Satoshi Brojan
ifcayouth2020-10-30T06:24:46+00:00 I was born to a Japanese father and a foreign mother in Japan.
However, since my father already had his family, I was not recognized as a legitimate child, as if I did not exist on the Japanese family registry system. No one noticed that I was suffering from life-threatening daily abuse from my stepfather. I was protected after my schoolteacher discovered burns on my body, and thereafter, lived in an institution until the age of 19.
When I was 14, my most beloved mother passed away and I thought about my life a lot.I encountered a photograph named “The Vulture and the Little Girl,” which drastically changed the way I think about humanity. Just like this photograph that changed my life, I wanted my life experiences to influence someone else’s life. That is the reason why I began my career as an advocate for foster youth.
I realized that what I am concerned and troubled about are connected to the problems of society as a whole, and felt that it would be necessary to work to ensure that children who are currently going through difficult life circumstances are provided with a great deal of support.
Instead of dealing with problems around us as “someone else’s trouble”, we should tackle them as “our own concerns”, so that many people would stand up holding each other’s hands to break the vicious cycle.
I am working to create a society that brings hope to all children and to change the outlook of these children’s future.
