New Intern! Welcome Ayaan Ali
Hello! My name is Ayaan, and I’m excited to be joining YouMeWe as an intern for the next six weeks. Born and raised in Cambridge, I’m currently taking a gap year before pursuing a degree in law, using this time to contribute meaningfully to causes I’m passionate about. I’m especially drawn to YouMeWe’s mission of empowering students from institutionalised homes through digital literacy, life skills, and a sense of community. Working with a Tokyo-based nonprofit dedicated to child welfare and societal betterment aligns closely with my values, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from the team while supporting young individuals on their paths to independence.
Carbine Club 4th year in a row
We are extremely thankful to the Carbine Club who has made YouMeWe the recipient of their generous fundraising on the day of the famous Melbourne Cup. Not only is it a day to celebrate the coming together of members in Tokyo but also to dress up and watch the race from hats to heels for the ladies and now some of the men…. The funds raised go towards our Life Connection courses which involve sports, team building and the Designing Artists Academy which we hold annually.
A great day was held with many prizes offered for the raffle including Cathay Pacific’s give away of two economy class tickets roundtrip to Hong Kong and a two nights stay at The Regent.
A speech was given by Michael Perry-Clemons, Founder of YouMeWe:
“As many of you may know I was asked to play Santa for an orphanage in 2007 and I never really left.
What really cemented our desire to help the kids was a trip we made to Disneyland where we were paired off with two ten year old boys
When it came time for the visit to the Disney Store, whilst many kids were throwing things over their shoulders into their carts, our kids did not want to go in or ask for anything.
To me this seemed unnatural and at the same time made me want to do more for kids that do not ask for anything.
Those boys would be 27 year old men now. And we are reminded that these are not marginallzed kids but maximizeable children who need to feel like something bigger than themselves.
Over the 17 years we have been working in the homes, it only occurred to my recently that we may be the only consistency these children have as we visit them every week and or have online classes all over Japan and now Philippines and Brazil. as the principals retire and the staff rotate, we are there every single week.
We teach about 3 dozen children weekly; coding or English or helping them in person or online with their homework. We give them scholarships for university and help them find jobs AND are available to coach them into adulthood.
We also have been holding a summer camp since 2008 here they experienced kick boxing, futsal and soon will be going to a Marinos game in December.
Thanks to the Carbine club in our fourth year we have raised well over ¥3,000,000, Last year we were able to give over 350 christmas presents to the kids we support. We hope to double that this year.
In Summary, I wanted to ask:
Did you ever realize that how many orphans are the protagonist in the movies and cartoons we watch?
Harry Potter, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Elsa from Frozen, even Kung Fu Panda there is something about us as audience where we are cheering for the one making his/her way on their own.
Yet, Harry Potter had various teachers, Superman had his human parents, Spiderman had his aunt....they all also had an adult who looked out for them and helped them become the best version of themselves.
As the future rushes at the children we remind them to to dwell on how their lives started but how they want their lives to end up. And if you do not know what you want, imagine what you do want and then what the opposite of that is.
And come back to the now and focus on what you need to get done in order to happen.
How all any of us have is the NOW...and the depth of our experiences go deeper than the length of our lives. All the more reason to lean into the now....which is another word for the present which is another word for gift.
Thank you very much.”
It’s GameWeek at YouMeWe!
For children in the 21st Century who will live until the 22nd Century, the question of “what is worth learning?” comes to mind again and again. What will never change, however, is communication; collaboration and creativity with an emphasis on`CREATE and being the CREATOR of our own lives. The children we work with did not have a choice about the circumstances they were born into. Yet, we like to help them unlock the ability to imagine the life they want to evolve into by producing games from a blank canvas. When is the last time you did something for the first time?
This week, we’re thrilled to shine a spotlight on the inspiring creations of children who have been learning to code through YouMeWe’s coding lessons! Over the next nine days, we’ll be featuring a different game each day across all our social media platforms. These games are more than just a fun project—each one reflects the hard work, creativity, and new technical skills these young learners have developed.
