Towards a Society Where All Children and Young People Can Lightly Walk Their Own Lives

We endorse April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day to share dreams. This press release is the dream of the 'Ten-handed Old Man Project'.

■Regarding Becoming an NPO

The 'Ten-handed Old Man Project' has newly launched as an NPO.

Until now, centering on our activities of 'Providing Crockery and Clothes Sessions', we have delivered our support by handing over crockery and clothes to children living under social care and young people before and after their independence.

Through this, we have come to feel something. It is the necessity not just of material things, but of opportunities for encounters and experiences.

The power to envision a new life.
Opportunities to know oneself and think about the future.
Connections to ensure one is not alone when in trouble.
Experiences of encountering diverse adults, jobs, and ways of living.

We have felt on the ground the importance of such support continuing uninterrupted, not just at the moment of independence, but from when they are in care and beyond.

Children and young people growing up under social care face difficulties that are hard to see in their career choices and lives after independence. There are challenges that are not easily visible from the outside, such as economic anxiety, lack of experiential opportunities, limited career and job options, and isolation after independence.

Therefore, while starting from direct support, we have come to want to deliver initiatives that open up encounters, experiences, and connections more continuously.

To nurture those feelings in a more concrete form.
We have now established a new structure as an NPO.
While leveraging our existing foundation and network, we will build a more continuous and self-reliant support system.

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■Towards a Bright Form of Support, Our Way

This activity, which began in 2011 with volunteer craftspeople of handmade pottery as a response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, started by delivering pottery to children affected by the disaster.

Subsequently, Mother Dictionary Co., Ltd. provided operational support. As more craftspeople and brands who resonated with the activity gradually extended their hands, the activity expanded to delivering heartfelt crockery and clothes to children and young people facing various circumstances.

Since 2020, we have been holding 'Providing Crockery and Clothes Sessions' for children and young people who have grown up under social care, such as in children's homes, and are approaching the time of independence.

The time to choose one's own crockery and clothes before starting a new life.
It is a small but important preparation for imagining future life and taking a step forward in one's own way.

Through repeated interactions with participants, we have felt that support for independence should not be limited to that single moment, but should be something that gently continues from when they are in care, and even after they have left.

To support the challenges and aspirations that have become apparent through these steps more continuously and meticulously,
we have taken a new step forward as an NPO.

What we aim for is
a society where all children and young people can lightly walk their own lives.
To achieve this, we want to continuously open up opportunities for encounters and learning for children and young people in environments where support is needed.

So that children can lightly walk their own lives.
From now on, we will continue to aim for a bright form of support, in our own way.

Representative Director, Posaki Omi, Specified Non-profit Organization Ten-handed Old Man Project

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