Women's Views on Health, Peace and Development
July 2000
Banner photo: ©SEKAI BUNKA PHOTO
Grassroots Efforts in Japan
Charity Cut event
How can one best use one's skills to contribute to society? This is a question most of us have pondered, and one group of young Japanese Soka Gakkai members came up with an answer which they named "Charity Cut."
In 1993, a group of young men working as barbers and hairdressers launched this novel fund-raising drive. The members of this group donate their free time to give haircuts in return for a 1,000-yen donation (about US $9), and all the funds raised are donated to charities which support vulnerable women and children. At present, more than 20,000 people regularly come to make their donation and get a haircut.
The first Charity Cut was conducted by just 13 people, but now the movement has spread throughout Japan and receives additional support from the young women's division's beautician group within the Soka Gakkai. To date, Charity Cuts have been held a total of 43 times, and more than 4,000 hairdressers have contributed their time. About half are friends or colleagues of the Soka Gakkai members.
The inspirational motto for Charity Cut is "Think globally, act locally," the slogan popularized by the American futurist Dr. Hazel Henderson. The funds raised by the activity have been donated to UNICEF in addition to being allocated for relief measures following the Kobe Earthquake of 1995. Since 1997, the money raised has been entrusted to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the donations have been used in a project to repatriate young Vietnamese women who have escaped from their captors after being sold into slavery abroad. IOM provides a loan of US $50 to the repatriated women at a low interest rate of just one percent to help them start new lives. More than 1,700 Vietnamese women have been able to embark on the journey to financial independence using these loans.
The Freedom Group
Meanwhile, a choir created by the Freedom Group, a group of physically challenged Soka Gakkai members, has been performing at hospitals and nursing homes at the request of social service agencies.
Shiro Suzuki
Some 20 years ago, a few Soka Gakkai members who were confined to wheelchairs decided to form a group to lend support to disabled people in the organization. Before he started to practice Buddhism, Shiro Suzuki, currently one of the coordinators of this group, tried to avoid facing the fact of his physical limitations by avoiding other people who were physically challenged. "I used to think that 'disabilities' or illnesses were the causes of unhappiness," he recalls. "But through Buddhism, I discovered that all people have a mission, and I was able, at last, to face myself as I am."
Mr. Suzuki suffers from cerebral infantile paralysis and may eventually be confined to a wheelchair; however, he insists that he has no worries about the future. "I think you have to be bright and happy whatever condition your body is in. I want people who are facing the same challenges as I am to be as happy as I." Based on this determination, he has devoted himself to the growth of the Freedom Group, which currently has 1,300 members in Tokyo.
Hideo Tsuji with a specialized vehicle
Soka Gakkai members are active in numerous other volunteer groups. In most cases, some seemingly minor incident inspired a member to work to bring about a change in society. Hideo Tsuji of Yokohama is the coordinator of a group for elderly people. Following his retirement from a job that had previously been the focus of his life, he created "Relief Group" three years ago out of his determination to do something useful for his local community. The group does repairs and odd jobs for the elderly such as carrying heavy luggage, cleaning and other tasks. Mr. Tsuji also founded a volunteer group that transports patients to and from hospitals. Over the last four years, this group has obtained three specialized vehicles that enable it to handle 1,000 cases a year.
