about AYA
Our organization AYA provides those children who are battling illnesses with opportunities to expand their worldview by introducing or exposing them to sports, arts and culture.
Sports, arts, and culture have the power to change our values and ways of life.
Children have a try at what they want to do without giving it up because of their illnesses, and feel positive through new experiences. Their family members and supporters around them, seeing them take on a challenge and smile with positive feelings, become happy as well. We envision a society where such a “circle of happiness” gradually spreads out.
We hope the children make their illness a chance, so their lives become more colorful and filled with passion and courage to take on the next challenge.
Our work
AYA strives to provide those children battling illnesses with opportunities to experience sports, arts and culture.
We offer a wide range of opportunities that children would feel like trying, such as playing sports with athletes, creating art pieces with artists, or feeling the culture of Japan or overseas in their bones.
The place of their challenge could be anywhere.
For instance, they can interact with athletes at the hospitals they stay, join a live music event online while on home care, or go and watch Japanese traditional performing arts when they are in remission. As such, there are a lot of things they can experience.
Let’s take a step forward into the new world together.
We support the children battling illnesses under different circumstances, and our activities are classified in 3 categories: namely sports, arts and culture.
Examples of circumstances that we support
- Being hospitalized for a long-term care
- Being on drug holidays for their chemotherapy, and temporarily at home
- Being on home care because of stable disease conditions
We will provide support depending on the children’s circumstances. Please do not hesitate to contact us first.
Our sports-related support
We provide opportunities for children to take on a challenge in a wide range of areas including baseball, football, basketball, tennis and e-sports.
- Dancing with cheerleaders
- Joining a sport team for a short while
- Cheering for a team remotely
- [Example of our support in the past]
- Interacting with athletes at the hospital where children stay
Our arts-related support
We provide opportunities for children to take on a challenge in a wide range of areas including music, painting, sculpture, theater, movie, and dance.
- Playing music with pianists
- Learning from a professional painter how to draw
- Taking a look at the backstage at the theater
- Experiencing Japanese classical dance
- [Example of our support in the past]
- Seeing a movie in a cinema during their sleepover
Our culture-related support
We provide opportunities for children to take on a challenge in a wide range of areas concerning not only Japanese culture but also overseas culture.
- Trying calligraphy with professional calligraphers
- Trying martial arts such as karate and aikido
- Making Japanese buckwheat noodles and eat them
- Interacting with children overseas
- [Example of our support in the past]
- Virtually visiting an elephant orphanage in Africa while at home
Contact
If you would like to know more about Aya's work,
or would like to make a donation,
please contact us below:
If you want to donate as a corporation, please click here