Rissho Kosei-kai (RK) commits to “Donate A Meal” for World Refugees

During the inaugural meeting of the Multi-Religious Council of Leaders, religious leaders representing the world’s diverse faith traditions committed to work together to address the root causes of forced displacement and help those forced to flee by promoting peacebuilding, conflict prevention, inclusion and social cohesion in their countries and regions.

The Multi-Religious Council of Leaders comprises more than 20 religious and spiritual leaders and was born out of the need to enlist the help of faith leaders and communities in tackling the root causes of global forced displacement.

The Multi-Religious Council of Leaders was established by UNHCR in cooperation with Religions for Peace, a long-time UNHCR partner providing inter-religious solidarity and support to refugee and migrant communities.

Religions for Peace is proud to share the first in a series of reports by faith communities around the world caring for refugees and displaced peoples. Today, Reverend Kosho Niwano, President-Designate of Rissho Kosei-Kai (RK) and Co-Moderator for Religions for Peace shares how Rissho Kosei-Kai has committed to the “Donate A Meal” movement in which members skip a meal several times a month to share the sufferings of close and distant neighbors from disasters, conflicts, and poverty.

We, Rissho Kosei-kai (RK) members, commit to the “Donate A Meal” movement in which we skip a meal several times a month to experience hunger and use the money to support various humanitarian and social activities, trying to share the sufferings of close and distant neighbors from disasters, conflicts, and poverty. We have been supporting for the refugees and displaced people of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Myanmar and etc. in collaboration with our partners.

In the late 1970s following the Vietnam war, the refugees from Indochinese countries so-called “boat people” arrived in Japan. Then Japan did not settle the legal system to receive the refugees and even it did not join in the International Convention on the status of Refugees yet. On the emergent request of UN and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, RK started to accommodate them at two Dharma centers. For 18 years it has accommodated 476 refugees.

Religions for Peace Japan has been also engaged in supporting for refugees since 1970s. Near the border between Cambodia and Thailand, RfP Japan operated several refugee camps. When I visited Cambodia some years ago, I was welcomed by a tour guide at the airport of Phnom Penh. On the last day of the travel, when we were heading for the airport, he started to share with us that he was raised up at one of the refugee camps of RfP Japan. He ran out of his town in Cambodia, and on the way lost his parents and other family members. He told us that he never forgot the name of RfP and sung a song which was made by the refugees at the camps to express the gratitude to RfP.

Currently, RfP Japan is engaged in the reception of Syrian refugee students since 2017 with Japan Association for Refugees. RfP Japan supports not only for their lives, but also for their settling down in residence and schools. The number of refugees accepted in Japan is extremely small. It has been pointed out that the amendment to the Immigration Control Act, including criminal penalties, does not meet international human rights standards. We expect that UNHCR’s advice and recommendations will affect the decision of the Japanese government.

Lastly, I would like to mention the “Little Bags of Dreams Campaign” that we have been promoting since 1994. In this program, children and their parents pack toys and stationery goods into hand-sewn bags. And they are sent to the children in conflict-torn regions or refugee children. So far, more than 1.1 million bags have been gifted to the children around the world including the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Lebanon, Israel, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Mindanao in the Philippines.

I also helped my four children make bags. In 2010, I went to Mindanao with my daughter, who was 13 years old at the time, and we presented those bags from hand to hand to the local children. Through this program, our children learn about the circumstances of the children in the destination countries, who may be from different races, religions, and cultures. Our children make bags for them filled with of friendship and prayer for happiness and peace, and with drawings showing solidarity beyond distance between themselves and children they have never met.

Although this is a modest program, children in Japan feel bonds with children around the world through making gifts with considering those who live in the same world but in hard conditions. Visiting and meeting with them could build trusts and deepen their bonds. It is very important for children and youth to encounter with and make a small action for those who are in difficult situation in the world. It would give a positive impact on the future world, I believe.