Each game showcased is a testament to the journey these young people are on—becoming the next generation of digital citizens and tech innovators. We invite you to join us in celebrating their hard work and creativity! Stay tuned to see their unique stories and innovative ideas come to life in their games. Follow along and cheer them on as they take on their future, one line of code at a time!
Capgemini
A big thank you to the Capgemini volunteers for their second visit to St. Francis! Your support in guiding our learners through digital skills has been invaluable. We appreciate your time, expertise, and the positive impact you’re making in our community. Looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in the future! #CommunitySupport #DigitalLearning #CapgeminiVolunteers #StFrancis
Halloween Event at Christmas Village with JP Morgan!
We joined JP Morgan at a Halloween event they held at Christmas Village, where the kids made Piñatas and learned about various countries! We would like to thank JP Morgan and Christmas Village for having us at the event and are looking forward to participating again in the future.
Bringing Joy to children This Holiday Season: A Heartfelt Thank You to Societe Generale!
At YouMeWe NPO, we believe that every child deserves to experience the magic of the holiday season, especially those without families to celebrate with. That’s why we launched the Sharing & Caring Project, aimed at bringing joy to orphans across Japan through thoughtful gifts and community support.
This year, we are thrilled to announce that Societe Generale in Tokyo has stepped up to make a significant difference. Their dedication and enthusiasm have been nothing short of inspiring. We recently held a workshop at their Tokyo office, and it was incredible to see their team come together to support the children we serve.
Special thanks to Junna Ichiyanagi, Stephane Roger, Joachim Ferrari, Julien M., and the entire team for their hard work and generosity. Your efforts will ensure that orphans across Japan feel the love and care they deserve during this special time of year.
But the work doesn’t stop here—this is just the beginning. If your company is looking for a meaningful way to give back this holiday season, we’d love to collaborate with you. By joining our Sharing & Caring Project, you can make a real difference in the lives of these children.
Interested in learning more about how you can help? Please feel free to message us at hello@youmewenpo.org. Together, we can spread joy and make this holiday season one to remember for every child.
Let’s come together as a community and show these children they are loved!
Decathlon Donation!
🌟 Thank you, Decathlon Japan! 🌟
We are incredibly grateful to our partner @DecathlonJapan for donating 9 computers 🖥️! These devices will empower children in the homes we support, opening doors to digital literacy and new learning opportunities.
Together, we’re helping shape a brighter future, one click at a time! 💙✨ #YouMeWe #DigitalLiteracy #ThankYou #nonprofitorganization #socialimpactorganization #NPO
Meet our new Intern Bárbara!
Hi there! My name is Bárbara, and I’m excited to be joining YouMeWe for the next six months. I was born and raised in Mexico City, and for the past two years, I’ve been living in Berlin, Germany, while pursuing my master’s degree. I am passionate about ensuring that children, regardless of their background, have access to quality education and the right skills to succeed. I look forward to contributing to YouMeWe’s mission and making a tangible impact on underprivileged youth in Japan, an experience I hope to apply to other regions in the future.
CapGemini!
Yesterday @capgemini employees joined us at our weekly orphanage visit in Tokyo.
Currently, at this orphanage, students participate in the Global Identity Program (GIP) that aims to allow the children to self-discover their role in the growing multicultural and technologically advancing Japanese society.
As part of our current unit which is focused on “Identity and Diversity,” students are working on creating their own PowerPoint presentations on a country they have randomly picked which at the end of the month they will be presenting to the rest of the class.
Through a mixture of English and Japanese in the lessons, the children not only gain digital literacy and global citizenship, but English literacy as well, allowing us to cover all three pillars of the GIP program.
Thank you for joining us Capgemini Japan!
Heart Family
This is Sugie-san, he calls me his twin because we are the same age, similar haircut, eyeglasses and there is always a contest on who is fatter or slimmer. I am winning, I just won’t confirm which side!
He runs the training program of how to help abusive parents get their children back with practical and thoughtful training programs.
