Our Mission
We aim to create environments where children and young people facing difficult circumstances, both in Japan and abroad, can live with safety, dignity, and the freedom to choose their own futures.
We seek to create safe and supportive environments where children and young people, in Japan and around the world, who face difficult circumstances can live with hope and choose their own futures.
Message from the Representative
Specified Nonprofit Corporation
Bamboo Periphery Overseas Volunteers, Inc.
Representative Han
Our activities start with people meeting, thinking together, and walking together, transcending the relationship of "supporter and recipient". In the border region between Thailand and Myanmar, as well as in other parts of the world, there are many children and young people who are in difficult situations, caught between societies and systems. In confronting these realities, we have placed importance not on one-way support but on working together with the local people to build a foundation for them to live in peace and to envision their future.
Many volunteers and supporters have been working closely with the local people, transcending cultural and language differences, and building relationships of trust with them. We feel that each of these efforts has made a definite difference. This corporation was established to carry out such activities in a continuous and stable manner. We are committed to taking small but meaningful steps toward a society in which no one is left behind, regardless of national borders or position.
We hope to continue shaping our vision of “Beyond borders, no one left behind” together with all of you.
We sincerely appreciate your warm understanding and support.
Representative Deok Han was born in Tokyo in 1976.
A teacher in charge of ethics and religion at Hakodate La Salle Junior and Senior High School, she has been in charge of the Catholic Hakodate Area Youth Exchange Association since 2016, working with the Catholic Bishopric of Sapporo to support youth education and international exchange through school education and church and community activities. and other countries, she has planned and managed educational, volunteer, and exchange projects to build ongoing relationships with children who are disadvantaged in educational opportunities in Japan and abroad. Currently, she is the Japan Representative on the LEAD Mission Committee for seven countries in the East Asia Region of the Congregation of La Salle. She has been working with people in socially, economically, and educationally constrained areas and communities in Japan and abroad to build sustainable relationships by learning and supporting each other beyond the boundaries of individuals, voluntary organizations, and religions, utilizing her experience in education and international collaboration. Bamboo Periphery Overseas Volunteers, Inc. was established to build sustainable relationships with people living in economically, socially and educationally constrained areas and communities in Japan and abroad.
Why We Founded This Organization
The origin of the establishment of this organization goes back to the experience of being in charge of volunteer activities in the Philippines organized by the Diocese of Sapporo in 2016. Since then, we have continued our educational support and exchange activities in the Philippines, and in 2019 we visited Sangkhlaburi District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. There, we were confronted with the reality that stateless children living in the Thai-Myanmar border region are placed in harsh living conditions and are not guaranteed adequate educational opportunities. This encounter made us decide to continue our educational support and exchange activities in the area.
The purpose of this organization is to support stateless and marginalized children who lack stable living conditions and adequate educational opportunities. Through volunteerism and financial support, we work to provide educational opportunities, scholarships, and a safe learning environment so that children are guaranteed the right to learn and live a life of dignity.
Although the trip was suspended from 2020 to 2022 due to the Corona disaster, we sought to continue our exchange and activities online and kept the connection alive. Since then, we have resumed volunteer activities in Japan, especially in Hokkaido, leading students from Christian high schools, bringing learning and smiles to the children and expanding opportunities for Japanese youth to experience international cooperation as "their own business".
In order to develop these efforts into sustainable activities that are open to society, and not just temporary and personal, we believe that it is essential to work as an organization with a legal personality, which is why we have decided to establish this organization.
This organization will provide ongoing support to youth in need of education, including children living in the Thai Blue Sky Home (dormitory for girls - up to high school age) and Bamboo School (stateless kindergarten students). It also aims to promote international understanding education and volunteer activities to provide Japanese youth with opportunities to learn and grow. Furthermore, we aim to become a certified non-profit organization in the future, which will bring tax benefits to donors and make it easier for more citizens to participate in our support.
From Our Experience at the Thai–Myanmar Border
Especially in the border areas between Thailand and Myanmar, children without nationality and socially vulnerable people are living with many difficulties.
Through working with local people and volunteers, we learned the importance of "walking together" rather than "supporting from the outside.
A Message from La Salle Brother in Thailand
Living Hope from the Peripheries — In Support of the Bamboo School
I firmly believe that the work you are doing is not solely the result of your personal efforts, but truly the work of God. First and foremost, I want to convey this to you.
Over the past few years, in listening to the experiences of volunteers who have visited Bamboo School, I have been deeply moved by the courage you have shown toward the poor and stateless children living along the Thailand–Myanmar border. The volunteers from Japan have been incredibly cooperative, full of enthusiasm, and have lived out their faith in the daily lives of the children at Bamboo School. They have worked tirelessly and with great dedication.
I am also sincerely grateful that these volunteers have left Japan to face new challenges abroad. I understand that you are establishing this nonprofit organization to support the poor, particularly to raise funds for Bamboo School. I fully support this endeavor.
I am confident that you and your team have the ability to carry out this project. Please move forward trusting in yourselves and in God, for this work is truly God’s work. I believe that God will surely provide and help you realize your dreams.
Of course, there will be some difficulties along the way in launching the project. Even so, I stand behind your team and your ideas. Do not wait for opportunities—create them.
You are not working alone. That is why I urge you to keep moving forward. The name I suggested, “Bamboo Peripheries Overseas Volunteers,” may not be perfect for the group, but feel free to change it if necessary.
What you have done for the poor has always made a significant difference and has helped Bamboo School continue to fulfill its mission. We can all “do small things with great love.” In particular, I am deeply grateful to the Brothers working in Japan, as well as those in Mexico and the Philippines who continue to work diligently while living abroad.
そして、皆さんのこのグループ、さらにタイのプロジェクト、とりわけバンブースクールを支え続けている日本の卒業生の皆さんにも、感謝の気持ちを伝えたいと思います。
Finally, I thank everyone here for giving me the opportunity to speak briefly today. In our Lasallian world, may you become the very change you wish to see.
Local Partner / Founding Member of the Bamboo School
Brother Joseph Klong Chaiphuak FSC
Born on March 25, 1964.
A native of Thailand. After graduating from Ram Pradu Village Public Primary School, he completed his lower secondary education at La Salle School in Chanthaburi and Bangkok, and his upper secondary education at a public high school in Bangkok.
He entered the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (La Salle Brothers) in 1982. He began his postulancy in 1984 and completed his novitiate from 1985 to 1987. He later earned a bachelor’s degree from Saengtham College (Sampran Major Seminary) from 1990 to 1994, and a master’s degree from Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University from 2001 to 2005.
As a religious brother and educator, he has served as a teacher at La Salle Bangkok School and La Salle Nakhon Sawan School. He has also been deeply involved in formation work, serving as a formation director in Nakhon Sawan and at the Formation House in Sampran, where he dedicated many years to the formation of young religious.
In addition, he has served as President of the La Salle Foundation of Thailand and as Provincial of the La Salle Brothers in Thailand for 13 years, making significant contributions to the leadership and development of the congregation and its educational mission. He also served for ten years as the school and community director in Sangkhlaburi (Bamboo School), where he worked closely with children in underserved communities. In recent years, he has served as community director in Bangkok.
Drawing on his extensive experience in education, formation, and community leadership, he has consistently lived out a La Salle educational mission by accompanying children and young people, especially those in socially vulnerable situations.