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On Wednesday, June 17, youth participating in the For the Strength of Youth Program (FSY) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Okinawa came together for a meaningful service project. They assembled and packaged 441 hygiene kits for donation to the American Red Cross. The materials needed for the kits were supplied by the Church Humanitarian Department and will be used throughout Asia by the American Red Cross to meet the needs of military families.
A Connection That Started It All
The project grew out of a personal connection. Samantha Hand is both a member of the Church’s Futenma Military Branch and is the Chapter Program Director for the American Red Cross. She shared the humanitarian needs she witnessed in her Red Cross work with President Francis of the Church’s Okinawa Military District. Together they explored how the Church might address some of those needs. That resulting decision to provide hygiene kits made its way to the Church's Welfare and Self-Reliance Services, and the project took shape from there.
The U.S. military base in Okinawa provides advanced emergency medical care for U.S. servicemen and their families across the Asia-Pacific region. Patients needing emergency treatment are transported with supporting family members by cargo aircraft from across the region, including Japan, Korea, Guam, Singapore, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, and Australia. The emergency nature of the situation means that the transported people often arrive with no personal belongings — no change of clothes, no basic hygiene items. The American Red Cross has long been instrumental in meeting those needs. The donation of the hygiene kits will help the Red Cross continue this work.
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Youth Putting Faith into Action
At the presentation ceremony, Elder Michael John U. Teh of the Church’s Asia North Area Presidency attended on behalf of FSY and presented the donated supplies to Samantha Hand, acting in her role as the Program Director of the Okinawa chapter of the American Red Cross.
A First in Japan
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the American Red Cross share a long-standing global humanitarian partnership. This project is, however, a historic milestone in that long-lasting association — it is the first joint humanitarian effort between the two organizations in Japan.
What began with one member's desire to serve and grow through the faith and service of hundreds of young people stands as a testament to what is possible when people come together in a spirit of compassion and love.