On a cold December morning in 2007, Michael Clemons donned a white beard, red suit and black boots and went to an orphanage in Tokyo to hand out Christmas gifts.
“Prior to that visit, I’d never thought about orphans,” says Clemons, who hails from California. “But I couldn’t help but notice that most of the kids were of mixed heritage. I hoped that was not the reason they were in the home.”
While the Santa suit is long gone, the joy he felt handing out presents and the sincere gratitude he received from the kids inspired Clemons to learn about the more than 40,000 children living in Japan’s so-called institutional homes. Many of the children who wind up in institutional homes are victims of abuse or neglect. While some are true orphans whose extended family can’t or won’t take them in, many more have been abandoned due to poverty, special needs or health issues.
Clemons spent 10 years volunteering with various NPOs and through corporate social responsibility activities at his former workplace, Barclays. In 2018, he founded YouMeWe, a nonprofit organization that works directly with roughly 300 orphans to prepare them for a successful, independent existence. Through his work with these institutionalized children, who are often pitied as “suteta kodomo” (throwaway children) by society, Clemons has come to believe that they do not need our pity but deserve our respect. He views them as hidden assets.
“They are getting on with their lives and don’t feel sorry for themselves,” he says. “While they are in that safe environment, we have a chance to teach them things that empower them.”
To Clemons, empowerment begins with technology, but few children in institutional homes have regular access to computers. Through YouMeWe, he partners with banks, businesses and software firms to not only supply computers to the homes but also guide them through programs that will teach the children to become responsible global citizens. It starts with the youngest of them: YouMeWe partners with the Japanese distributors of the robot toy Cubetto to teach computer basics to kindergarten-aged children, and the online program Night Zookeeper helps English-speaking children maintain their first language while improving their overall skills in writing and critical thinking.
Continued learning
YouMeWe’s coaching adapts as the children get older, ramping up the focus on coding and business skills as well as preparing the children for independent life after they age out of the system at 18. They use MoneyConnection, a financial literacy program designed by Shinsei Bank to teach budgeting and money management, and Benesse career assessment to explore professions best suited to their skills and interests.
“You can hear (the delight) right away in their voices,” Clemons says. “‘I can be a teacher! I can be a banker!’ It’s really opening their eyes to their potential.”
Without a family network, turning those possibilities into realities can seem insurmountable. In 2021, The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare released findings from a survey of “care leavers,” a term for children who have aged out of the system. The study revealed that 36% of respondents enrolled in some form of higher education after leaving an institutional home, but only 2% graduated from a four-year university program, while 10.6% finished junior college or vocational school. This is a marked contrast from the general population, where enrollment is 80% with a completion rate of 93%. On top of that, a majority of the respondents were living paycheck to paycheck or in debt.
Clemons expects YouMeWe’s emphasis on teaching digital expertise will lift these children out of poverty by developing marketable skills for whatever job they aspire to, and he has already seen some success. Fifty percent of the kids YouMeWe supports have enrolled in higher education and 48% have found work. The NPO also has a partnership with the global networking company Colt — YouMeWe’s first donor — to offer mentoring and tutoring, as well as jobs to qualified candidates.
The legacy of trauma
Many children placed in institutional homes suffer from lingering trauma. Transitioning to a high-pressure work environment or independent living can aggravate that trauma, so Clemons offers some care leavers interim work in a comfortable, familiar environment that allows them to develop a work ethic at their own pace.
“Nobody asked to be born, but when they are born they deserve everything life has to offer,” says Clemons, adding that the children have plenty to offer society in return. He repeatedly returns to the term “throwaway children” and bristles at its short-sightedness. He tosses out ideas for making their lives more valued by the broader population, like a farmer sowing seeds.
“Since Japan has so many people over 65 and so few under 15,” he says, outlining one idea, “we asked ourselves, ‘Can this upside-down triangle be turned over? Can we get the kids to teach the elderly about computers?’”
With every idea offered, Clemons is careful to stress that these are still kids we’re talking about, and having fun is as important as developing marketable skills. Even in play, though, Clemons sees a chance for empowerment. During the summer, many children take vacations with their families. Those living in institutional homes do not, and Clemons says this puts them at a disadvantage. Children with families grow up with memories of their travels, photos of their growth and experiences that develop character. These experiences introduce them to new interests, enhance their abilities and provide connections with other people.
For nearly 15 years, Clemons and various partners have addressed this discrepancy through Designing Artists Academy (DAA), a summer camp where artists from around the world offer children from institutional homes the opportunity to paint, dance, cook and create via a range of artistic outlets. The camp is first and foremost a fun getaway, but it adds an additional element to the STEM education taught at school and the digital emphasis of YouMeWe. Since the children’s talents are diverse, DAA is an opportunity for them to explore various interests while producing tangible memories. This year, about 50 kids will participate in the DAA summer camp from Aug. 1 to 5, hosted by the British School in Tokyo.
The family you choose
Despite the gifts, skill development and summer camp, Clemons says the children are most grateful for the attention they receive from YouMeWe volunteers, which makes them feel like their lives matter. Staff at the homes come and go. Besides the nuns at the Catholic-run homes, YouMeWe is often the only consistency the children have throughout their adolescence. It is not surprising, then, that some return to the NPO for help. Under the umbrella term Empower Village, Clemons offers an online “home” where care leavers can find support as varied as accompaniment to a doctor’s appointment to counseling to navigating food banks.
Clemons’ long-term goal is to create social impact bonds that would be invested in parenting-skills training. That would not only be a step to reuniting some families, but it could reduce incidences of abuse and prevent children from being placed in the homes in the first place.
In 2007, Clemons played Santa for a day and gave the kids some presents. Since then, he and YouMeWe have offered the children tools and experiences that allow them to flourish and understand that their lives do, indeed, matter. And that gift lasts a lifetime.
Fore more information on YouMeWe, visit youmewenpo.org.
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