Specified Nonprofit Corporation Lion Heart

Lion Heart is a specified non-profit corporation based in Edogawa Ward that mainly provides children’s cafeterias and food pantries, as well as after-school tutoring programs. Their mission is to offer family-like support to struggling single-parent families and children in challenging home environments who may lack emotional guidance, helping them envision a brighter future. This time we spoke with Chairman Mr. Oikawa and Vice Chairman Ms. Tadokoro.

Chairman Oikawa

Please tell us about your background and what inspired you to start a children's cafeteria?

I served as PTA president at my child’s junior high school for five years, during which I witnessed children facing various challenges, including poverty, abuse, and absenteeism. I realized that support was needed not only for the children but also for their parents. I wanted to make a difference so ten former PTA presidents came together and used their connections to start a children’s cafeteria. During the initial stages of our initiative, thanks to the principal of an elementary school, we were able to rent a home economics room and hold a children’s cafeteria. Around 70 children attended, enjoyed the food, danced in the gymnasium, and had a wonderful time. However, I realized that irregularly held events did not allow for in-depth conversations with the children or for providing the support they needed. I decided to launch the 365 Days Children’s Cafeteria, believing it was necessary to provide a daily space where children facing various difficulties, such as school absenteeism, poverty, and neglect, could rely on support whenever they needed it. It took me a year from making that decision to bring it to reality. I left my job to join Lion Heart in 2018 and have been working there every day for the past seven years without a break.

Dinner scene

What challenges did you face when starting up the children's cafeteria?

At first, children didn't come. Mothers worried that their children would be bullied because they thought they came from poor families. Many mothers were worried that their children might be bullied for appearing to come from poor families. At the same time, the children were concerned that their mothers might be upset if they went to the children’s cafeteria, so they were hesitant to attend. As we were considering how to address this issue, we came up with the idea of helping the children with their summer homework. This led to an increase in attendance. It also seems mothers found it more comfortable leaving their children in a place where they could receive academic support and have their homework checked.

After-school study support

Please tell us about any particularly memorable experiences?

One day, we received a call from a mother holding a 9-month-old baby. She seemed to be in a very bad mental state and was having suicidal thoughts. When we asked about her situation, we learned that she had become pregnant while unmarried, and her relationship with the child’s father had deteriorated after learning of her pregnancy, leading to their separation. Her parents and friends had also told her that she had no choice but to have an abortion because the baby would be fatherless, and she received no support. Although she gave birth to her baby alone after cutting ties with her parents, she raised the child in isolation, and the depression she had suffered since pregnancy worsened. She was wandering, searching for a place to end her life, when she happened to see a Lion Heart sign and contacted us as a last resort. When we proposed to her that we all raise a child together, she was delighted. When we suggested that we could all help raise her child together, she was overjoyed. Since then, she has been attending the children’s cafeteria regularly. Although she was expressionless when we first met, after a year she has become bright and full of energy. In her second year, she began working in online sales, where she became the top performer and gained more room mentally and financially. By the third year, she started working as a staff member at Lion Heart, wanting to support other mothers facing similar challenges. She currently supports our work as a staff member in charge of public relations for the organization. The baby, who was nine months old at the time is now five years old. Although an only child, the children and mothers who attend the children’s cafeteria have become his family, so he has many siblings and mothers. I really look forward to seeing the kind of person he will grow up to be.

How are donations from FIT being used?

We would like to use the donations we receive to establish a 24-hour shelter. We want to help children who become part of the “Toyoko-Kids” problem and we want to prevent children from meeting bad friends or adults who turn to delinquency. In addition, we want to support children who have troubled relationships with their parents and have no home to return to, as well as mothers who are victims of domestic violence. We are currently looking for a large property that can accommodate both the children’s cafeteria and the shelter, as the cafeteria will need to be relocated within this year.

What is your key message for those reading this article.

I'm sure there are many people who want to do something for those in need but don't know what to do. For those people, I would encourage you to either make a donation to Lion Heart or come and meet the children in person. Recently, people from Mitsubishi UFJ Bank came to give talks on financial matters, and players from the Kubota Spears rugby team came to eat dinner with the children and read picture books. Many children have no dreams for the future, so we think that actually talking and interacting with many adults is a good stimulus for them. Our hope is to get as many adults as possible involved.