In early January 2023 we collaborated with the students of Morioka 1st High School in Iwate Prefecture to run a charity coffee event at the Tokugawa department store. This unique event was the brainchild of the ‘Rafiki’ student group who made contact with Seibo Japan via Instagram.
About ‘Rafiki’
The word ‘Rafiki’ has its origins in Swahili and means ‘friend’. The purpose of the group is to promote friendship with African nations and to build friendships. Seibo also promote Malawi in Japan by means of our charity coffee subscription service and were delighted to work with our new student partners in Northern Japan. To find out more about ‘Rafiki’ activities, visit their Instagram page here!
Event Summary
Although the students were quiet nervous to begin with, more & more they grew in confidence over the two days the coffee sale took place. By the end of the second day the 4 students who participated directly were able to confidently explain the product line-up. As the event had to be set-up prior to the department store officially opening it was quite a novel experience for us at Seibo also. In the end, coffee sales provided approximately 4,300 school meals for children in Malawi- a great result!
A lot of the customers came our way intrigued by the fact that there were high school students selling coffee from a country called Malawi. This unique combination led to many sales on the day and hopefully helped bring a lot more Japanese people closer to another African nation.
Support for Exploratory Education
In Morioka city the ‘Morioka Base Station’ facility supports innovative study projects led by high school and university students. The ‘Morioka Base Station’ support was also critical in enabling the event to happen. At the end of the 2-day event the high school students shared their knowledge of Malawi with staff and thanked them for their support. More information on the fine work carried out by ‘Morioka Base Station’ can be seen here!
To all our friends and supporters in Morioka we once again say thank you. We are both humbled and grateful for allowing us to share these two days together. Let’s meet again!
