DIRECT TALK(VISION VIBES)

Draft transcript

Chloe Potter / Host:

I'm Chloe Potter and this is VISION VIBES, the podcast bringing you the uplifting stories of inspiring people from all walks of life.

It's not hyperbole to say that books change lives, and today's interviewee, social entrepreneur Horiuchi Yoshimi is someone who understands this.

Her life was changed by a book that she read in her teens. It inspired her to work to bring the magic of books to children who would otherwise not have any access to the variety of worlds and experiences that books and stories bring. Children who might not reach their full potential simply because of a lack of resources.

Originally from Japan, Yoshimi was moved to set up a mobile children's library in Thailand after meeting a young boy with muscular dystrophy in the north of the country.

Horiuchi Yoshimi:

The only thing that he can do during the daytime as he waits for the other family members working outside is to watch TV. And this is not a choice, right? And I felt, I didn't feel pity, but I felt such a waste of resources. Like if we had some means to, like, um, allow him to go out and go to the schools or like be exposed to the social activities, then we may have had one like, community leader here or he may have turned out to be a brilliant merchant or whatever, no?

But because of inaccessibility and because of lack of services, we are wasting very potential human resources here.

I want to make sure that no matter what I do, I want to make outreach projects that can include everybody who deserves to get every service available in the society. Yeah, that's why I wanted to make, like, if I started a library? I would definitely have to make it like a mobile library so that everybody who can't come to the library can be reached by the library itself.

We are legs and feet on behalf of the books.

Chloe Potter / Host:

The book that changed Yoshimi's life was written by a young blind German woman Sabriye Tenberken. It tells the story of how Sabriye set up the first school for blind children in Tibet. Yoshimi, who is also blind, felt so inspired that after graduating, she enrolled in Sabriye's institute for training in India, where she learned how to put social projects into action.

Yoshimi then traveled to Thailand as an exchange student and decided that was the right place to start her work to bring books to more children.

Horiuchi Yoshimi:

So Thai people don't have a lot of access to reading. They have a very biased view towards reading. So what? Why don't I return the favor, right? We can... show my thanks by giving back to the people who don't have access or understanding about the books.

In Thailand it's like, "Oh, you help me, so maybe I help others," or "I help others, but you help me," or something like that. So, the relationship between people is not so rigid and this kind of giving and receiving and interaction, like crisscrossing within the society I really love and I really learn a lot from Thai people.

Chloe Potter / Host:

By setting up the Children's Library. Yoshimi has set off all sorts of positive ripples, helping to spark ideas, dreams and ambitions for these children, expanding what feels possible for them. Who knows what it will inspire in their futures.

Yoshimi's blindness means her experience of books and reading was different to most people around her. She explains how reading has always allowed her to try on different perspectives, to experience the world through someone else's eyes.

Horiuchi Yoshimi:

The reason why I started this project is that I grew up with like, completely sighted family, right? And my sister could see, I couldn't see, and we couldn't share any books together. I mean, usually when you have multiple children in the house, then you can share a book or when maybe you read together. But I had never had such experience with my siblings or my close friends. So, I think reading books, picture books is not just reading. It's a time that you share with the people that you love and care with each other.

That's why I think picture books for children should be universally designed.

When I really go into the books, I'm not only seeing it, but I'm also touching it. I'm feeling and smelling. And I often find myself nodding along with them, like when it says somebody, somebody nodded. And I say, yes, I'm also nodding. So, you experience the environment. And probably what I experience is completely different from a sighted reader.

Sense in wonder, right? You just wonder. I also same, same, same. I also wonder how sighted people can see the world. Well, it's so amazing. It's so amazing. That's why it's very interesting to interact like also with people who can't see colors and who I don't know, who I don't know, can't hear or something. Because the way that we perceive the world is completely different. And it's very, very fascinating also for me to learn the way sighted people see. It's very interesting. Yeah.

My words to live by are: Problems are only there to be solved. I find a lot of problems in life, in my personal life and my professional life, and sometimes, even including myself, feel like everywhere is like there is no way out. And I try to tell myself and others that there's like there's no problems, that that has no solutions. There's like, problems are always there to be solved. So, I really believe this. The solution may not look very close-by or it may be a very detour , It may be a very tough way, but there's always a solution and we just have to look carefully.

There are always chances and it's for us to go and grab it. If you want to do something really, really hard. If you set your mind on something and if you tell this to others, if you dare to tell your big dream to the other people, there's very little things that you cannot do.

This is what I want to do, and because, I mean, we always, including myself, we always look for excuses. "I'm not ready to do this because of A, B, C, B, and maybe E and F." But there is no perfect time for anybody. So, I think if you have something that really shakes your heart, really hard, then I think we should really set your mind, set our mind and then start telling you we cannot achieve anything alone. It's very, very important to share your big, stupid-looking dream to everybody. There's no time, no age to be too old to dream or too young to dream.

Chloe Potter / Host:

Sharing a dream or ambition with others can feel scary, especially if your idea is still only a tender green shoot. It can be easy for it to be trampled on by someone's reaction, but sharing your idea can also be a powerful first step to making it happen.

If we choose who we share with carefully, we can start to see our idea take more shape. It can gain strength and momentum, become real, and Yoshimi also reminds us never to be put off by detours. It is rarely a straight line to the destination, and detours are an inevitable and actually often helpful part of the journey.

That's all for this episode. If you enjoyed listening to Yoshimi, you might also like the episode with Robin Takashi Lewis, another of the many socially driven entrepreneurs in the VISION VIBES archives. You can find out more about all the VISION VIBES episodes on the NHK WORLD-JAPAN website. I'm Chloe Potter. Please join us next time to hear more from inspiring people around the world on VISION VIBES.