The glorified philanthropy of the present day does not impress me much. Software magnates, e-commerce tycoons, wealthy bankers, sleazy government contractors, stock market wheeler-dealers, and other such billionaires doling out millions to soothe their own consciences or buy prestige and social standing is, in my opinion, not charity. Even worse, there are companies that pollute the water and living space of communities with carcinogenic chemicals that set up nonprofits in the guise of being protectors of the environment. What a farce charity can be!
But what if someone who has little or nothing, like the poor widow with two coins, gives her all and more to others, neither for fame nor power, but purely out of compassion? Do such people exist in this day and age?
Watching television is a painful experience these days. The merciless slaughter and wanton destruction shown on television are so acutely painful and mind-numbing that I avoid watching mainline news channels for fear of hardening my own heart and soul. The sight of wounded, screaming children is unbearable and heartrending.
One of the few channels that cover world news impartially and at the same time exercise caution on the visuals is NHK World, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. I first listened to NHK Radio as a shortwave enthusiast fifty-one years ago. I now watch their television programs thanks to public television in this country. In addition to news and current affairs, NHK World also carries cultural and informational programs relating to Japan and the wider world.
It was one such program last week on NHK television that had such a deep impact on me that even today, nearly ten days later, the feeling of awe has not dissipated. What is even more remarkable is that this edifying program was aired right next to channels showing the horrendous impact of wars and conflicts.
The story that moved me so intensely was that of Horiuchi Yoshimi, a visually impaired lady of Japanese extraction. Many people with handicaps have overcome their disabilities to lead near-normal lives. I admire them for their courage and determination and have sympathy for their disabilities.
But Yoshimi-san has taken charity and fellow feeling for other humans to a whole new level. She who lacks sight and cannot read is living out her life encouraging children and youth to read, something she cannot do herself, much as she wants to. How wonderful and amazing is that!
But the wonder does not stop there. Yoshimi-san’s mission is not confined to her home prefecture of Kochi or even to the country of her birth, Japan. She is tirelessly working in faraway Chiang Mai in Thailand. Moving around with a white cane is difficult enough in familiar environs, but doing so in a foreign land with a different language and culture it becomes nothing short of amazing.
The courage of Yoshimi-san is mind-boggling. In spite of progressively losing her vision till she became completely blind while still in school did not stop her from traveling to the United States as an exchange student for a year. She successfully adjusted to the cultural and linguistic differences which is challenging enough for a student with normal vision. Yoshimi-san then went on to study at the International Christian University in Tokyo before deciding that her life’s mission was to set up a nonprofit in Thailand to encourage reading among children who did not have enough access to books.
The nonprofit (NGO) she set up in 2010 was initially called Always Reading Caravan (ARC). The name was subsequently changed to the current Bookworm Foundation. The Foundation manages the Rang Mai Community Library and mobile (including motorbike!) libraries that carry books for children to interior villages of Chaing Mai and Chiang Rai provinces. The Bookworm Foundation also runs preparatory schools for children of minority tribes in the two provinces.
All this has been accomplished by a lady who loved reading, lost her sight, and cannot read printed books anymore (except in Braille).
As long as there are unsung angels like Horiuchi Yoshimi there is still hope for mankind in spite of tyrants and warmongers.
To watch the NHK World program on Horiuchi Yoshimi click the link below:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2105037/
And here’s the link to Horiuchi-san’s TEDx talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In0z9-ZDC7o
Yoshimi-san’s motto: ‘Your vulnerability is your strength.’
May her tribe increase!