York and currently is a junior at Boston College, double-majoring in Biology and Political Science. His previous experience in non-profit work and domestic violence courts has driven him to pursue a career in public service, and he is currently on the track to go to law school. In his free time, Rob enjoys the outdoors and exploring the Boston-area. He is excited to work on the YouMeWe team and contribute to the exemplary and inspiring work being done!
New Intern-Maddy
Hello! 初めまして！My name is Maddy and I will be an intern with YouMeWe until March. I grew up with both Japanese and Western cultures, and my career vision is to work in the field of communication and media to build stronger ties between Japan and the Western world. I enjoy going for walks, travelling and meeting people from all walks of life.
New Intern Sayaka
Sayaka Chen
YouMeWeNPO Intern 2021
Sayaka is a final year Psychology and Criminology student from New Zealand, currently studying at the University of Auckland. Passionate about the areas of crime and public policy, she came to YouMeWeNPO to work on the Social Impact Bond Project. Originally raised in the city, Sayaka has since fallen in love with and moved to the countryside where she spends her time tending to seasonal vegetables growing in her garden. The excess cabbage grown out of enthusiasm is often hand-fed to lucky cows in the neighbouring paddock! After her internship, Sayaka plans to finish her senior year in University and then hopefully attain a position at an NGO.
YouMeWeNPO Internship Project: Organizations concerned with various Japanese-English projects.
New Intern-Grace
We currently have 5 university interns working with us remotely.
Grace Jeong joined YouMeWe this spring and is a junior at Boston College, majoring in philosophy and minoring in women’s and gender studies. During her free time she enjoys reading, drawing, and going out for walks. Her favorite food is sweet red bean paste.
Staff Seminar collaboration with TELL. Session 2
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity. Working together, we can help create neighborhoods, communities, and a world in which every child can thrive.
Sonoda sensei explains this concept and how we can redefine the role as a children’s home staff ~ How the childhood adverse experiences affect on people and society.
IOT training from YouMeWe NPO
Ambassadors from YouMeWe are going out to the homes we support and teaching the staff how to embrace IOT devices. We purchased ALEXA for most of the homes offices and each month will introduce them to a new facet of IOT.
2021 Calendars rolled out from the kids session with Tia last month
Digital Citizens in the 21st century do not have a lot of tangible things. One of the things they do not have a lot of are photos of themselves printed out.
We were fortunate to have Tia Haygood join us from TOPTIA Photography https://toptia.com/ to teach the kids about how to use cameras, perspective, and range. We then compiled their photos into 2021 calendars so they can be reminded of the experience all year long.
IchigoJam training at St.Francis with Araki-sensei in Sendai online
Araki-sensei from Sendai also had to adjust his face to face coding classes with kids and made the online teaching entertaining and easy to follow. This class was social distanced by the volunteers, we had to reduce the number of people and will rotate them for different days and events. The class was lead by one of our YouMeWe Ambassadors who graduated from one home and is now working with us to teach others.
The next generation...
Getting taller everyday, this is the creation of one of our Digital Citizens at Matsubaen. He is 15 and decided to make his own computer. He asked for new chairs for the computer lab and after we ordered, he assembled.
He is also part of the CodeClub/Dojo run by our new 19 year old staff member who graduated from the Matsubaen home and built his own computer when he was 15.
A Series of Staff workshops
In collaboration with TELL, we will be hosting online Staff Seminars for the staff working in the children's homes today. This will run for the first quarter.
******
A Series of workshop
for the children’s home staff and directors: January through March 2021 Presented by TELL
1. For staff:
Goals
● Provide opportunities for gaining knowledge on how to take care of your own mental
health
● Provide opportunities for learning how to care the traumatized children more
effectively
Objective
- Obtaining stress management skills
- Obtaining anger management skills
- Learning signs to be able to identify burning-out and compassionate fatigue
- Learning effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Learning how to identify the children’s’ needs from presenting behaviors
- Taking time to consider work-life balance
2. For directors/managers (encho)
In order to cover and address the complex needs of the children's home directors, this workshop will be formulated based on a questionnaire to directors.
Goals
● Provide opportunities for gaining knowledge on how to identify at-risk staff ●
Objective
- Learning how to communicate at-risk staff and connect to services -
3. Workshop delivery
a. Through on-line live presentations and Q & A (90 min).
b. Through on-line recorded video presentations (70 min.)
