Chie Fuji, Part 1

seeing international efforts as an extension of the local community

Café Paco deals in fair trade goods. The office for Peace Builders is located on the same floor. (Chie Fuji is at right. The photo was taken in September 2007.) Chie Fuji Born in 1969, Ms. Fuji lived in West Germany from the second grade of elementary school to the third year of junior high school. After returning to Japan, she had difficulty adjusting to a Japanese high school and she suffered bullying and felt reluctant to attend school. After studying chemistry in college, she began working at a finance company. Later she changed jobs and joined an NGO called the Association for Aid and Relief. Her marriage brought her to Hiroshima and she pursued a graduate degree in international studies at Hiroshima City University. After giving birth to her son, she founded Peace Builders and now serves as its director. She lives with her husband and son.

I run a nonprofit organization called Peace Builders. Peace Builders is involved in activities designed to help build peace in post-conflict areas. In order to build a stable and peaceful society, discussing hopes and dreams is not enough; strategic thinking and action are also needed.

We support people making efforts to build peace in war-torn societies through our activities of gathering and providing information, engaging in research and study, nurturing the development of human resources, and practicing fair trade. We also organize events so that ordinary citizens can learn about the conditions in these areas of conflict. At our fair trade café, I meet a wide variety of people.

In our emphasis on the development of human resources, we work with both people from countries experiencing conflict and Japanese who want to engage in peace building under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Due to the diversity of our activities, our staff has the opportunity to explore various fields. It's very gratifying to see young staff members grow through their work.

The inspiration for Peace Builders was the birth of my son. I felt concerned about his future. I suppose, for many people, efforts involving international cooperation and support are very different from such things as supporting children and the elderly in local areas, revitalizing cities, and tending to the environment. However, for me, those activities are an extension of the same idea.

When I asked myself if my son would be able to live out a peaceful and prosperous life, considering such factors as the food supply, population, and the environment, I had to conclude "no." And I thought: "I have to do something. I can't just let the situation remain like this."

Forming a group for childcare or providing support for agriculture would have been fine. But I was over 30 at the time so I thought it might be better to contribute to society by making use of my experience rather than pursuing an activity I wasn't so familiar with. And so I decided to establish Peace Builders.

When people hear I'm involved in efforts for international cooperation and that I provide support to post-conflict countries, they often say such things as "That's great" or "I really respect you" or "I couldn't do that." But for me, activities in both war-torn countries and local communities belong to the same sphere of life. In each case, they seek to deal with issues, from their own vantage point, that can't be separated since we now live in a global society.

This doesn't only apply to volunteer activities and social activities. People who play their role appropriately in economic activities are also doing positive things for the future.

Because my NGO work often takes me abroad to developing countries, my world has broadened since becoming a mother. In most developing countries, though, women's lives are considered fulfilled when they have children. Young women in such countries are unable to do what women with children in other nations can pursue easily.

Making trips to Bosnia, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda with my son has enabled me to see new worlds and has enlarged my perspective. In providing support to the local people, we witness the impact on their faces and this makes our efforts very satisfying. I feel I can give hope to people while I myself am growing and developing as a person. This work brings me a lot of joy.