Hello, I am Moe, the representative of the mom support group RMJ. It has been one year since RMJ started on March 26th.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported us and whom we have met during this year.

In this note, I would like to share our achievements and thoughts about this year. It's a bit long, but please bear with me.

What is RMJ?

RMJ stands for Relaxing Place for All moms in Japan. It is a volunteer activity that aims to relieve the loneliness of moms, regardless of nationality or race, in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo.

The main activities are

・"Online Parenting Support Center" where you can chat with a nursery school teacher 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
・face-to-face support for foreign mothers who have difficulty speaking Japanese.

These two activities are provided completely free of charge. For more information, please see here:

We also update our activities on Twitter (in Japanese only) and Instagram, so please follow us.

Achievements of the year

I will summarize the achievements in bullet points. It's a bit long, but please bear with me as we have not been able to report on Q3 and Q4, so I will summarize them here🙏

● Online Parenting Support Center

For moms who find it difficult to go to a support center, cannot go out due to concerns about infection, or do not have anyone to talk to, they can send a LINE message anytime, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Results

• LINE subscribers: 157 (current users: 137)

• Messages received: 900

• Messages sent by the staff: 938

• Contents: Questions and concerns about parenting and relationships, chit-chat, and more.

At first, I started alone, but by having nursery school teacher volunteers participate, we were able to provide support to many people all over in Japan.

● Multinational Moms Meeting & LINE Group

To alleviate the loneliness of as many moms as possible, we are promoting communication between moms regardless of nationality.

For more information, please see here:

Results

• Moms meeting: Held once a month since September

• LINE group: A group where moms who participate in the meeting exchange messages in English and Japanese. There are 24 participants.

• Nationalities: 9 countries (Bangladesh, China, Dominican Republic, Japan, Mongolia, Philippines, Taiwan, Ukraine, Venezuela in alphabetical order.)

We decide on topics and do various things such as crafts at every meeting. Since we are connected by the LINE group, we can exchange messages even when we cannot meet in person.
Foreign mothers say they "feel a sense of belonging" and "are happy to have more friends." We also promote intergenerational interaction by having elderly people from the neighborhood association participate as volunteers.

● Support for foreign mothers

In addition to the above activities, we also provide face-to-face support for foreign mothers who have difficulty speaking Japanese. Please see our post on IG

Results

• Subsidies for temporary childcare registration

• Assistance with registration for the use of child-rearing support centers

• Accompaniment for 0-year-old infant health checkups

• Accompaniment for vaccination appointments and more.

Currently, we only accompany mothers who are already members, but we have realized that for mothers who struggle with Japanese, making appointments at Japanese hospitals and using other facilities can be a significant challenge.
This term, we worked together to translate the guidelines for using the temporary childcare service at Aoto Fukushi Nursery. Additionally, we were able to pique the interest of the public health nurses at the local health center, who have even called us when foreign mothers come for check-ups. Therefore, next year we want to strengthen our connections and focus on expanding our efforts.

We also held the seminor to learn about multiculturalism with NPO Rainbow Ribbon, which running Aoto Kodomo Shokudou. And we have done other activities, too many to mention here.

Message from RMJ representative

A year ago, I started a group called RMJ alone. As mentioned above, the number and nationality of members have increased significantly, and we have had many important encounters in this past year.

Many moms who found us on SNS joined us, and we received many requests from moms in other areas asking, "Can you do RMJ in my area?"

Our group's name states that it's for "all moms" rather than just "foreign moms."

Raising children is difficult for both foreigners and Japanese, so we don't distinguish by race or nationality.

I have received kind words from all the members and have learned many things, and at times, I feel like the one being supported even though I am supposed to be the supporter. Fortunately, we have been blessed with great members, and it has been a very enjoyable year.

Foreign moms are working hard and surviving in a foreign land where they may struggle with the language. They have various thoughts, such as wanting to do business, enjoy life in Japan, give their children a good education, or just want to get used to living in Japan.

They are friends who deserve respect rather than being just someone who needs support for me. Although we do face-to-face support, the most important thing is for everyone to enjoy childcare. I want them to be relaxed by connecting with others.

Moreover, many people who are in trouble do not contact us directly, so we pick up what they are struggling with in the chitchat during the mom's meeting.

The importance of being able to "easily speak out" through LINE or mom's meeting was reaffirmed this year.

We would like to continue to emphasize the importance of "easily consulting through LINE" and "casual conversation during mom's meetings" in the future.

Looking at my 3-year-old son, I feel that "fun" is the most important thing in life. By participating in RMJ, I hope that we can increase the "fun" factor for everyone, regardless of race or nationality.

And thank you for volunteer staffs who are looking after our children every time.

Also, even though it was our first year, we received grants and donations. Thank you very much to Coop Mirai, Nakata san, Kabukineya san, and Shita no Tsukue san. Thank you to all the facilities and shops that displayed our flyers.

This year, we will continue to receive support from Coop Mirai's grant and will continue to work as a "life and community building grant organization" for more one year. Thank you very much for selecting us for two years in a row.

Our activities do not generate profits, so everyone's support is essential. If you sympathize with RMJ's philosophy, please support us with warmth.

Now, for next year, we are talking about increasing the monthly mom's meetings, which used to be once a month. Also, since some members have multiple talents and I was told that I was not relaxing enough by some of members😂, I would like to rely on them more and make a better group.

We have received a lot of interest from many companies and organizations, so we hope to continue to work together and have fun activities in the future.

Thank you for your support again this year!

About RMJ, moms support group

We are active in Aoto, Katsushika. Supporting mothers regardless of race or nationality, particularly for those who have difficulty with the Japanese language.

We send the invitations for next event on LINE.
Please add us from the banner below or by searching ID: @584wtbik

Our activities:
1. Online consulting on LINE
You can talk for free with a childcare worker 24/7, 365 days a year.

2.In-person support
We offer friend matching and respond to questions about the Japanese language via LINE or in-person consultations for mothers who have difficulty with the Japanese language.

Please see this article for more information.

We are also accepting donations. You can choose to donate by email or through our note support.

Donation by email
Donation from 15 yen via email. Please input the amount directly.

For Amazon gift card support via email: Click here
To: relaxmomsjapan@gmail.com 　※Please change "@" to half-width.

Amazon Wish list（Certification as an Amazon official "Minna de ouen, Support Together" organization.）
https://www.amazon.co.jp/hz/wishlist/ls/IYK2H820YQ0X/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1

Inquiry

Representative：Moe Muroi
Twitter: @relaxmoms_jp
Instagram: @relaxmoms_jp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088391905743
email：relaxmomsjapan＠gmail.com 　※Please change "@" to half-width.