JPIC Awareness and Action, Obayashi Sacred Heart School

Background

Obayashi Sacred Heart School has inherited from St Madelein Sophie Barat the spirit of service towards the most marginalised persons and puts it into action through the various school activities, in particular students’ volunteering activities.  

Objective

To form and develop students as future agents for social transformation according to the spirit of JPIC.

Activities

To express solidarity with people in need (on the field activity)

To help not only the intellectual development, but also to learn how to develop their skills and the hears of the students for the marginalized people. Having a direct contact with the people of one of the most marginalized sectors in Japan will broaden the horizon of the students and develop their hearts and their minds.

• Philippines Exposure Program: students taking part in an 11-day exposure-immersion programme (since 1986)
• Knitting gloves and hats for homeless people. Students reserve some of their time to knit an item that can warm homeless person. Once finished, students hand out the item to the person in need.
• Kamagasaki Osaka periphery area: students pay visits and help in the activities of the homeless drop-in center in the area where homeless people gather by providing soup kitchen and rice balls.

Awareness raising activities

• SOFIS: this is an inter-school programme between the 5 Sacred Heart schools in Japan. The acronym sands for the initial letter of each of the five schools (Sapporo, Oabyachi, Fuji, International School, Sankocho-Tokyo). The programmme intends to deepen the bond of the five Sacred Heart Schools in Japan and together promote among students the social awareness which leads them to take concrete action. The recent issues students have tackled are : migrants, environmental care and nuclear concern.
• 25^th of May. This is the anniversary of St Madeleine Sophie and it is celebrated as a service day to better understand the love of Jesus and to share that love with the people. The junior high school students work silently on schoolwork (clothing, bell-marking, collecting old stamps).
• The English unit focus most of its content on global issues: child labour, migrants, human trafficking, woman’s issues, etc.  The students do the research on the issues and make the presentation.
• On the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the 12th grade students have a whole day panel discussion on the “cohabitation/living together” by inviting an expert to give them input and comments on the discussion.
• Inter-disciplinary class (Sophie-Time). The 9th grade students do the research on socially marginalized people / sectors and have debates and make the presentation. 
• School bazaars: The whole school community (teachers, students and parents) organise fund raising fairs. The funds collected are aimed to cover the salary of one teacher at the St. Madeleine Sophie Foundation in the Philippines.
• Rice ball lunch: regularly the students have only rice balls for lunch to express solidarity for people in need.

Results

• On the field activities
  • It develops new skills (knitting).
  • It opens the students’ hearts.
  • It broadens their horizon and minds (travel to marginalised areas/countries).

• Awareness raising:
  • Students are able to read and understand the situations of the world from the JPIC perspective in an international language.
  • Students engaged in deeper reflection which helps them in making options in life.

People being served : Agents of transformation (Educators)

Age group : Children 0-17

Number of participants : 251-500

Project status : Ongoing

Society presence : Japan

Focus of the project : People

JPIC Imperative : Transforming and Being Transformed

UN Sustainable Development Goals : 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, 17 Partnerships for the Goals