Foundern
Founder
熊野 賢Satoshi Kumano
Representative Director, Marowa no Mori Foundation
My Origins
When I was a child, I struggled with persistent poor health and was unable to attend school for a long period.
Watching everyone around me go to school and live their daily lives as if it were the most natural thing in the world, I felt a deep sense of being left behind by society.
“Where do I belong?”
The experience of living with that anxiety is the starting point of my activities today.
What I felt most strongly back then was that every human being needs a place where they can feel truly safe.
I believe that if there is a place where you can be yourself at your own pace, you can find the strength to move forward once again. This conviction drives everything I do today.
The Challenge of Creating a Place to Belong
In our society, many people feel a sense of “difficulty in living” for various reasons.
Children who can no longer go to school.
Those struggling with mental health challenges.
People who have lost their connection to society due to disabilities or isolation.
However, this is by no means something “special.”
Every person has times in their life when they need to stop and rest.
That is exactly why I believe we need places where people can stop and feel safe.
With this thought in mind, I began my work focused on creating places to belong and supporting social participation.
Restoring Connections with Society
Today, starting from the creation of “places to belong,” we are moving forward with activities such as:
Employment Support
Community Building
Rebuilding Social Ties
By expanding our bases across Japan, we are creating opportunities for many people to engage with society at their own pace.
From Japan to the World
This challenge is not unique to Japan. All over the world, many people feel isolated and find life difficult.
Based on the experience we have built in Japan, we aim to expand our activities to other regions, starting with Asia.
Currently, in Myanmar, we are working on a project to build a school for children with disabilities.
A Place to Belong Changes Society
We believe that a place to belong should not be a “special form of support,” but something that exists naturally within society.
A place where you can stop by with peace of mind.
A place where you can engage at your own pace.
A place where people connect with one another.
As these places spread throughout society, we move closer to a world where everyone can live as themselves.
A place where light shines in, for everyone.
In a forest, diverse living things coexist.
Though each is different, they all live together in the same place.
We want to create such a society.
A place where light shines in, for everyone.
That is the wish of Marowa no Mori.