Mirin Seki
I went to cradles to crayons on March 2. This is a place that collects used children’s clothing for families who cannot afford to buy clothes for their children, selects the clothes, and consigns them to a shipping company. We took the large amount of used children’s clothing. We originally had and filled bags with a set number of clothes, coordinating colors and designs. We did this while keeping in mind the children who would receive these clothes, such as considering not to bias the colors of the clothes and not to choose clothes with family or holidays printed on them. This opportunity reminded us that the clothes we are able to buy are not “normal” at all. I am able to choose the color, design, and size of the clothes I want, so it was refreshing to do something for children who are not able to do so, and I think it was a great learning experience for me as well. In Japan, most families are not poor, so there are few opportunities to think about hunger and poverty. We need to broaden our perspective and recognize how many poor people there are in the world. I don’t know if there is such a facility in Japan, but if the number of poor people in Japan is increasing, I would like to see the number of such facilities increase.