4. Workshop schedule (tentative schedule)
Workshop
Theme
Live presentation
Recording access
1
Stress and Anger management for Children’s house staff
1/15/2021
1/20/2021~ 3/25/2021
2
Re-define your role as a children’s home staff ~ How the childhood adverse experiences affect on people and society
1/22/2021
1/27/2021~ 3/25/2021
3
How to read children’s needs~ learning from the Circle of Security metaphor
2/5/2021
2/10/2021~ 3/25/2021
4
Directors/managers training
How to identify the staff’s mental health
2/19/2021
2/24/2021~ 3/25/2021
difficulties, and how to create mental health-friendly workplace and agency culture to prevent turn over
5
How to balance work and private life starting from the new fiscal year
3/5/2021
3/10/2021~ 3/25/2021
6 Q & A sessions 3/26/2021 N/A
5. Introduction of the presenter, Kyoko Sonoda, MA LPCC
Kyoko obtained her master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2004. She is the Licensed Professional Clinical Mental Health counselor of the State of New Mexico, U. S. A., and works at the TELL Counseling Center since 2017. She has completed EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) training and various parenting methods, such as “Circle of Security”, “Theraplay”, “Nurturing Parenting”, “Child-Parent Relationship Therapy”, “Cooperative Parenting for Divorced Parents”, and “Positive Discipline”. She regards the prevention of child abuse as her life work and she is thrilled to provide this series of workshops.
Thank you COLT
We wanted to share with you the photos from Matsubaen and their Christmas thanks to the generous donation from COLT.
H-kun graduated in 2020 but did not have a suit so we bought him a suit, 5 shirts and several neckties. The home requested several SWITCH game consoles and booklets on how to use them as well as 6 gaming desk chairs.
Thank you again for your continued support and helping make Matsubaen's Christmas that much more special.
How do you want your life to end up?
photo by Derek A
This week we saw the “Coming of Age” ceremony celebrated in Japan as the young adults who turned 20 years old joined the majority. Many young ladies dressed in the traditional kimonos while young men wore suits.
One of the things we realized from the homes that we support is that the children who turn 20 do not have kimonos and the staff tend to raise the money to rent them. We would like to appeal to people who are holding on to kimonos and are willing to donate or loan them for this special occasion. We can put you in contact with our respective homes to support.
The other thing we think about as we go into the 3rd year of our 5 year plan is that this year is to be focused on Access; Resources, Connectivity, and Networking.
While the children in the homes did not have much say in way they came into this world or the families into which they were born, they can have a say on how their lives end up. We, at YouMeWe see this as our mission.
Life plans help people think about how they want their lives to end up. By having a plan, at any age, helps everyone even if they go off course for a short while. It is that plan that you can come back to. At YouMeWe we are evolving from the analogy of offering ornaments for a Christmas Tree when a child has never seen a decorated tree. Through Life Plans, Life Connection, Money Connection ,Career Assessments and SMART Goal planning, then we can offer the kids the skills sets they will need to focus on in order to be successful in their futures.
This is where the volunteers and donors are most important. Not only providing the funding as we do this but also to act as mentors and coaches to the kids as well as becoming that extended network for the children as grown adults. The children are not the problems, it is their family of origin which is where they come from but their family of destination which holds the answers and where they are headed with our help.
What the children in the homes need more than anything is that human connection. The effort and reminder that their lives matter and are worth investing in.
How do you want your life to end up?
