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Support ２１ lends a helping hand to refugees, the non-Japanese and the Japanese with foreign origin in need.
1.What is Support ２１?
(1)Background
In this day and age of globalization, quite a few foreigners and naturalized Japanese citizens, now live in Japan.
Some came to live in Japan as exchange students, some as refugees, and others got married or found employment here.
There are also those who came back after being forced to live abroad, such as the Japanese children left behind in China after World War II.
Unfortunately, many of them find it very difficult to adapt themselves to living in Japan for a variety of reasons,
such as language barriers, economic factors, illness or unexpected accidents. Deprived of opportunities to get employment or schooling,
they have been unable to make a decent living. We feel it our mission to support these people by providing advice and rendering material and mental support when they encounter difficulties.
(2)Message from the President
More than ten years have passed since Support ２１ was established as a social welfare foundation. Various kinds of support concerning domestic issues that had
formerly been handled by AAR JAPAN (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan) were restructured into this organization. We started out by simply supporting foreigners in need by giving a hand and
sharing their concerns.
Thanks to the efforts on the part of volunteers, many of these foreigners have been able to become independent. It is our pleasure to see them overcome
the difficulties and become actively involved in our society. We are proud that our efforts have proved to be successful.
Every volunteer makes a difference, no matter where they live or what their nationalities may be. Any kind of assistance is greatly appreciated.
2.How can we help you?
- We provide a variety of information and advice necessary for living in Japan, including knowledge about local customs, tips and tricks to make living here more comfortable, and legal information.
- We offer counseling sessions on issues concerning welfare, medication and education.
- We give assistance to foreign students in need by holding counseling sessions
- We offers financial support for foreign students (except for exchange students) to continue education.
- Refugees and foreigners in need with proper visa are entitled to free Japanese lessons and supplementary lessons to help them catch up with their school work.
≪ Our achievements ≫
- We have been helping Indo-Chinese refugees resettle in Japan for more than 20 years by offering counseling sessions on various aspects of their life. We feel that refugees are still in need of such sessions.
- At the time of the Hanshin Awaji Earthquake in 1995, we set up “Sunny the Rabbit Fund” (without any term for repayment or interest) , which provided more than a hundred million yen to approximately 500 non-Japanese victims. For the following three months, we went to the Kobe area every weekend to hold counseling sessions. We also set up “Sunny Volunteer House”, which accommodated the volunteers from all over Japan for two years. We were awarded certificates of appreciation by the Minister of Welfare and Health and by municipal governments.
- We provide various types of scholarships. AAR JAPAN, our sister organization, accumulated a fund from 1979 to 1996 for this purpose, and we have taken over this duty.
- The Government of Japan adopted a framework to resettle Indo-Chinese refugees in 1978. Japan acceded to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in 1981, and started accepting Convention Refugees in 1982. These days, we offer consultation to Convention Refugees and from those who are waiting to be recognized as such.
- In 1986 AAR JAPAN began offering various learning opportunities for refugees by setting up the “Taiyojuku” (a Japanese language school) and the “Yuaijuku” (supplementary classes for catching up with school lessons). These were quite popular among refugees, because each of them was given individual tuition. Since 1992, these classes have been conducted under the supervision of Support ２１. Nowadays, classes are offered not only for refugees, but also for foreigners who have settled in Japan and for those who have become naturalized Japanese citizens.
3.Free private lessons
≪Why don’t you study Japanese at Support ２１?≫
Every Saturday, we offer free, private Japanese lessons to refugees, the non-Japanese and the Japanese with foreign
origin in need at Support ２１. You will have your own teacher and the lessons will be tailored to your own needs, so you can start at your level and study at your own pace. If you are interested, please contact us. For junior and senior high school students, we also offer supplementary lessons for each subject, which will help you catch up with your school work.
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Support２１
Social Welfare Foundation
Mizuho-bld. 5F 2-12-2 Kami-Osaki
Shinagawa-Ku, Tokyo 141-00２１
TEL : 03-5449-1331 / FAX : 03-5423-4450
e-mail : info@support２１.or.jp |
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