He comes from a long line of his late father who lived to be 92 having fostered 100 children over the years Sugie-san has 29 people in his house including blood and the concept of Heart Family members.
We talked about how blood feels thicker than water like when I met siblings I didn’t know I had at 48 years old.
We talked about the 250 people who came to his foster son’s funeral who was just 20 years old when we tragically lost him.
The solace is that his friends told him that he called Sugie-san his only father.
How now the young man’s birth mother, who is alone in the world, comes and has dinner daily with the 28 others at his table.
These people, including me, he calls his “Heart Family” and I love that!
Scholars
We have had the privilege of being connected with the Chubu Children’s Fund as part of the ACCJ’s program in Nagoya. Over the years we have been able to give the high school graduates from the various orphanages who continue their education laptops.
Once the Mark Bell Scholarship fund was established at YouMeWe, we modeled the application process off of the CCF and were able to help financially with scholars tuition in addition to the CCF funding.
We spent Saturday morning and afternoon with over one dozen scholars as they were interviewed about their lifes and status of their education.
Aside from all the amazing scholars, some who are only 18 years old but appear to be much more mature, proves maturity knows no age. An 18 year old showing us his financial app where he tracks expenses or his nutrition. Another 18 year old who has never touched his savings from high school but lived within the means of his part time job of the scholarships. Financial management seems to be the most common challenge aside from the stellar money managers.
One student in particular humbled and impressed one. He is not a scholar recipient because he had saved enough money and makes enough money to pay his own tuition. Yet sought out and invited the co-chair to dinner with one simple request…to be part of CCF. So, though he neither needs or wants anything, he comes to the events simply for the camaraderie of the other students.
The Chubu Children’s Fund - established by the ACCJ Chubu Chapter in 2016 - provides funding and support for projects that empower, educate, and inspire children, residing in foster homes in the Chubu area, so they may become productive, motivated members of society when they move out on their own.
The key aspects of the " Catalyst Program " are based around:
Leadership Camps
Mentoring Program
Technology Assistance
With the skills and empowerment gained, participants will be further supported through:
Scholarship Program
Internships and Jobs
Leadership Camps
Participating children begin their journey with growth and leadership camps tailored to the needs of each of three age groups (elementary, junior & senior high school).
Camps for each age group typically take place from one to three times a year, and vary in length from weekend retreats to week-long adventures. Not merely fun and games, inspirational, meaningful yet fun activities with members, councilors, speakers etc., provide the potential for life-changing experiences.
Mentoring Program
The leadership camps will provide a spring board for a mentoring program with leaders from the local business community. This program may consist of monthly phone calls, emails, or other forms of communication including a monthly or bi-monthly face to face meeting.
Mentoring programs help foster long-lasting, meaningful relationships with kids that typically lead to a better future for each protege in the program.
Technology Assistance
A sound base of computer/technology skills is considered paramount to employability and simply functioning in daily life. With the help of partnering child-care facilities and orphanages, we develop a technology plan for each location based on specific needs and funding available.
Scholarship Program
Once children have progressed through the Catalyst Program, they become eligible for a scholarship when they are ready to leave the home and move out into the world on their own. The Chubu Children's Fund can provide scholarships that would assist qualifying participants when they chose to go on to higher education.
Internships and Jobs
As the children move through the system, and become young adults, the final step in our program is to provide them with opportunities for jobs or internships.
SalesForce has officially launched its NPO event to showcase how NPOs can use their Ohana Floor.
YouMeWe NPO was one of the first NPOs to use the space for a gala in 2023.
We are planning a VIP dinner in the space this year for the top Donor Circle tentatively November 20, 2024. We were joined by dozens of NPOs who were invited to Salesforce to see the space and have a kick off of their amazing efforts.
A massive thank you to WILEY Publishing for donating laptops for our computer labs
We are extremely grateful for the community reaching out to us like Wiley and having donated 10 laptops for us to be able to upgrade and replace laptops out in the field. Weekly we teach programming and language lessons online throughout Japan, Philippines and Brazil.