Christmas Wish Lists 2020
仙台天使園 (Sendai): http://amzn.asia/fv3pvdU
大洋学園 (Taiyo Gakueun): http://amzn.asia/0Jeb5Xs
清瀬子供の家 (Kiyose): http://amzn.asia/ciYNeUH
駒方寮 (Komogata Ryo): http://amzn.asia/egBHgMI
若松寮 (Nagoya Wakamatsu Ryo): http://amzn.asia/0wpKlGK
白河学園 (Shirakawa Gakuen): http://amzn.asia/7EWcYos
聖フランシス子供寮 (St.Francis): http://amzn.asia/d5gemmA
まつば園 (Matsubaen): http://amzn.asia/dZV0Hqw
ポート金が谷 (Port Kanegaya): http://amzn.asia/6IXPEeM
聖ヨセフホーム (St.Joseph's): http://amzn.asia/0GE3v6v
青葉学園 (Aoba Gakuen): http://amzn.asia/cKWodQ7
福島愛育園 (Fukushima Aiikuen): http://amzn.asia/iP6QW3t
Development of Jidōsōdanjo and Yōgoshisetsu by Joseph Bray, YouMeWe Intern
Tokugawa Iemitsu Receiving Lords in Audience, 1875
At the advent of the Tokugawa period, welfare was purposefully reduced to just the family and the surrounding community - as a result, the Gonin Gumi Seido (five-family-unit system) was established in 1643, which were a collection of five different households. They were the lowest level of urban administration, reporting to the naushi (neighbourhood headmen), who in turn reported to the machi doshiyori (town elders) who were assistants to the Edo machi bugyō (Edo city magistrates). Each of the Gonin Gumi Seido were responsible for the crimes that may be committed by any member of the five households, as well as collecting the machi iriyō taxes. This five unit system was also implemented in the Kingdom of Ryūkyū. The Tokugawa regime is regarded as one of the most conservative and medieval ‘police states’ in recorded history. Travelling through the country was heavily restricted, if not outright banned, and the community’s responsibility was spread amongst many different approaches to the preservation of Tokugawa society. Informers of the state were believed to be everywhere and the status quo for many was to conduct self-policing due to being coaxed into it. The widely regarded method of staying out of poverty was to work hard and to use money sparingly. This was the result of a strict neo-Confucian ideology, which declared that the state and its affairs should be upheld and respected.
Some daimyō during this era would attempt to implement policies to combat the amount of infanticide within their ruling regions, either punishing them or subsidising their expenses to aid families in caring for their children. That being said, there were no facilities that were deliberately created for the caring and protection of young children. It was only at the end of the Tokugawa reign that Satō Nobuhiro (1769 - 1850), one of the country’s leading agronomists, pioneered a properly established state-run institution for the poor and needy. Satō was an early advocate for Japanese Westernisation, attempting to incorporate Western science, in particular astronomy, with Japanese political and philosophical beliefs. However he was, quite contradictory, a pursuer of Japanese world domination, as detailed in his 1823 document ‘A Secret Strategy for Expansion’. ‘Peripheral non-responsibility’, as quoted by Komatsu (1992), is the position the Tokugawa state took in providing welfare. Before the advent of the Meiji period (1868 - 1912), relief for those in less-than-desirable circumstances was wholly dependent on the family and local community, as based on traditional Confucian moral teachings.
Sato Nobuhiro
During the Meiji restoration in 1868, the first official welfare system was implemented into society. In fact, one of the main stipulations of the new Meiji government’s guidelines was: “Offer compassion for widowers, widows, the lonely, and the maimed.” After this, state legislation shortly began; although it was focused on the military, navy, police, and civilian officials. This consisted of providing disability, retirement allowances, and benefits, with general public aid arriving at a later time. The Jukkyū Kisoku (Poor Relief Regulation) of 1874 was merely a response to unrest within the populus at the time. This was a recurring theme within the Meiji period, in that social policy introduced during this time was mainly to damper civil unrest, rather than a means to uphold a minimum standard of living for Japanese citizens. This was similar to Bismarckian policies in Germany, in that they came about simply as a means of mitigating social tension.
The Meiji Restoration
Laissez-faire economics was the Meiji government’s main approach to social welfare, accompanied by the sentiment that recurring state intervention would breed apathy and laziness in the civilians of the country - an ideology that would be counter-productive to the development of the state. The only significant exception to this was compulsory elementary level education for children, deemed a key component to Japan’s modernisation and a means to combat western colonisation. In 1875, 35% of children were receiving elementary level education: This increased to over 95% only 30 years later in 1905.
Schoolgirls in Hakama during the Taisho period
As a result of further social unrest in the 1910s, the hōmeniin system was developed by Ogawa Shigejiro, 1912, in the Kansai area, which is regarded as the centre of Japanese capitalism in the Taishō period (1912 - 1926). Hōmeniin was given its name according to hōmen meaning an area of the city that was declared ‘poor’ by the local government, and -iin meaning supervisor. On the other hand, when referring to the genesis of modern social welfare systems in Japan today, most accounts quote Kasai Shinichi, Okayama prefecture’s Governor, and his saisei komonsei (social reform advisory system) of 1917. Despite this, the hōmeniin is still regarded as the most significant as it dubbed the welfare system with a name wholly its own. Hōmeniin can be described as a synthesised concept of the German Elberfeld programme and the Friendly Visitors of the Charity Organisation Society in London. Elberfeld programme’s influence is the only one that has been recognised by modern policy-makers, most likely due to the heavy reliance of female workers within the Friendly Visitors. The hōmeniin system did differ from the Elberfeld programme in one crucial aspect, in that financial aid was accessible in the German programme was through a relief fund that consisted of money from the city and prefectural government. Most resources for the hōmeniin were sourced from donations and pockets of the volunteers in the hōmeniin themselves, with volunteers being local teachers, policemen, pharmacists, rice dealers, etc.
