One day, a student brought in a children’s newspaper.
“You always tell us to care, so I want to do something about this.”
The project that started with those words ended with a letter of thanks from the Mayor of Naha, Okinawa.
At GLOBAL WATERS ACADEMY we keep telling our children that the news is never someone else’s business. You exist because society exists. So think about what is happening in the world as something of your own. That is precisely why we teach English.
The project started moving the moment the adults took seriously a student’s wish to do something, after she brought in a newspaper reporting the fire at Shurijo Castle.
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It started with “I want to do something”
First, the children researched online how fundraising actually works. We do not hand them the answer: they look it up, think it through, and decide. Skipping that step is not an option for us.
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Their answer: bake cookies and sell them
The children decided to bake and sell cookies. They designed the packaging themselves, found a bakery willing to produce them, and set their own target: 500 bags.
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From the school to the neighbourhood, and beyond
They started by selling at the school. Then neighbours began offering to stock the cookies, and the number of shops slowly grew. The children watched the circle widen in front of them.
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Then came the pandemic
Then COVID-19 arrived. There was nowhere left to sell, a great many bags went unsold, and the best-before date was approaching.
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Turning to crowdfunding
The children decided to try crowdfunding. Albert, one of our teachers, found a platform with low fees. “We have cookies left over. Please help us.” That message went out in the children’s own words.
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Shops in Okinawa stepped in
As they kept spreading the word, an acquaintance in Okinawa helped them approach local shops. “If children in Osaka are going this far for us…” Shops that had never heard of them took the cookies in, and every bag sold.
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A letter of thanks from the City of Naha
The Mayor of Naha heard about the effort and a presentation ceremony was held. The children saw with their own eyes what they had set in motion.
Even one child. If the adults truly listen to that one child’s words and truly act, it can reach this far.
Karen Julia Waters, Founder
That is the education this school exists to provide.
Acquiring English on its own means little. Looking outward, engaging with real issues by choice, and being able to discuss them in English with people anywhere in the world — all of that together is what we mean by English education.
