From July 21 to 28, 2023, in collaboration with Lizapro Co., Ltd., we conducted a program with elementary to high school students, where they learned about marketing and sales, international development, and specific forms of support through the sale of coffee and tea from Malawi. The main activities were as follows:

Elementary School Students

-Learned online about the location, culture, and importance of school meals in Malawi.
-Compared the value of a 15-yen school meal donation in Malawi with what 15 yen can buy in Japan.
-Studied the coffee-growing regions in Malawi and imagined the lives of the producers.
-Created labels for products that contribute to supporting children and producers in Malawi.

High School Students

-Considered the international situation in Malawi and how they can support from Japan.
-Explored the market value and added value of Malawi coffee to communicate to customers.
-Divided into groups to create blogs or sell directly at a store, developing sales strategies and experiencing actual sales at a booth in Tokyo.
-Reflected on their sales experiences to develop blog and social media strategies for digital marketing.

For the elementary school students, this served as a summer research project, where they didn’t just participate in volunteer work but met people involved in support activities and became part of those efforts. This led to tangible support, resulting in the sale of coffee equivalent to approximately 2,400 school meals in Malawi.

For the high school students, their more advanced sales strategies allowed them to communicate the appeal of their program, the importance of supporting children in Malawi, and the deliciousness of the coffee to many people. This effort translated into support equivalent to about 93,000 school meals.

The high school participants were particularly interested in economics, marketing, business management, and international support, with some also interested in school meal support. The program brought together people with diverse interests, including welfare and liberal arts.

After the program, participants were awarded completion certificates to help them use this experience for motivation in future endeavors, including their university studies. We at Seibo are honored to contribute not only to supporting the education of children in Malawi but also to the education of children in Japan.

Thank you to Lizapro Co., Ltd. for this valuable opportunity!