Soka student strives to build school in Africa
2008.11.20
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Toyoko Kikuchi, 22, has a dream: to build a school in Ghana, a country of 23 million people located on the west coast of Africa. A senior majoring in economics at Soka University, Kikuchi drew inspiration for her dream from the school’s founder Daisaku Ikeda, who has for decades believed that Africa would become ascendant in the 21st century precisely because the continent had had to experience such great suffering and tragedy in the past. “I want to build a school that children in Africa can achieve an education for free,” says Kikuchi. “For that, I intend to work hard to acquire the necessary financial and administrative expertise.” One of the first steps toward that end was to overcome an often-crippling sense of alienation. Born in Venezuela to Japanese parents, Kikuchi first learned Spanish in kindergarten, but then moved to Japanese school in Caracas; Then,in junior high school, because of economical reason, she had to transfer to local Venezuelan school. As a result, she had trouble relating to her classmates in either country because she never had the opportunity to achieve fluency in either Japanese or Spanish. And when Kikuchi’s parents sent her to a junior high school in Japan for three weeks, matters turned to the worse: “I dropped out by the first week of school,” she recalls. “By the second week, I was on the verge of depression.” Still, Kikuchi persevered. She managed to graduate from high school and was accepted into Soka University in 2004. The turning point came when she was a sophomore and selected to participate in the school’s one-year overseas study program. She chose the University of Ghana. “I took advantage of Soka’s exchange programs with 105 universities in 44 countries throughout the world, one the broadest and diverse programs of its kind in Japan,” says Kikuchi. It changed her life. Having had to battle language barriers and feelings of rejection for most of her life, Kikuchi was quickly accepted, even embraced, by the people she met in Ghana. She recounts one episode when she fell sick while taking a 12-hour bus ride to meet a friend: “I took a low-fare bus because I had very little money, but I began suffering from severe stomach cramps on the way. My fellow passengers, who had little money themselves, were utterly generous with their help.” They offered her medicine, food and constant encouragement, despite knowing they would never be repaid by the exchange student from Japan. “What they lacked in material affluence, they more than made up with the richness of their hearts,” Kikuchi fondly recalls. This and similar episodes convinced Kikuchi that she would repay the kindness of her former hosts. The best way to do so, she believes, is to build a school that provides impoverished Africans with a quality education for free—a goal that she acknowledges will be distant and difficult given the different cultures, regulatory environment, widespread poverty and a host of other daunting challenges. Kikuchi, however, remains unfazed. When she shared her aspirations in a recent interview for a position at Honda Motor Co., Ltd., her interviewer told her, “Then you can perhaps manage our African operations someday.” Given Kikuchi’s resolve and love for the people of Africa, the day she succeeds in achieving her dreams, both personal and for her career, may not be that far off. |
Kikuchi with her Ghanian friends |
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