Direct Talk

This is Northern Thailand's Phrao district.

It has a population of 50,000.

There is a library here run by
a Japanese woman, Horiuchi Yoshimi.

She started the Bookworm Foundation.

Horiuchi is visually impaired, yet she began
her social work in the Thailand in 2010

by starting a library
that now has over 10,000 books.

She also started a class and a mobile library

that teaches children
to read and study in remote areas.

Our main mission is
to promote the joy of reading

to the people in rural areas of Thailand.

Horiuchi told us more about her passions
for reading and how it can change lives.

Promote the Joy of Reading

Horiuchi loads her books onto her
mobile library once or twice every week.

She doesn't wait for the children
to come to her place.

Rather, she makes her rounds to
the schools and rural areas around Phrao.

Today, they are visiting a small
elementary school with 26 students.

He still grasps his hat and cloak firmly.

The North Wind is so angry.
The traveler still holds onto his cloak.

On this day, the staff from the foundation
read a picture book of one of Aesop's fables.

The children and I were both nervous
the first few sessions.

But with time, we both gradually relaxed
and began to enjoy reading together.

Horiuchi decided to start her mobile library

after she first encountered a boy
in a village with muscular dystrophy.

She was a volunteer back then.

The boy was unable to attend school
due to his illness and had to stay at home.

It inspired her to bring books
to children like him.

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 didn't feel pity,
but I felt such a waste of resources.

Like if we had some means to, like,

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 a community leader here

or he may have turned out to be
a brilliant merchant or whatever.

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,

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 like, we are legs and feet
on behalf of the books.

Horiuchi is originally from
the island of Shikoku.

She was born visually impaired.

So, her grandparents often read her books
when she was a child.

She became fascinated with stories
and learned braille.

She also listened to audio tapes.

There is one book
that changed Horiuchi's life

called "My Path Leads to Tibet"

by Sabriye Tenberken,
a blind German woman.

She wrote about her experiences

in building the first school
for the visually impaired in Tibet.

I read this book when I was
maybe like 13 or 14.

And I was very impressed at the time.

I was still in Kochi in my hometown

and I was like, wow,
there are great people in the world.

How blind and going to places
in Tibetan mountains on horseback.

Horiuchi attended Tenberken's lecture
in Kuala Lumpur when she was a student.

She was even more inspired when
she was able to meet the author in person.

Sabriye Tenberken

Horiuchi graduated from
International Christian University in Japan.

She then became one of the first students
at Tenberken's institute, Kanthari, in India

that trains social innovators in 2009.

It was really a great year,

it laid a very strong,
firm foundation in my soul.

And because of that, I am here today.

I met so many people from Africa,
Europe, Middle East, Americas,

some people were very smart,
some people didn't get any education,

but we had so many different experiences.

So, every day was really like reading books.

And it was a very, very interactive,

very down to earth,

also very raw experience
that we were very emotional.

Many ups and downs,
tears and laughter every day.

Quite exhausting and crazy,
but very, very nice and motivating.

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,

the favor, right?

Return the, like,
show my thanks

by giving back

to the people who don't have access
or understanding about the books.

After Horiuchi finished her studies
at Tenberken's institute,

she decided to return to Thailand
where she had studied before.

She tried to start her project

but found that libraries were
already available in the capital Bangkok.

So, she searched for locations
with less resources.

In 2010, Horiuchi was introduced to Phrao
through one of her friends.

I saw that there's no bookshops here.

There was one library
without any books for children.

There are a lot of people with disabilities
who are homebound,

and I thought there is no reason for me
not to do it here.

In 2012, Horiuchi first renovated a store and
turned it into a library through donations.

It was the start of her social work project.

The first children's library in town,
caught the attention of the media.

Horiuchi's activities were featured on
television and in magazines.

She also started giving lectures
at international schools.

The exposure led to more donations,
not only from Thailand, but also from Japan.

I saw Yoshimi on a TV program.

I was amazed by the efforts of
this Japanese woman in Thailand.

So, I offered myself to help in any way I can.

Horiuchi is a person of action.

The new "Rang Mai" library built in 2016, has
over 10,000 books along with space to study.

But she wanted to expand her activities.

In 2023, she planned a cycling trip fundraiser
accompanied by more than 30 participants.

They toured 800 kilometers for 11 days.

They raised a total of 200,000 baht
or roughly 5,700 U.S. dollars.

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,

interaction is like crisscrossing
within the society.

I really love and I really learn
a lot from Thai people.

The project is now in its 12th year
but so far, it has not been an easy journey

Horiuchi fluently speaks Thai and English.

Yet communicating with her staff initially

had been difficult at times
due to cultural differences.

When I felt that I didn't have a very good
open relationship with my colleagues,

it was very, very hard for me because

I'm on my own here alone, right?

Like it's the countryside.
I don't have any family members here.

I have very few friends in the Phrao district

because I can't go out on my own.

Her friend advised Horiuchi
to talk to her staff about her concerns.

The relationship improved
through more open communication.

If you feel it's too much,

it's not that you are not,

how do you say incapable,

but maybe this kind of workplace
may not be suitable for you

and not too comfortable for you.

So, I wouldn't like you to reflect on that.

Since then, it's been easier.

I have been able to empathize more
with my colleagues here,

and I think maybe it's easier
for them to understand me.

Yeah.

So, who come to the library
and our children centers' children

after that is my colleagues.

That is the biggest asset in my community
and in our foundation.

The biggest asset is
our staff and colleagues.

Yeah so, if I don't have that relationship,

and they are key for me
to connect to the community.

And yeah, if I lose it, it's like
I'm left out of the house without a key.

Another activity that Horiuchi is focusing on

is the production of "so-called"
universal design picture books.

They come with texture and braille.

The books are handmade
by volunteers in Bangkok

and can be enjoyed by children
with visual impairment.

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 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.

I often find myself nodding along
like when this is somebody nodded.

And I say, well, yes.

I also nodded.
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 do the same.

I also wonder
how sighted people can see the world.

It's so amazing. It's so amazing.

That's why it's very interesting
to interact also with people

who can't see colors
and who, I don't know,

who,

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.

Horiuchi told us what she learned

from her experiences
with her favorite phrase in braille.

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 no problems that has no solutions.

There's like, problems are
always there to be solved.

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 because,

I mean, we always, including myself,
always are looking 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
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.