電子書籍

Walk Through the Night 60 Years of Listening, Struggling, and Supporting Children

(著) 安部利一

作品詳細

I have been working in the field of child welfare for almost sixty years, helping children with various backgrounds as a child welfare counselor and school counselor.

I did not originally aim for this job, but it was somewhat of a natural progression based on my life experiences. Looking back now, I think one of the elements that contributed to this was the poverty in my family. It instilled a rebellious spirit within me and brought about empathy towards those in similar disadvantaged economic situations.
Another element was my visual impairment since childhood. I was born with severe myopia and strabismus, and an accident when I was six years old left me blind in my left eye and with amblyopia in my right eye. As a result, I couldn't even play catch with friends, and had a difficult childhood. I was short-tempered and difficult to handle, prone to getting into fights.
I think this environment helped to develop my sensitivity towards discrimination and prejudice.

If something could be achieved through personal effort, then I believe one should make as much effort as possible. However, there are many things in the world that cannot be overcome no matter how hard someone tries. The most typical example of this is the home environment, where parents bully and physically abuse their children. Such situations cannot be resolved by the children's efforts alone, and the same applies to bullying between children.
I felt a deep repulsion towards such unjust misfortunes, and I wanted to do something about them using my own strength.

This led to my employment at a child welfare center through a chance encounter, and my long journey began. I was greatly influenced by my uncle who supported my family's life when I was a child, and my wife supported me when I became an adult. Above all, I think I have been able to come this far thanks to the encouragement, praise, and criticism from the people I have been involved with.
If I can convey how much I have grown and received warmth through my interactions with children in this book, and if someone who reads this book becomes a person who supports tomorrow's children, there is nothing that could make me happier as an author.