May and June were filled with meaningful opportunities for Mirai no Mori Graduates to reflect on their trajectories, step out of their comfort zones, and express their experiences in their own words to our community of supporters. 

The first of these opportunities was the Awareness Talk at Morgan Stanley, held for the sixth time and representing their long-time support of our mission. This year, one of our active graduates (now in his third year of working full-time) used this platform to reflect and share about his journey from an LIT to an independent adult, alongside a staff member who worked directly with him at a Care Home. Amidst his personal growth, long-time partners like Morgan Stanley became familiar, trusted faces and diverse adult role models.

“Because I have interacted with Morgan Stanley for a long time, learning so much and experiencing so many opportunities to grow, I wanted to make this panel a place where I could truly report on that growth.” Graduate

“More than anything, I wanted to express my deepest gratitude to Morgan Stanley for taking a genuine interest in care home children, engaging with us directly, and continuously watching over our development. Knowing that there are people in society who don’t just know about us abstractly, but intentionally make an effort to understand and support us, serves as an incredible emotional anchor, not just for the children, but for the social welfare professionals working in institutional care as well.” Mirai no Mori Staff

An open conversation was held with the theme of “Confidence and Challenge,” exploring how Mirai no Mori provides a safe space to challenge oneself at new things and safely navigate setbacks. The former care worker recalled watching this transformation happen in real-time, noting that participating in Mirai no Mori gave him a chance to discover himself and build up an “immunity” to setbacks. She shared that experiencing his very first leadership challenges and minor failures within the supportive safety net of Mirai no Mori protected him; failing for the first time in the outside world after leaving the care home would have been incredibly overwhelming.

May was also a month to reencounter the Knights in White Lycra (KIWL), huge supporters of our mission and an example of generous adults that become an inspiration to all of us at Mirai no Mori. While the dedicated riders were conquering massive elevations and burning energy during the 500km charity ride, four of our program graduates were conquering a mountain of their own: preparing full English speeches from scratch to deliver at the finish line celebration.

For months leading up to the event, the graduates managed their own logistics, coordinated schedules, and battled nerves during rehearsals. But in the end, all successfully delivered their speeches before the crowd of international riders and support crew at the Holiday Inn & Suites Osaka, who cheered on as they shared their achievements and gratitude. After successfully stepping up to the microphone, the graduates felt relief and proud feelings of accomplishment:

“I am so glad that I was able to successfully finish my speech entirely in English! This experience has made me want to keep challenging myself with future opportunities to use English moving forward.”

“During our practice sessions, I had a really hard time speaking smoothly because I kept relying on the script. But when the actual moment came on stage, I was able to deliver it confidently without looking at my script at all, which felt amazing.”

Back in Tokyo, our graduates continued to showcase their unique paths and directly contribute to the evolution of Mirai no Mori. One highlight involved a graduate who is currently building her career in the film industry, who was invited alongside Mirai no Mori to host a special screening of her own film at the corporate office of IHG Hotels & Resorts. Seeing a graduate transition into a creator sharing her art with sponsors was another proud moment for our community.

Finally, to close out this impactful period, five graduates joined our staff at the Mirai no Mori office for an afternoon session dedicated entirely to providing valuable feedback on our programs from their unique perspectives as former participants. Having them look at our programs through the lens of their own lived experiences is invaluable.

We are immensely grateful for the support we receive from our dedicated partners and sponsors, whose impacts can be seen in the continuous relationship and trust established with our community, in the resilience of graduates who can face a crowd, speak a second language, share their achievements, and step forward into society with confidence.