Exhibition: Schools of Dreams Pictured by Children of Africa and Japan

Key Passages from the Speech by Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori

July 1, 2005

Do you know why so many children in Africa are dying? Do you know why more pregnant women die in Africa than other countries? One reason is that wars occur frequently among African countries. There are 53 countries in Africa. Each country wants to be peaceful and prosperous. But in many places, conflicts arise because people are not satisfied with their lives. Another reason is that hospitals and doctors are not as accessible as in countries like Japan. As adults would say, there exists poverty and conflict, and things such as healthcare, sanitation and welfare are extremely scarce. Nutrition is not sufficient for the children. They become weak because they have nothing to eat. All the while wars continue, and soldiers place land mines in the ground. Very often, children will step on such landmines by mistake and lose a leg from its explosion.

The ambassadors and ministers from Africa who have joined us today are worried about this, too. People around the world are trying hard to make Africa a better region. One of the organizations making such efforts is the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). From what I have just heard, people contribute 1,000 yen or 2,000 yen each to UNICEF, and UNICEF uses about half of all the money collected from all over the world for the countries in Africa. I hope that all of you develop a deeper understanding of Africa so that when you grow up you will cooperate with countries in the world to come up with ways that make everyone in the world happy.

When I was the Prime Minister of Japan, I visited a refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya. Everyone living there had escaped from the war to the camp, fleeing tens and hundreds of kilometers away from where their parents live. Fathers were killed in the war, and mothers had to run across forests and deserts with their children on their back before finally arriving at the refugee camp. There are tens of thousands of people like that in Africa. I could not help but cry when I was at the camp. I thought, "Why do they, who live in the same world as we do, have to suffer so much?" But the children there came up to me, and with sparkles in their eyes told me that they wanted to go to school. These children do not have anything. They sprinkled water onto the sand to flatten it out, sat there and drew pictures and wrote words on the sand. With stars in their eyes they sang songs for us in a loud voice, and even showed us their dance. When I asked them, "What do you want the most?", they answered that they each wanted a pencil and a notebook. Their school does not even have pencils and notebooks. That is why they sprinkle water on the ground to stiffen it so that they can draw on it. That is how they study.

Looking at the pictures drawn by African and Japanese children today, I realized that the pictures drawn by the Japanese children are dreams that stem from attending well-equipped schools. Flying schools, schools underwater, studying with robots and so forth are all dreams that explore the further possibilities of the schools you all attend. However the pictures drawn by the children from Africa reflect their hopes -- desks, pencils and schools surrounded with flowers if possible. To Japanese children these all seem too ordinary, but to the children of Africa they are dreams. When I saw this I realized that there is so much of a difference among children who live in different environments.

Of course, each of the dreams is wonderful and big. We adults must also work hard to make these dreams come true. It is my sincere hope that from today and onwards you will become friends with the African children and think about helping Africa. When you grow up and want to travel overseas, I would be happy if you would think, "I should go to Africa that has 53 countries and learn more about Africa." I would be delighted if you share these thoughts.