Actress Takeshita stresses importance of food aid for kids

December 21, 2017

Tokyo- Japanese actress Keiko Takeshita, who serves as goodwill ambassador of the Japan Association for the World Food Program, has stressed the importance of food support for the sound growth of children in need.

"I hope as many children as possible grow up healthy," Takeshita said in a recent interview with Jiji Press, observing that securing meals for children comes first in work to make education available more widely.

Since 2005, Takeshita has been involved in activities of the nonprofit organization that is the U.N. World Food Program's Japanese official partner.

As goodwill ambassador, Takeshita visited Senegal when it was struck by drought, the Philippines after a typhoon and Sri Lanka in the reconstruction process after a civil war.

In October this year, Takeshita visited refugee camps in Sudan, where many have fled war-torn South Sudan.

Her trigger to join WFP activities was a memory in her elementary school days.

Skimmed milk served with school lunches was "not good and I wondered why I had to drink that," Takeshita said. "After growing up, I found that it was part of U.N. relief supplies."

The experience made her want to "give something back."

In Sri Lanka, Takeshita met a boy who grew up on WFP support to provide school lunches.

"When I heard him say that he wants to become a doctor in the future to make life more comfortable for his parents, I felt this was what I wanted to realize through assistance," she said with tears in her eyes.

The first step of education support is to ensure that children go to school every day and get school lunches, Takeshita said.

Meanwhile, she faced difficulties in her support activities as well.

Sudan, which is accepting refugees from South Sudan, is poor itself and does not have enough food for its own people.

Relief goods, including food supplies, from the United Nations are reserved for refugees. Takeshita had mixed feelings seeing local people unable to get UN support.

Takeshita said she is "uneasy" about someone like US President Donald Trump, who appears to make light of international cooperation under the "America First" strategy.

When Takeshita visited London just after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, she saw an advertisement calling for support for children in Japan.

"Support is not only from developed to developing countries," Takeshita thought when she saw the ad, recognizing anew the importance of multinational cooperation.

Recognition is the key to expanding support, Takeshita stressed.

"I will continue working as hard as I can to let it known more widely that there are people who feel happy that they have a meal today," she said. Jiji Press