Fujiyama Siblings Dedicate Themselves to Helping Honduran Orphans
Shin and Cosmo Fujiyama saw a need in this impoverished country and founded Students Helping Honduras. So far they have raised close to $500,000, founded a school, and are currently building 75 houses. All this and they are recent college grads.
Within the city limits of El Progreso, Honduras, neon colored lights from the local nightclubs and the famous yellow arches of McDonald's can sometimes mask the abject poverty of its residents. But just a few miles away in the squatter village of Siete de Abril, makeshift tin and cardboard homes and the bulging bellies of malnourished children show poverty in stark reality.
In this dilapidated community, siblings Shin, 24, and Cosmo Fujiyama, 22, have decided to make a difference. And so far they've done more than anyone could have expected.
As founders of Students Helping Honduras (SHH), the Fujiyamas have built an education center, bettered the lives of the children in the Copprome Orphanage, installed a water system, and are now building 75 much-needed homes. All this and they just recently graduated from college.
"The children at the orphanages in Honduras had very little to live off of. They were sharing toothbrushes and shoes. They were sleeping on the floor because the facilities were so overcrowded. I knew I had to do something," said Shin, a University of Mary Washington (UMW) alumni.
In the past few years Shin and Cosmo - both fluent in Japanese, Spanish, and English - have become permanent fixtures in Siete de Abril. Their accomplishments can be seen in every orphan's smiling face and in the residents' enthusiastic greetings. There's even a "Shin Fujiyama School of Hope," a name chosen by the local residents.
"Copprome Orphanage was ... where my heart was illuminated," said Cosmo, a recent graduate of the College of William and Mary. "Surrounded by 50-plus children for 24/7, for two weeks, my life was charged with an energy and desire to be the change I wanted to see for these children."
For Carmen and the Orphans
When Shin speaks about helping the people of Honduras, he often tells the story of a young girl named Carmen. He met the young girl, now 10, on his ninth trip to Siete de Abril, a refugee community whose name translates to "April 7," the date this village was formed after Hurricane Mitch hit in 1998.
Carmen lives here selling fruit to help her parents feed the family, which includes her two younger brothers. Her home is a cardboard shack and each day she wears the same blue tank top with the word "Clifford" on it. Yet, everyday her face is emblazoned with a smile.
Shin first traveled to Honduras in 2004 with the UMW group Campus Christian Community. Since than he has made a number of trips helping to build new roofs for the town's families and provide food and clothing for the orphans. But when this particular trip came to an end, Carmen's tears remained with Shin even as he headed back home to Falls Church, Virginia.
It made him even more determined to return and do more for Carmen and the people of Siete de Abril.
"[Carmen] told me she had one dream, that one day her family and all of her friends in the village would have real homes. She hugged me and started crying. That made me cry and I hugged her really tight and promised to her that I'll do whatever it takes to make that dream come true," said Shin.
So far he has kept that promise.
By the summer of 2005, Shin had returned to Siete de Abril and this time he was joined by his younger sister. Cosmo had just finished an internship at a women's rights institute in neighboring Nicaragua and decided to visit Shin in Honduras.
The squalid conditions of the refugee community had the same effect on Cosmo. Soon after that trip the siblings had come up with the idea for Students Helping Honduras.
"Shin and I knew that our work was not done after we left the country. Our promises to return and to find long-term solutions would not go unanswered," said Cosmo. "We knew at this point that the toughest battle was ahead - to find a long term, sustainable method to assist in the areas of greatest need."
Raising Money, Building Hope
Although Shin and Cosmo had determination in abundance, they needed money. They asked their fellow students for help, held bake sales and car washes, and organized two successful walkathons. SHH soon became a multi-campus effort joining together the University of Mary Washington, College of William and Mary, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Georgetown University.
Before long the non-profit had raised close to $500,000.
In the past few years, hundreds of volunteers have headed to Honduras helping to build new roofs, a school, a public bathroom, and a dormitory. Through their efforts they have helped to feed, clothe, and educate the often forgotten children of the Copprome Orphanage.
"I think they've (people of Siete de Abril) responded pretty well. Unlike big organizations like USAID [U.S. Agency for International Development] or the UN, we spend a lot of time with the people that we help and get to know them at a personal level," said Shin.
Shin and Cosmo recently graduated from college - Shin with a degree in International Affairs and an American Studies and Women's Studies degree for Cosmo. Shin has aspirations to become a pediatrician and Cosmo is headed for a career in law. But they've decided to put their education on hold for now, instead dedicating the next few years to SHH.
This most recent trip to Honduras is Shin's 12th visit, a few less for Cosmo. Although they've seen a lot of their ideas come to fruition, they feel there's still a lot more work to do.
The Fujiyamas are now working to develop an English and tutoring center at Copprome Orphanage and a village rebuilding project at Siete de Abril - not only building homes but building a community center, bringing a water purification system, and expanding their school. They will also welcome 150 student volunteers over the winter break.
"Our biggest responsibility is to provide emotional support and provide as much support and love as we can," said Cosmo.
All in the Family
On this particular morning Shin and Cosmo started their workday at 7 a.m. and by mid-morning they were meeting with the mayor of El Progreso to work on building permits for the 75 new homes they will build. Lunch was spent brainstorming with fellow non-profit groups in the area. They often head to the Copprome Orphanage in the afternoons, playing a game of soccer with the orphans or organizing field trips. Frequently their days end at 11 p.m.
Although their days are long and often tedious, with the support of their family - which includes two more siblings - they are determined to plow ahead.
"They love it. My mom, dad, brother, and cousin have all visited Honduras to see us and to see the kids," said Shin.
In the Fujiyama family, volunteering and bettering mankind seems to be a family affair. Parents Yuichiro and Aoi Fujiyama have traveled to Honduras to see first hand the difference their children are making. Last Christmas they visited the orphans of Copprome.
"If they see people who need help, they think how they can help," said Yuichiro. "Everyday they are struggling in Honduras, so nothing is easy. They are learning how to right things."
Younger brother Gaku, a student at Virginia Tech, has headed twice to Honduras to help his siblings. He is now president of the school's SHH chapter.
"I have never seen anyone that is as devoted to their own organization as much as Shin and Cosmo," said Gaku. "They have both pushed aside their ordinary lives in order to do what they are doing right now with SHH."
"We love sharing our story and getting as many people, young people in particular, to believe that we can make a difference," said Cosmo, "but that it is an active choice."
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