Have you ever heard of the Young Americans? It is a nonprofit organization that was established in the US in 1962 to educate children through musical workshops.
They also started going to various other countries to conduct outreach programs in 1993. They made their first trip to Japan in 2006. They have held lots of workshops around Japan since then, and are holding an outreach program for this summer right now.
They visit schools and communities to have workshops, where local students from grade school to high school are taught how to express themselves by singing, dancing, drawing, and reading out their own poems by more or less 50 casts of the Young Americans.
It was also held in Kobe last week. After the 3-day workshop, all of the children stood on the stage with the Young Americans for the show. My teacher, friends, husband and I were involved to help the organizer, Jibun Mirai, an NPO.
We saw how much those kids have changed during the 3-day workshop. The more time they spent with the Young Americans, the more cheerful and brighter their attitudes became.
The show was truly fantastic!!
I will never forget their faces which were full of excitement and confidence up to the end of the show. Many of them were even crying with joy.