Please help........
There was an eleven year old girl who showed up in our SNN office asking for help. Her name is Nanami and she came from Surigao in Mindanao brought by a concerned neighbor. They heard about the noble service of SNN (SHIN-NIKKEIJIN NETWORK ASSOCIATION, CEBU INC) extends to Japino like her.

Nanami has a Filipino mother and a Japanese father. She has two other siblings, namely Mika and Miku, eight and five years old respectively.

Before, her parents own a diving shop for a living in Mactan, Cebu. For the first five years their business went well that gave them enough for a living.

However, on the sixth year, business was slowing down that finally came up to a decision of closing its operation. Her parents divorced and her father went back to Japan.

Three years later, they lost communication with their father. He stopped sending financial assistance and her mother raised them alone having a hard time earning for their needs.

Later on, her mother found a new British husband who became a good provider to them. Despite that the children were not his own, he treated them as his own family. Her mother went to England ahead of them, then the children followed accompanied by their Aunt and started to live a new happy family life.

Unfortunately, after sometime, her mother was diagnosed of a malignant breast cancer (4th stage). There was no chance that operation can cure such dreaded disease so her mother was laid to bed. The problem did not stop there. She was also found out to be pregnant at the same time but has miraculously survived to deliver the child by ceasarian.

After giving birth, her mother feared that she may not live any longer. She requested her husband to contact her former Japanese husband about their three children.

Her British husband found the means to contact her ex-husband. After days of waiting her former Japanese husband gave her a call and they were able to talk. She asked him to look after their children when she is gone. True enough, in less than five hours later she passed away.

Nanami at that time cannot understand yet very well. All she knew was that her Papa accepted her mother's request that he would take care of them.

Merely a child that she was, at her age of eleven years old, she was strong and clever. She and her 2 other siblings were sent back from London to Manila by their British stepfather together with their mother's lifeless body.

This time, her British stepfather said that he cannot go with them back to the Philippines because he has office to attend and work to do. He told Nanami not to be afraid because everything has been arranged with the airline and all travel expenses were already paid. The three of them arrived in Surigao together with their mother's cadaver.

Helpless as she think they are, she called her Papa in Japan in search for comfort. She told him that they have just arrived from England and brought with them their dead Mama. She told him that she has nothing no money and no one to take care of them.

But her Papa replied that he was already married to another Japanese wife and that he has no enough money to support them here in the Philippines. He said that she and her sisters cannot expect anything from him fearing that his new wife will get mad at him. he told her not to call him anymore and that they have to live all by themselves for now.

After that call, her Papa sent them \10,000 yen and heard no more of their father again....]

In this case, I want to believe that this Japanese father seemed to forgetr his responsibility as a father to his three lovely daughters. He almost threw his daughters out of his life which is really unbecoming of a responsible father.

I would even say that the British stepfather has a better disposition of taking good care of his stepdaughters even if they were not his own and a kind heart for at least sending his stepdaughters safely back to the Philippines compared to the real father who does not really care for his children.

I gave my word to Nanami that I will surely help in finding her father's whereabouts. I asked her to write a letter to her Papa and so she did. She wrote in Tagalog dialect because his father cannot understand English, only Japanese and simple Tagalog.

Her letter goes likje this;

Papa, how are you? My sisters and I arrived from England and we brought with us Mama's dead body in Surigao. We have no money and we cannot afford a descent meal everyday. Lola can only provide as much but now that she is old, her health is getting worst. One of our Aunt's is trying to help us by sending me to school but my two sisters only have to stay home because her money is not enough to send us all. I pity my sisters but there is nothing I can do. I don't want us to be separated and we want to be together no matter what.
Papa, please help us. I want to see you the soonest possible time.

Nanami's letter touched my heart with so much pity for her and her two sisters. And so I asked her what assistance would she like us to give her from SNN. She answered , she wanted to work in Japan to support her old Lola and her two little sisters. She can be a baby sitter.

I was amused by her answer. I know that she cannot work yet in Japan, not until she reaches 18 years
old.

With comforting words, I told her; Don't worry, we, in SNN will help you in whatever way we can to prepare you for a better future.

On the other hand, I am calling the attention of all Japanese fathers to be responsible. Please take good care of your children. Bringing them up and leading them to the right path will make these children our chances for a better and brighter world for all mankind in the future.
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."