I hope that the small light I can provide, suited to my own means, might be visible to someone.

This is Tsukimori.
(This post is written after receiving the baton for the Guinness relay.)

I wonder when it was that I started feeling uncomfortable with the word 'charity'... it was so long ago that I've forgotten.
Until then, I think I was actually someone who participated quite actively.
I even went to the Budokan carrying a donation box (laughs).
Even now, I believe that such small feelings gathered together create great possibilities.
Not possessing great power myself, I felt that by supporting such opportunities, I was fulfilling a small, small responsibility.

Back then, there were many unique donation boxes in coffee shops and restaurants around town.
It was a time before smartphones and card payments, and it had become a habit to put any 10-yen coins I received as change into the donation box by the register when paying.
One day, while eating with a few people at a yakiniku restaurant and waiting in front of the register for the people ahead of us to pay, it seemed there was no change. When the clerk called out to the back of the shop, 'We're out of change...', the reply came back, 'Just use the donation box...', and the clerk proceeded to turn the glass jar upside down and take out some of the coins.
I was quite shocked when I saw that.
I see, how the money in this donation box is actually taken to be donated is still in the hands of the shop's
way of thinking; until then, I hadn't even imagined such a thing.
From that point on, my way of thinking changed.
Did my feeling of wanting to do something for someone else disappear because of that distrust?
If my feelings hadn't changed, I would look for a method that suited my own feelings.
I decided to put my will into things where the goal is clear and the results are visible, ensuring it is definitely used for that purpose.

Not long after, I had the opportunity to speak with someone who supports children overseas, and I decided to cooperate as well.
It was support for children who were forced to work because their parents were poor, so they could go to school.
A priest at a local church would persuade the parents to let them go to elementary school, and he would pay for the textbook costs and the amount they were expected to earn from working, while also checking to see if they were actually attending school.
(At the time, it was about 15,000 yen per year.)
It was a sponsorship system where I would reliably support one child at a time, and my first charge was a little boy named Pernobo.
From then on, support and correspondence began. (The priest would send them all together.)
Pernobo's mother had a disability and could not work.
He told me his hopes: that he would definitely study, go to university, work, and build a house.
I also wrote letters in English with a dictionary in hand.
'The water rose due to the typhoon, so I went to school by boat.'
'My grades went up and they were posted in the hallway, be happy for me, Mom.'
'Mom, I passed the exam, brag about it to my little sister too.'
My daughter also started participating in my letters sometimes, and the person from the office who visited once a year would take photos of Pernobo's shy smile.
His support ended after he finished high school, but thanks to someone who took over afterward, he successfully graduated from university, and it seems he has now started a company and is being a good son to his parents.

I want to be useful to someone; is there something I can do with the feelings I have inside?
That is how I became a sponsor for several children.

I hope that the small light I can provide, suited to my own means, might be visible to someone.

◾️Here is an introduction to the project.

◾️This is a guide to the article regarding J-Oyaji-san's project.

I wrote this based on my personal thoughts.
When I first received the information from J-Oyaji-sama, the incident at the yakiniku restaurant that I had never told anyone about came to mind, and I was a little hesitant about whether I should talk about the allergy I have toward the word 'charity'.
I want to believe in the goodwill in everyone's heart, so I wanted to convey that.

I have received the baton♡

Thank you very much♡