IWAKUNI, Japan - Station volunteers welcomed Japanese locals from the Garden of Light Children’s Home aboard station for an afternoon of food and fun at the WaterWorks Pool here Sept. 1, 2012.

The station chapel sponsored the event for the Japanese visitors.
“I decided to volunteer for this event because I just really like helping people out,” said Joshua Ellis, station volunteer. “I figured this would be a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, especially considering that these are kids who may not have someone in their life who they can have a close bond with. It makes me feel good knowing that at least for one day I can be like a big brother to a child who may not have someone to look up to in their life.”

While other entities aboard station already have children’s homes they are devoted to, the goal for this event was to incorporate those Japanese children who are not afforded the opportunity to participate in other station events.

With the ratio of children to volunteers for this occasion, every child was constantly accompanied by at least one volunteer.
“Sponsoring this event is a good thing to do because these orphans really want to socialize with other people,” said Fulgencio L. Legaspi, station volunteer and Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron chaplain. “We want to share our happiness and help the kids to
be happy. If these children are happy then we are happy too.”
While any organization aboard station could sponsor a children’s home, it takes a special desire to put enough effort into properly supporting local Japanese who have lost family.
“I’m a very religious person and I believe that it’s God who is putting me in the right position and helping me contact the right people and
then he provides everything I need, the food, the volunteers, the weather. I’m just a finger in his hand and he’s moving me around as he
needs me,” said Dominguez.