Primo Japan Inc. (Head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Naoki Sawano), which operates bridal jewelry specialty stores, is supporting elementary school construction in the Philippines through the NGO Japan Foster Plan Association (Plan Japan). Rather than offering temporary support, such as funding a portion of construction costs, this is a long-term support commitment with the aim of improving and maintaining the level of learning environments.

 

Our company has named our CSR activities, which include social contribution activities, “PRIMO RING PROJECT.” Through the PRIMO RING PROJECT, we hope that our customers, clients, employees, members of the local community and anyone whom our projects touch will form a RING. It is in the hopes of expanding this RING of people sharing happiness through smiles that we are promoting various activities.

 

We are enthusiastically promoting social contribution activities in particular. Our core cross-departmental project team of 11 employees, who have each volunteered from across Japan and across departments within the company, was formed in April 2008. The team’s term of office is one year, and we recruit employees with high ambition towards social contribution activities every year, regardless of their position or location. Currently, the members of our second project team are planning and implementing various activities, whose effects and social contributions are being felt more widely little by little. This elementary school construction project in the Philippines was one of the team’s suggestions.

■Project Background

The average number of students per class in a school in the Philippines is around 55. This is very high compared with other Asian countries. Furthermore, data suggest that more than 44,000 classrooms are needed in the country as a whole. There are many schools with dilapidated classrooms, broken walls and windows, leaking roofs and ceilings and warped floors. There are also a lot of students studying in classroom made of palm tree leaves and bamboo.

 

Adding to the lack of safe facilities that are suitable for study, due to the government’s limited educational budget, especially in agricultural areas, the declining quality of courses and teacher is significant. Moreover, financial difficulties of the children’s families often causes students to drop out from school.

 

The Amaga village, in which this project is based, is one of the villages in Liloan of Sothern Leyte. Most residents make a living out of small-scale fishing and agriculture. However, this is largely subsistence fishing and farming, forcing people into poverty when income is insufficient from the small amount of produce that can be sold in the market.

 

[NGO Japan Foster Plan Association (Plan Japan)]

Plan Japan, as a member of an international NGO, promotes the growth of developing countries through a shared mission with other supporting countries around the world. Plan Japan oversees every aspect of the projects, submits progress reports to donors, prepares financial reports and protects personal information. Also, in order to expand the domestic community of supporters of developing countries’ growth, Plan Japan is joining hands with various institutions, groups, and schools. 

 

■Primo Japan Inc.’s Social Contribution Activities

December,2007	Save the Children Japan’s Vietnam mountain district kindergarten construction project
June,2008	Litter cleanup activities in local areas
October,2008	Declaring to participate in Team Minus 6%
October,2008	Registration as NPO “J. POSH”’s official supporter and supporting our employee’s medical checkup on breast cancer
February,2009	Declaring to participate in Challenge 25