Since the Sacred Heart schools were established, the value of “active participation of students in social service activities”has allowed many students to follow the “Sacred Heart spirit” to take various actions.Students who are learning ways of facing the challenges of a changing society and the supportive atmosphere the school provides, allow the relationship between Sacred Heart students and society to deepen.
The Sacred Heart Spirit refers to the heart and behavior of being aware of societal needs and taking actions using one’s mind, soul, hands and feet to create a better community.
The University of the Sacred Heart is part of the Sacred Heart schools community which Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat founded. Named in her honor, the Madeleine Sophie Center was opened in April of 1999. There is a volunteer room that focuses on providing volunteer opportunities for students who want to contribute to society. There is also a Catholic room that supportsfor religious activities that play a major role in the university.
The Madeleine Sophie Center provides various volunteer information and assists projects in disaster-stricken areas. Besides the Madeleine Sophie Center, the schools’ departments and faculty support the students' actions in contributing to societal needs.
Fairtrade isn’t done by donations, it is done by‘buying’. By‘buying’these fairtrade products, you can help people who live in underdeveloped areas, and also help maintain a sustainable society and economy.
By us SFT members selling these products, the purchaser will become more interested, and will want to learn more about fairtrade.
In May of 2004, I volunteered as a student for an event held at Sacred Heart where I learned of “Fair Trade”. When I saw a weaving manufacturer in front of the cafeteria, I had the shocking thought that “Even if I’m not physically there, I can internationally collaborate with people!”I wanted others to know of this as well so soon after I built up SFT, and by the school’s fall event I was able to sell fair trade products such as coffee and received a massive response. Even after 20 years I am truly happy to see SFT still functioning.
We have been an active volunteer organization since the opening of this university.Through the history passed down and the Catholic teachings of loving everyone, we work in sections to support others. Additionally, we approach new ways persistently with flexibility to find better methods as society continues to shift.
Sadako Ogata, an alumna of a Sacred Heart school in Japan, was the 8th leader of UNHCR. She also founded the Refugee Education Trust (RET), an organization that seeks to raise funds for the education of refugees, and is part of the domestic NGO community and focuses on supporting educational opportunities for displaced people. The organization also works to raise awareness in neighboring areas by hosting educational sessions, conducting interviews with the Japanese immigration bureau, and promoting greater understanding of refugees in Japan.
In addition to raising awareness about environmental issues, we also create opportunities for students to learn and actively volunteer. For example, we installed a water station on our school campus to address the problem of plastic bottle caps. We donated the collected water bottles through our activities to an outside organization for the production of vaccines. Furthermore, we highlight the ongoing issue of food waste, providing students with opportunities to volunteer and consider ways they can make a difference.
On and off campus, the 17 “sustainable development goals (SDGs)” are being practiced and educated as a standard. The members come up with their own tasks and questions to answer them by working together in groups, using the SDG Goals as an aim. Recently, there has been more awareness in society about the SDGs, so we want to use that opportunity to focus on teaching society how to practice them. In addition, we make sure to emphasize the goals that are not well-known and practiced.
Many crops were damaged in the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. NPO The People, in Fukushima established an organic cotton project to plant cotton – a crop that will not lose against misunderstandings of areas in Fukushima from radiation and contamination, as well as salt damage from the tsunami – as a way to replenish the soil in the local area, and we plant organic cotton on campus as part of this project. Products of organic cotton are also sold at the Sacred Heart Festival.
We distribute handmade accessories and send donations to Caritas Minamisoma and other local areas in need. Additionally, we regularly publish “Kokoro Tsushin,” a collection of student letters, and produce calendars to let as many people know the charms of Minamisoma. We greatly value the idea of “thinking about people who live far apart and taking action for them,” it is the foundation of our activities.
Through fun events such as playing together, we aim to expand the circle of connections between children, families, and people in the community. Our focus is not only on our relationships with the children but also on fostering connections between children and the community. We, as university students, consider what we can uniquely do and engage in these activities with dedication.
We proactively take action on social issues so that our activities can lead to action among students at Sacred Heart. As part of this, we sell fair trade products so that many people can learn about the current situation in various countries. In addition, as a partner of the Sacred Heart Institute for Sustainable Futures' volunteer student group, we cooperate with events organized by the institute and contribute to activities to raise awareness.
Since immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, We have been volunteering in the affected areas, learning about disasters, and sending out information to society.
Here are some interviews with alumni who actually participated in volunteer activities at that time.
The devastating Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11, 2011. With financial support from BASF SE, a German chemical company, UNESCO initiated the “Bringing Back Smiles Project” to aid the post-earthquake restoration. This project spans various fields, and the University of the Sacred Heart took on the task of “creating open spaces” in disaster-affected areas.
Two years following the tragedy, although the support from UNESCO ended, the Madeleine Sophie Center in our University took over its role in the post-earthquake restoration project in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture. Rikuzentakata was one of the areas most severely impacted by the earthquake and tsunami. Students of the University of the Sacred Heart regularly volunteered as “play supporters,” visiting the city to engage with children who had lost opportunities to spend time with their friends.
