Efforts toward achieving the MDGs

President Yasumi Kudo and NYK Group staff members participating in a picture book workshop

Cambodian girl with Miki's First Errand, a picture book published by Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers

Since fiscal year 2004, NYK Group has offered free transport to assist the “Books for Children Campaign” in delivering picture books to children in Southeast Asia. The campaign is organized by the Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA), a non-government organization (NGO) that provides cultural and educational support activities for children in Asia.

The SVA has participated in volunteer activities since 1999 by attaching translations in local languages to picture books written in Japanese. There are not enough schools, teachers, or textbooks in Cambodia and Laos due to national conflicts and poverty, and few local children's book authors. Picture books that are distributed by the SVA, are delivered to libraries in needy areas and used in classrooms to improve literacy and emotional education.

In its support for “Books for Children,” NYK recruits volunteers among its staff members, who then respectfully attach translation stickers by hand, one by one, as an expression of their heartfelt concern for the children who will benefit. The spirit behind their effort is: “Let us complete the picture books with our own hands and deliver them by ourselves!” On the last page of each book, NYK volunteers write their names in Japanese and in the local language.

These internally completed picture books are combined with others at the SVA office and transported free of charge to Cambodia, Laos, and Camp of refugees from Myanmar in Thailand on an NYK Group-operated container vessel.

Since 2004, NYK has shipped 143,383 books, including 1,102 that were hand-prepared by NYK Group staff members.

• Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) (http://sva.or.jp/...)