On February 9th, the opening day of PyeongChang Olympics, a charity futsal tournament was held in Tokyo where 190 players from 22 teams and 50 volunteers participated. The tournament was organized by the members of Habitat Japan’s Shanti Shanti student campus chapter as an effort to support Selopamioro, a village in Indonesia that Habitat Japan has been providing community services to. The students started preparing for the tournament in November 2017 and organized the entire event, including planning, finding sponsors, and recruiting participating teams.
“I am extremely happy that we were able to make this tournament happen” says Keita Ozaki (photo: center) who spearheaded the event. “After participating in Habitat’s overseas architectural volunteer program, I’ve been looking for ways to remotely support those in need. This futsal tournament was my first assignment given to me by a senior volunteer. I saw it as an opportunity for me to help raise awareness about people in other parts of the world who are struggling to have roof over their heads.” Keita explains that in addition to raising awareness, he focused on coordinating an event that the participating players would enjoy. “Thanks to the senior volunteers who hosted this event seven time in the past, the tournament is becoming more well-known and even have repeat participants. I realized the importance of charity events to be opportunities that people want to repeatedly engage in.”
Yuumi Asada (photo: left), this campus chapter president says “Each member with various thoughts collaborated to prepare for the tournament. I’m very thankful and proud of their efforts. Young futsal players may not have any idea about people in other parts of this planet who don’t have decent homes due to poverty. As a campus chapter with knowledge about these issues, we believe in the importance of educating people to raise awareness. We strive to provide opportunities for young people to learn about these issues though fun activities that they are passionate about. What students can do maybe limited but we want to show the world how much the power of collaboration can achieve.”
Habitat Young Leaders Build, Habitat largest youth campaign in the Asia Pacific region, is currently being held. In addition to the charity futsal tournament, students are bringing unique ideas to drive various support/awareness activities. We ask for your continuous support towards the activities of these young leaders and extend our gratitude to the participating players of the futsal tournament.