Committees
Committees are formed by dedicated, committed groups of members who prepare and work together for periodic activities that serve crucial purposes within the organization. Guided by leaders, members collaborate their ideas to design and execute various activities like food deliveries, refugee cafes, Japanese classes, translations, and SNS.
Activities
Activities are formed by dedicated, committed groups of members who prepare and work together for activities that serve crucial purposes within the organization. There are only a few members who will be leaders of activities to design and execute various activities like hygiene deliveries, detention center visits, school visits, university events, and hangouts.
FOOD DELIVERIES
In collaboration with the largest food bank in Japan, Second Harvest Japan (2HJ), SRSG has consistently provided life-sustaining food packages to 50-60 refugees on a monthly basis. We were successfully able to send over 900 boxes throughout Japan, spanning the 3-year period between May 2020 to July 2023. Supporting many refugees with Muslim backgrounds, we cater the food items according to their dietary restrictions, including halal and vegetarian.
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However, in July, we had to suspend our food deliveries, due to internal changes within 2HJ. Despite this, we were able to introduce a food pantry system, distributing food items during our monthly Refugee Cafés (Check Refugee Café). This new system not only mitigated food loss but also provided autonomy where the refugees themselves, decide what and how much they need: something that is crucial when one loses a sense of control of their lives which is often experienced by marginalized groups.
HYGIENE DELIVERIES
The Hygiene delivery activity delivers hygiene items that includes sanitizer sheets, masks, hand soaps, sanitary napkins, and other daily essentials. Much like our food boxes, hygiene item packages are tailored to individual or household needs, and are delivered through Amazon.
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This initiative is particularly impactful for women refugees who face heightened social vulnerability, given their additional hygiene requirements related to child-rearing and menstruation. To date, we have sent approximately 250 hygiene item boxes, maintaining a delivery service to around 40 households every semester.
​REFUGEE CAFÉ
Our goal is to provide a safe and interactive space for refugees, guests, and members, we organize informal get-togethers called “Cafés”, creating opportunities for social and cultural exchange between individuals with diverse backgrounds. These Cafés ensure that refugees feel accepted, recognized, and connected in an unfamiliar and foreign setting.
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The Refugee Cafe committee will organize a gathering each month at Sophia University, inviting 40-50 refugees and 20-40 students to establish camaraderie by playing games, connecting over food, and learning about each other through presentations.
DETENTION CENTER VISIT
Many of those who have not been granted refugee status (approximately 98% of applicants) and are unable to return to their home countries are detained indefinitely at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa. The detention center visit activity visits them twice a month, where we converse with them for 20 minutes in each session.
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Through this activity, we aim to provide emotional support and a safe space where they can share their stories freely, despite their solitude and stress. When requested, daily necessities including Japanese books, clothes, shampoo are provided, considering their limited resources in the detention facility.
SNS
Our goal is to make Japanese society aware of the refugee issue and situation in Japan, so we use the SNS platform to share information in both Japanese and English. Using SNS platforms, we share online articles, history, and amendments in order to raise awareness of the refugee reality and facts. Through these engagements, it is one of our missions to also abolish the discriminatory portraits of refugees in mass media of Japan and recreate the image of the wording refugees.
SCHOOL VISITS
School visits committee encourages awareness of the refugee issue, and strive to create a safe opportunities for people from all sectors to discuss and think critically about the situation. This committee visits Japanese high schools all over Japan, conducting speaking engagements for companies, and participating in panels or having workshops with international organizations.
JAPANESE CLASS
One of the many difficulties refugees face in Japan is the language barrier. As we are blessed to have multilingual members, the Japanese class committee offer Japanese language classes to develop their language skills necessary for daily life, including reading, writing, and speaking. These classes are held for free, online (via Zoom) twice a week and face-to-face once a month before the Refugee Cafés.
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TRANSLATIONS
The Translation committee translate from english to Japanese the documents necessary for refugee application, where all the materials submitted need to be in Japanese as it will not be accepted in English or any other language. The members in this committee occasionally also interpret between lawyers and refugees and actively participate in the legal aspects, as well as resumes for job applications.
UNI EVENTS
The University events committee plan and attend Sophia University events such as Sophia Festival and All Sophian's Festival. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for Sophian students, alumni, parents, and the general public to learn about the refugee issue through different media like photos, videos, texts.
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HANGOUTS
Organize activities and events designed to get to know the members of SRSG better. This is extremely important because the more familiar the members are with each other, the easier and more productive we can work together.
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