We live in an information society now and it is important if not imperative for the children in orphanages to have connectivity .
Diplomat Sena Yamamoto and Ambassador Yoshiki Aoyagi join the Coaching Training as part of Manchester City’s Champions 4-In-A-Row Trophy Tour in Tokyo, the Club hosted a one-day Coach Education event.
CITY HOST COACH EDUCATION DAY DURING TOKYO 4-IN-A-ROW TROPHY TOUR STOP
Man City Editorial
Tue 17 Sep 2024, 11:00
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As part of Manchester City’s Champions 4-In-A-Row Trophy Tour in Tokyo, the Club hosted a one-day Coach Education event.
The event was aimed at sharing skills and knowledge from Manchester City community coaches with young leaders, coaches, charities, and volunteers.
The course is designed to empower coaches to use football as a tool for promoting healthier lives among city youth, through a combination of practical sessions and workshops.
MORE ON OUR 2024/25 TROPHY TOUR
During the event, our cameras focused on one participant’s journey – Sena Yamamoto, a volunteer at YouMeWe.
Sena is a former soccer player from Fujieda and Shizouka and now volunteers at YouMeWe, a Tokyo-based non-profit dedicated to supporting students from institutionalised homes.
Through his volunteering at YouMeWe, Yamamoto coaches high school and pre-school children in the Tokyo Kanagawa region.
Whilst participating at the Coach Education Day, Yamamoto explained his role in using football to benefit children and young teens in Tokyo and how the training on offer from City has supported him and his ambition to become a community coach.
Watch our wrap-up video on the Tokyo Coach Education Day with Yamamoto via the video above…
Wonderful kick off meeting with Microsoft Japan to discuss the Sharing and Caring Project
The session lead by Francis Fung, our Fund Activist, joined by the Microsoft Team who created posters for the Sharing and Caring Package for the holidays using AI.
Microsoft team members Asad Ahmed,Amanda Nelson,Buket Tuna,Smita Roy,Hitomi Todani,Sajan Nair ,Tejaswini Etlam,Shuh Hun Tan,Abe Sharma,Keppell Smith,Julie Bulaklak,Shyam Sankaran,Jun Choi ,Johnson Tao,Ning Kang,Takunori Minamisawa,Yusuke Satake, and Mayuko Fujita
Had a great kick off meeting with your Donor Circle Partner Societe Generale in Tokyo
Introducing YouMeWe by Michael Perry-Clemons, the founder accompanied by Francis Fung, our FundActivist and Stephan Wilschut an intern with us for the next six months and Diplomat Gio Cannegieter.
Francis explaining about the Sharing and Caring Package project for the holidays.
The Ones Left Behind Documentary
"Good evening, my name is Michael Perry-Clemons. I am the founder of YouMeWe NPO which focuses on giving orphans computers and job skills.
In a country with more people over the age of 65 and less children under the age of 15 per capita, from the first time I went into an orphanage to play Santa Claus in 2007, I never walked out.
We focus on not, marginalized children, but MAXIMIZABLE children in Japan.
Frankly speaking, when I first learned of the documentary, I was hesitant to get too close to the film from a YouMeWe perspective because this would highlight what happens when one loses their children due to abuse, neglect and/or economic reasons.
I watched the film and decided to do whatever we can to herald the very same women who should be supported in every possible way by helping them raise their children. By either providing laptops so they can apply and do work remotely rather than having to find and work at 4 separate part time jobs to make ends meet. By making them employable and them also MAXIMIZED, it is what people DO and not what they say that matters and truly helps.
So documentary's like Rionne's, interest in the plight of the mothers but more importantly, children do not ask to be born and when they are, they deserve everything that life has to offer and we as neighbors, relatives and friends need to do more."
Thank you Micron!
Here are some words from the company:
“We are a world leader in innovative memory solutions that transform how the world uses information. For over 45 years, our company has been instrumental to the world’s most significant technology advancements, delivering optimal memory and storage systems for a broad range of applications.”
-check more at https://www.micron.com/about/company