6th speaker Miki Fujito
"Difficulty of Fishing without a Fishhook"
Why she delivers her speech
After entering middle school, I have a dream to contribute in solving poverty problems around the world. In order to make my dream come true, I had always wanted to work in the United Nations, and provide physical support who suffer from poverty, because I was certain that physical support was the best way to help people in developing countries. I knew that material assistance like donation would also help for the developing countries, but for me, it seemed like a careless act, so I more wanted to volunteer. Then luckily this summer, I was given a great opportunity to do a medical volunteer in Tanzania. I was extremely excited to take my first step to fulfill my dream. Beside my excitement however, I faced many realities and difficulties, and one question appeared to myself; “Is physical support or volunteering, the only best way to help people in developing countries?” Through this speech, I am going to present my own answer to this question from what I had experienced in Tanzania, and how my way of fulfilling my dream has changed. I am certain that this opportunity of speaking in front of many audiences, and distinguished judges would be my first step to make my dream come true, in a new way. This is why I really want to deliver this speech in this honorable contest, Todaihai.
Script
Please close your eyes, and imagine what I say. Imagine, there’s a bunch of people who are running out of fish. They need fish, but they don’t know how to fish. You have two ways to help them: one, give them fish or materials to fish with, or two, teach them how to fish, enabling them to fish for themselves in the future. Think of the answer you think is better.
Thank you for your cooperation. Now, how many of you here today, thought that giving people fish or materials to fish with was a better solution? How many thought teaching how to fish was better? I think a lot of people here today, would answer that teaching is more valuable than giving fish or fishing materials. I was also one of the many, thinking that teaching how to fish was more worthwhile than merely giving fish and fishing materials. As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”, I thought that giving materials might solve the problem temporarily, but not in the long term. Now, let me move onto the main topic of my presentation.
I had a dream. I had a dream of working in the United Nations, because I wanted to contribute to a world without poverty issues. I had a dream of volunteering and helping people who are running out of food. To fulfill my dream, I wondered whether donating products and money, or volunteering would be the best way. But as I mentioned earlier, materials are just a temporary solution, so I chose to volunteer. And that was why I went to Tanzania as a public health volunteer this summer. I volunteered at a free medical clinic, and the main duty there, was to hand out medicine which the doctors prescribed to patients. But one day, during spare time from our work, I had an experience that changed my whole way of thinking.
That day, I had the opportunity to witness a woman’s medical examination. The examination was completely ordinary at the beginning, but a short time later, the doctor said to that torn clothed patient: “Didn’t you have an examination at a nearby hospital?” Then, she looked down as if she had committed a crime. Apparently, she had had a medical examination before this at another dispensary. In that hospital, the doctor examined her for free, and told her which prescription pills she would need, but she had to pay for the medicine by herself. Since she was raised in a poor family, she had no financial leeway to buy the medicine. Therefore, she came to our free medical clinic, which provided medicines for free. However, her condition had gotten worse, and her situation had become so serious that it was impossible to treat her only with medicine. What’s more surprising was that she wasn’t the only woman who came to our clinic in this kind of situation.
After that day in the hospital, our doctor told us: “I’m not trying to be mean to you, but your support can actually lead us into greater difficulty.” He said to us, “Even if we give out free medicines today, many other patients will be visiting the dispensary, expecting the medicines for free. But since the amount and the variety of the medicines we have are limited, even though the examinations are done, the patients will not be able to overcome their disease, because there isn’t enough medication for them.”
His words, and this experience made me realize for the first time, how important material assistance is. People who examine the disease without charge, and prescribe medicines, just like the doctor I worked with, are of course important, and indispensable. But the problem starts when we run out of medicine, just as it did in the days I worked this summer. I’ve come to realize that the doctor’s kindness in giving free examinations might be in vain without medication. Furthermore, it might actually lead to worsening medical conditions.
As I said in the beginning, I used to think that teaching how to fish was more useful in order to catch fish, but through this experience which I had never had in Japan, I learnt that even if we teach people how to fish, they can’t fish unless they have the materials to do so. For example, is it possible for people to fish without fishhooks? Probably not. If we apply this example to poverty issues, the thing that plays the role of the fishhook, is “material assistance”.
Recently, global communities are moving toward solving many international problems, not only with regards to poverty, but in reaching new global sustainable development goals. With these goals, I am certain that there are many places still lacking material assistance, just like the medical experience I faced in Tanzania. Physical support can be covered by many volunteers, and I feel that more and more people who are aspiring to contribute to international solutions are thinking that volunteering is the only important thing, because you can directly feel your own achievement. But to those, I want to say that volunteering is not actually everything. Material assistance is just as important, if not more so. The reality I faced this summer, and the doctor’s words are still unforgettable to me. I felt like he was indirectly telling me that it is my mission to tell people about the necessity of “material assistance” in order to solve international issues.
Now, I have a new dream. Of course what I want to do hasn’t changed. I want to contribute to solving poverty issues. But the “how” has changed. I will be the one establishing a new method of “material assistance” and leading everyone to know how material assistance is important, and help them to understand how they can assist by sending materials and money.
Back to what I said at the beginning of the presentation: if there’s a bunch of people who are running out of fish, how would you help them? Do you give them materials like fishhooks, or do you teach them how to fish? You know what I’m hoping for. And if there are more people who think like me, I’ve succeeded in my first tiny little duty, to make people realize that material assistance is just as important as physical supports. Thank you.