Kihofukushikai―How It Came Into Being
The big tsunami generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake engulfed the homes, lives, and towns, leaving the coastal regions in ruins with mountains of rubble and confusions.
The residents were forced to live in shelters for over six months before they moved into temporary housing units or apartments. Of the six thousand or so households in the Watanoha district, two thousand homes were gone.
Two years after the disaster, all the schools in the district remained closed―one kindergarten, two nursery schools, one elementary school, and one junior high school. Of the two high schools, one managed to reopen while the other was incorporated into another school. Under such circumstances, children were assigned to temporary school sites outside of their own districts.
The normal daily life as we used to know it had to be restored just as soon as possible, but the restoration and the development of the district cannot be accomplished without the power of the younger generations of people. To make it happen, a healthy environment has to be prepared for the children who will be taking on the task of future restoration effort.
We resolved to start up a new nursery school for this purpose and founded Kihofukushikai, a social welfare corporation, which was officially approved on December 28, 2012.
The city of Ishinomaki still has a long way to go before a full restoration is completed. We for our part continue to pray so that the circle of cooperation will grow as we work toward our own goal to serve the needs of the district.
Kihofukushikai
| Category | Social welfare corporation |
|---|---|
| Registered Name | Kihofukushikai |
| Corporate Registration Number | 3703-05-000941 |
| Organization Emblem |
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| Representative | Administrative director |
| Name of Representative | Shutsu Onosaki |
| Administrative Officers |
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| Auditor |
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| Registered Address | 198-2 Isecho, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi-ken 986-2123 Japan |
| Telephone | 0225-90-4664 |
| FAX | 0225-90-4663（24h） |
| info@kihofukushikai.com | |
| Date Established | December 28, 2011 |
| Corporate Purpose | Stable labor force, vital for a strong recovery of devastated regions, will become available by fulfilling the day-care needs of the area, leading to the regeneration of active daily life and economy. With 30 years of experience providing programs to guide children of the surrounding region, the party founding Kihofukushikai shall undertake the task of supporting working parents as well as responding to the childrearing needs of the area. This will help to raise Ishinomaki’s future human resources and to build a hometown where people can have hope. |
Founding Philosophy of Kihofukushikai
Our Philosophy
Kihofukushikai believes that children, holding promise for the future, are our treasure. We will serve people by striving to enhance the social welfare so that they may live a life that's radiant with happiness.
Operating Principle
The Great East Japan Earthquake brought devastation to the schools in the coastal communities of Ishinomaki City. To enable the communities to recover, what’s most important is to restore a living environment where people can live in peace. And providing a healthy environment in which to raise children is foremost in this effort. Preparing an environment for parents where they can devote themselves to work free from worry, and for the elderly an environment where they can fully enjoy the rest of their days—Kihofukushikai is committed to fulfilling these social needs by working together with the people of the community.
Childcare Principles
It is our aim to support families of the area by providing the kind of quality child-care services that meet the needs of the families based in our neighborhood. At the same time, we will strive to be a community support base where people of the neighborhood can come for support in dealing with the challenges of raising children, regardless of whether they attend our program or not. As we work toward the goal of making a child-friendly nursery, we will also strive to partake in the task of nurturing the human resources that will eventually shape the future of the country.
Six Aspirations in Forming Character
- To become a person who can believe people
- To become a caring person
- To become a person who respects life
- To become a thoughtful person
- To become a person who lives with a sense of mission
- To become a person who respects basic rules