The Friendly Visitors
Over the next 20 years before World War II, the role of the hōmeniin evolved and spread throughout the country. Although it started as a means of controlling the public and mitigating social unrest, by 1940 it was a brave and outspoken group of over 100,000 people who were calling for improved social legislation. The role of social control was filled by compulsory local neighbourhood associations, called tonarigumi. But as Japan marched forward into what historians have dubbed the kurai tani (dark valley) of the 1940s, tonarigumi and hōmeniin became more wrapped in each other’s affairs in order to ensure full coordination in the war effort. It would be a mistake to assume that the war only had a negative impact on Japan’s social welfare development. Health insurance plans were extended to uphold citizenry health, specifically those who were of conscription age. Burakumin, Japan’s ‘outcaste’ class, who were redefined as shiheimin (new commoners) in the 1870s, were treated as social outcasts in the pre-war periods. This was improved under the perspective that every Japanese individual was treated as sekishi (children) of the Emperor.
Kurai Tani- The Dark Valley
An orphanage in Osaka, 1951
After 14 years of the World War II conflict, Japan was then run by the American-led occupational forces of General MacArthur. The administration of the time was for keeping the hōmeniin system, regardless of the country’s changing governmental structure and the ongoing recovery from the war. In order to wipe clean the association of a social control tool used by the prior ultra-nationalistic state, the hōmeniin was renamed to the minseiin, which translates to ‘person/persons commissioned to promote and stabilise the life of the people’. The Children’s Bureau was then established in 1946 within the Kouseishō (Ministry of Health and Welfare), which was eventually rebranded as the Children and Families Bureau in 1964. Mensei.jidōiin seido (Child welfare officers) were employed by the Children and Families Bureau that represented and retained jurisdiction over the whole child welfare system of Japan. They were responsible for overall planning and budget for child welfare, while also supervising and providing guidance to local administrative organisations and child welfare institutions. Policies of the central government had the duty of being enacted by local staff of prefectures and ‘designated’ cities, accompanied by advice from the Jidō Fukushi Shingikai (Child Welfare Councils). The most important post-war child welfare services legislation were:
New Japanese Constitution of 1946 - Guaranteed provision of welfare to all Japanese citizens on an equal basis.
Jidō Fukushishō (Child Welfare Law), 1947 - Provided child protection, child care, and foster-care systems, while laying the foundation for public intervention on behalf of the nation’s children.
Jidō Kenshō (Children’s Charter) established on the 5th May, 1951 (Children’s Day) - Article 2 states ‘those children not having homes shall be brought up in an environment having similar advantages’.
These provided the framework of legislation through which Japan would carry out its provision of child welfare. This remained relatively unchanged until the first major revision of Child Welfare Law in 1998.
