Coffee with Sensei

Revitalizes

Newspaper Nippak 24/11/2019

Around 25 people, including parents and young people from Hayabusa-Kai (Youth Department) of the Niten Institute, were on November 24 at the Associação Comunitária Pequeno Príncipe, in the neighbourhood of Parelheiros (south zone of São Paulo), to feel what is “compassion in practice”. “Within Niten, various activities are developed that are not limited to training with the sword. We also learned integration and cultural activities that bring values and virtues from the samurai, compassion is one of them ”, explains Akio Assakawa, president of Hayabusa, a group created about 7 years ago and which currently has about 20 members only in the Units of the capital of São Paulo.

“These actions are also a way of making young people not just complain, but that it is necessary to act for changes to happen,” says Yoshimitsu Kishikawa, eldest son of sensei Jorge Kishikawa, founder of Niten Institute.

Located on a site on the outskirts of São Paulo, about 30 kilometres from the centre of the capital, the Pequeno Príncipe Community Association was born with the aim of serving the needy children of the Jardim dos Álamos community.

Bushido - "In addition to being in an extremely dangerous place, the association`s facilities are in need of renovations and that`s why we decided to help by doing a joint effort to revitalize the space", says Yoshimitsu, explaining that the group stayed at the place from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm and during this period repair and cleaning services were carried out.

“It was good to renew the energies of the group and to reflect. It is a skill that, in addition to practising compassion, makes Hayabusa members grow and become better people ”, says Akio, anticipating that the group is already planning to return to the site, this time to take Bushido to the approximately 100 children assisted by the NGO.