2001 Side By Side International Annual Activity Report

Warm greetings from your Side by Side team! We hope that our newsletter will be informative and inspiring to you. You have a part in making this news through your support – thank you so much

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We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power; only then will our world know the blessings of peace”-William Gladstone

Computers, equipment and books are donations for various schools of American Relief for Cambodia’s rural school project.  110 schools have been completed & 190 sponsored. Pictured below is the Kome Hyappyo School during its opening ceremony. We contributed  t-shirts & shoes for the students.

Aid for Cambodia

We sent four 40ft containers.     

Main contents:                                    

- 329 boxes of school supplies

- 120 Apple computers

- 82 Other computers

- 6 printers

- 96 monitors

- 1 scanner

- 22 solar panels

- 36,050 books

- 8 boxes of medical supplies

- 15 boxes of clothes

- 1997 pairs of shoes

- 2 refrigerators

- 2 cars

- 1 dental clinic set

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We sent a high roof, nine passenger, left hand drive Pajero to help with transportation for nurses involved with the telemedicine project in rural Cambodia

Performing at Christmas 2000. 1).Mary Hart & Angela & friends. 2) Florence, John-Paul & Aichan during show at Fukuinryo children’s institution, Setagaya, Tokyo. We gave each of the 40 orphans stationary & toys & shared a meal contributed by Domino Pizza. In February 2001 we donated computers to the orphanage.  3) Feeding the homeless at Shinjuku Chuo koen. 4) Assisting the disabled from Daishi sagyojyo in Kawasaki on their trip to Atami.

v       In November Mr.Tagawa of Seikemikakogyokabushi- kigaisha donated a Super Ambulance destined for an emergency center in Cambodia. (Picture above)

v       Thanks to “Ben & Jerry’s campaign”, 3240 cups of ice cream were passed out to the children in seven orphanages and to the homeless in Shinjuku.

v       Pearl Rice Company donated five tons of Niigata koshihikari rice for our charity projects.

v       We distributed 80 rooms worth of furniture, donated by Hotel Seiyo Ginza. Miyako Hotel Shirogane donated one restaurant’s furniture. Recipients are: Koshigaya Sogo-Ryo Center, Koshigaya City, Gunma Prefecture, Aishin Kenko Fukushi Clinic, and two Old Folks Homes by the same names, in Yokohama City, Hodogaya, Kanagawa ken, and Soroptimist International of Ayase, Ayase-City, Kanagawa.

v       Foodbank & other volunteers received our support.

v       We enlisted in the Immediate Disaster Relief program.

A Life Changed

    Mr.Shibaki is a friendly little man of 50 years, with sparkling eyes and a winning smile. He is a happy man, because he has found that you can never be too poor to give and to help others in need.

    When we first met him in winter 1999 at Shinjuku Chuo park, Tokyo, his outlook was gloomy, he had no vision for the future; he looked rundown and unkempt. After spending twenty years in the Japanese Self Defense Force, there seemed to be now no place for him to go. He was one of between 800 and 1000 homeless people who we had been feeding, clothing and counseling on a regular basis for several years. He became one among the many whose lives changed as a result of the support and attention given to them. Mr.Shibaki was so touched by the love and care he received that he continued to thank us and search for ways to express his gratitude. He began to come to our house to prepare meals for the ever-growing number of homeless folks and spending two days each week distributing food to them. He volunteered his services for other Consider The Poor projects such as packing donated items to send to Cambodia. Meanwhile he held part time jobs, not earning enough to afford a roof over his head. Of the little money he made he contributed most of it to charity. Ten months ago he finally found employment & housing with a construction company.

Mr.Shibaki, now a neatly dressed gentleman, with his own cell phone & calling card, still cares deeply about the homeless and spends his spare time on helping them.

Photo:　Mr.Shibaki serving dinner for an average of 900 homeless people in Shinjuku.　　　

Side by Side International, 154 0005 Setagaya-ku, Mishuku 1-14-8, Tokyo  Tel/Fax: 03-3795-2155

mail@side-by-side-intl.org  http://side-by-side-intl.org  Donations to Mizuho Ginko, Sangenjaya Branch, #2055345, Side by Side