To Make Dreams Come True - What Does It Mean to Have a Handicap?

What Does It Mean to Have a Handicap?

I want to do the job I love. But choosing the workplace I like is difficult.
I feel this shouldn’t happen.
I like the word ‘coexistence’, but sometimes it isn’t possible. Sometimes, I’m not even given the chance. I don’t like the distinction between the terms ‘able-bodied’ and ‘disabled’.

When I teach free music classes at the Onagawa showroom, I encounter many wonderful people.
For example, children from the nearby nursery school come to the showroom and joyfully interact with the instruments. They don’t so much play them as they play with them.
This connection led to being invited to a Christmas party where we held a mini-concert, creating a wonderful time with the teachers and children. I hope to create more fun events like this.

As the next step, I plan to hold music workshops at support schools in Onagawa and Ishinomaki City. Through music, I want to create more enjoyable moments. This can enhance individual self-esteem and nurture rich hearts. The power of music is immense.

I don’t want people to give up on things because of their disabilities.
This includes job choices.
However, in areas with few job opportunities, options are extremely limited.
Sound House is working on various initiatives under the theme ‘Onagawa, Town of Music’, but I want to be a bit more ambitious.
By engaging in music therapy and eurhythmics, we can contribute to students’ emotional stability, ultimately supporting their employment.

Have you heard of ‘Supported Employment Type B’?

It’s a welfare service that allows people with disabilities, who find it challenging or worrying to get a job with a general company, to undergo work training without a formal employment contract, often involving light work.
It also serves as a step toward employment.
My dream is to incorporate this system within Sound House and aim for true coexistence.

Personally, it took me time to accept the reality of my son, who suddenly fell ill and became severely disabled. I think I tried to stabilize my own mind by blaming myself for not noticing his condition earlier.
Teachers, doctors, nurses, and other moms with children having disabilities slowly helped open the frozen door of my heart. I want to be of some help to them. I want to be the kind of person who cries, laughs, and stands by someone just as they did for me.

I think of my son, who has passed away, as having had a difficult time, but I never thought of him as a pitiable child.

It was because, from the moment I started seeing my son, who was always smiling, being helped and loved by so many people, always held in someone’s arms, I realized how loved and happy he was.

To have a handicap means being a little different from everyone else. It takes time for friends to understand. That’s all there is to it. But that is the hardest part.
Among them, there are many who have different symptoms and various causes, but they want to work yet are unable to.
Every time I hear such stories, I think about what I can do. This feeling has remained unchanged since my son became disabled.
From this desire, I thought it would be wonderful if people could learn and work at Sound House, leading to employment.
I know it will take time and won’t be easy, but I want to take on the challenge.

I want to envelop the nurseries, primary schools, junior high schools, and support schools in Onagawa with the power of music.
I want to make Onagawa a town full of kindness. Every day, I think about what we can do to make this happen and take action.

To be continued

Next issue: Power of Music