Jidōsōdanjo (Child Guidance Centres) are the main field agencies in Japan. By law, they are compulsory in every prefecture and designated city with approximately more than 175 in the country currently. They were initially temporary accommodation for children that were abandoned after World War II, with some still having this short-term stay aspect to them. However, their practices spread to juvenile delinquents, disabled children, and children without carers. Jidōsōdanjo have been dubbed the ‘nucleus’ of welfare activities for Japanese children, and there are many different types of consultations that the facilities can offer. Their percentage spread (as of 1998), are as follows:
Child protection (yougo soudan) - 10.9%
Delinquent behaviour - 5.3%
Physical and mental disability - 52.7%
Child health and other matters - 10.1%
General problems with bringing up and educating children (youiku kanren) - 21%
Most referrals are from families or relatives that are worried about their own children, with the many remaining cases being from welfare institutions, city officials, or the telephone. Schools and medical/nursery facilities make up a very small proportion of these referrals as well, which are major sources of referrals in most European and North American child welfare institutions. Almost none of the referrals are the children themselves, with jidōsōdanjo mainly being offerers of advice about the children, rather than to the children. The reasons for consultations (as of 1995) are as follows:
Sickness and disability - 20.1%
Disapperance from home - 7.5%
Divorce - 7.3%
Death - 1.8%
Abandoned child - 0.8%
Kazoku kankyō (family environment) - 38.6%
Of which abuse cases - 9.1%
Other - 23.9%
The staff at jidōsōdanjo have members of staff typically made up of professional physicians, child psychologists, physiotherapists, nursery teachers, and clerical staff. Jidōfukushishi (child welfare officers) carry out the bulk of the work, and are an important and understudied group in the Japanese welfare system. In order to qualify for this type of position, it is required by Child Welfare Law to:
a) Have graduated from a school or other institution designated by the Minister of Health and Welfare; or
b) Have concluded studies at a university that specialised in psychology, education, and/or sociology, or other similar courses (called sankamoku shikaku - three-subject qualification); or
c) Be a physician; or
d) Have worked in a child welfare operation as a social welfare secretary for 2+ years; or
e) Be a person whom (a)-(d) might apply because of requisite academic knowledge and experience required for a child welfare officer
A Christian Orphanage in Sendai
The jidōsōdanjo in Yokohama, Osaka, Saitama, Kanakawa, and Niigata have the majority of their staff trained and qualified in specialist social welfare activities, being at the forefront of social work practice. However, in major cities such as Tokyo or Kyoto, most of the staff are futsū no kōmin (regular local government officials) who qualified simply because they were doing their job - Working at a jidōsōdanjo is not the loftiest of prospects for government officials with high social standing. The staff will usually put together a report of a plan either case-by-case for each child or as a whole at the jidōsōdanjo, depending on the approach they want to take. Though they have a range of options, around 90% of decisions are simple advice sessions without taking any follow-up measures or setting up a programme of ‘continuous guidance’. This is carried out by the jidōfukushishi themselves though they are usually bogged down with previous workloads, where 60% of jidōsōdanjo staff interviewed said they were each holding more than 50 cases (as shown in 1999). Despite cases being relatively straightforward and simple to resolve, there is a huge amount of bureaucratic paperwork and recording accompanying every action the staff decide to take, and there are many cases of ‘burnout’ for these workers. As such, the work can be delegated to local minsei.jidōiin or shūnin jidōiin. The remaining 10% of cases usually require more dramatic intervention, as it is not safe for the child to be left where it is. Despite prefectural and city offices being the only official bodies that are able to admit children into welfare facilities and potential foster homes according to Child Welfare Law, authority for this is delegated to the relevant jidōsōdanjo. Most of the time, jidōsōdanjo staff have to persuade parents/guardians to willingly place the child within these institutions, despite parents not wanting to allow their child to be fostered. Sophisticated, even underhanded, methods of persuasion are employed by the staff members in order to get the parents to comply with the placements made. In very rare circumstances jidōsōdanjo have to resort to going to the Katei Saibansho (Family Court) in order to remove the rights of the parents or guardians that oppose such a placement. There has rarely ever been more than 15 children in total at any one time in a yōgoshisetsu (Child Placement Institutions) where parental rights have been drastically removed in this manner.
References
Children of the Japanese State, by Roger Goodman
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/rise-of-japan-f645a8e8-75de-4baf-b9e5-7934421dd8ba
https://web.akita-townjoho.jp/event/20200619-ugo-19/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satō_Nobuhiro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burakumin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_period
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Restoration
Thank you to Go Connect by Custom Media
GoConnect Debuts at the Expat Expo, Raising ¥41,000 for Charity
On November 6–7 at Kamiyacho Trust Tower, the first public exhibition for international residents was held—Expat Expo Tokyo 2020. Our recently rebranded platform GoConnect made its public debut at the event, with lots of giveaways from the platform and its Partners, as well as a raffle in support of a very worthy charity.
The two-day event drew more than 1,000 guests and nearly 30 companies from a variety of industries—such as travel, food, beverage, language schools, and real estate. Visitors were treated to opportunities to experience Japanese culture through activities such as samurai performances and trying on kimonos. Many companies also provided the chance to try their products and services—booth visitors could enjoy everything from sake tasting to a short massage.
https://goconnect.jp/