【Michikusa Room】
One of the support initiatives led by a non-profit organization P@CT focuses on creating safe spaces where children, who have lost their places to gather, can freely play and express their emotions. These activities were carried out regularly in collaboration with volunteers, and students from our university actively participated in this project.
【The Moving Tanabata Festival】
“Moving Tanabata” is a traditional summer event in Takata City, originally held to honor the spirits of ancestors. Today, it also serves as a memorial for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and an expression of gratitude for the post-earthquake restoration efforts. At the festival, each community group in the city makes their own unique Matsuri float (“Dashi”), and parades through the city by enthusiastically shouting, “Yo-i-yoi!”. Although most of the Matsuri floats were lost in the earthquake, the community remains strongly driven to preserve this tradition by continuing to build new Matsuri floats and reviving the community. Today, beautifully and gorgeously decorated Matsuri floats are being paraded through the rejuvenated streets.
Source: Rikuzentakata City Tourism Official Website / Takata Tabi Navi
After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, I have always wanted to do volunteer work in the disaster-affected area. However, just as I was finding it hard to take the first step, that was when my senior introduced me to the “Smile in the Heart Project”. It immediately interested me, but one side of me was questioning my decisions. It was the year 2012, and more than a year had passed since the earthquake struck. Even if I go now, would I still be of any use?
However, that thought went away as I visited the disaster-affected area and actually had the chance to meet the people living there. It was clear to me that what I had to do was just focus all my energy on the present, and I grew increasingly positive that even someone like me could make a change.
This rebuilding volunteer activity is based on our university’s founding spirit “Sacred Heart Spirit” rooted in Christ’s treating of each and every one as an invaluable presence. The event involves self-driven studies to contribute to strengthening the bonds in the USH community. As part of this effort, students are regularly sent to Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture, which is still in the process of recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.
【Location】
Caritas Minamisoma / Hashimoto-cho, Haramachi-ku, Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture
* Caritas Minamisoma - A facility established to carry out relief and recovery activities for victims of the disaster and the affected areas. It is operated by Caritas Minamisoma with the support of Caritas Japan.
【Purpose of our volunteer work】
1.To understand the situation and address the task of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake
2.To consider the community’s needs and enhance the potential we can contribute to the community
3.Throughout the various connections within the community, they will find and create their own way of living
4.To put effort into resolving the problems or issues Minamisoma faces as well as contributing to regional restoration.
Minamisoma, a region that was greatly affected due to the nuclear disaster. It was in June 2019 that I headed to Minamisoma with five students. We were asked to help provide a place for “play support”, a children's event at a kindergarten in Caritas Minamisoma. The theme of the event was “Water of Life”. After various discussions, our students came up with the idea of holding a fishing contest to bring joy to the kids in Caritas Minamisoma. We invited the children to draw colorful designs on paper-made fish and compete against each other in a hand-made fishing pond. This idea was a huge success, where the children were greatly excited and being able to see their lively expressions were unforgettable. Through the field work, our students also had the opportunity to learn about their local issues, such as the possible effects of radiation, and were able to discuss Minamisoma’s future plans.
Professor Yoko Ishi, Department of Human Relations
During my years in high school, I enrolled in the choir club; there was one particular choral song we sang called “Gunjou(Azure)”. I longed to go to Minamisoma in Fukushima, where the song is set. One day, as a University student, I looked at the bulletin board in the Madeleine Sofia Center, and the words I saw were “Minamisoma” and “volunteer.” I thought to myself, “I want to join!” So, in my first year of college, during the winter, I went to Minamisoma 8 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. I visited Minamisoma several times in the past. Back then, I remembered the many black bags containing radioactive waste. However, when I now visited, I saw that the same bags became less and less, and I felt this sense of recovery.
In commemoration of the 75th anniversary, members of the student organization BE*Part (current students) interviewed alumnae who embody global symbiosis.
Not long after the Great East Japan Earthquake, we received a message from UNESCO that they would like the university students to contribute to supporting education for children in disaster-stricken areas. This was the start of the “Bringing Back Smiles Project”. Afterward, the UNESCO staff visited these areas and the University of the Sacred Heart decided to support Rikuzentakata City (located in Iwate Prefecture). Ever since the start of this project, students and staff have gone to Rikuzentakata City on an overnight bus called Kesen Liner to provide seasonal fun activities to the children. True to the name of the project, they provided lots of “smiles”. Looking back, due to various financial limitations, everything was hand-made. As seen in the photo, the “Furatto Hiroba”(A plaza where you can stop by on a whim) made in the temporary library was made by Sacred Heart students along with local children and staff where they placed metallic material one by one. Until the new library was made, the space which looked rugged but somehow stylish provided many smiles to the local people.
Professor Yoshiyuki Nagata, Department of Education