Miritary Charity Live, vol. 22 was held on Saturday November 17^th at the Kankoukyo Harmony Hall.

This charity presentation was planned and organized by Miri Sugihara, who has visited the Second Harvest Japan office in the past. Part of the proceeds from this event, as well as donations taken on the day of the event, will all be donated to 2HJ’s activities. Thank you to everyone who hosted the event, to the audience and to all of those who gave donations!

Despite the heavy rain, fans gathered together to watch their favorite comedian, and the warmth of laughter from within beat out the cold from outside.

During the introduction lead by Ms. Sugihara, Ms. Yuki Shiina, who is best known for her commentary on horse racing, introduced Second Harvest Japan’s activities with a slideshow presentation.

Ms. Sugihara has supported and continues to support Tohoku disaster relief efforts through her work as the representative of her NPO, Miritary Airport. On top of that, she introduced and explained to the audience the continuing financial difficulties experienced by the orphanages and youth support centers that she supports. She noted that regardless of the nutrients and calories that children need to grow up healthy, due to financial problems, it is not uncommon for children to make due with a meal composed of one small tomato and a single slice of bread with some jam. As a solution, she encouraged the audience to donate to 2HJ and slip whatever money they could afford into the donation box at the reception desk.

There were people who traveled two or more hours from places as far away as Tochigi to see the performance, and the audience was made up of all ages from elementary school children to the elderly.

This was the 22^nd in the series of charity performances, and each comedian brought their own personality to the stage, and the antics of each comedian brought with them the rewarding smiles of the audience. The improvised comedy that resulted from gathering all the comedians at one time on the stage for a final photo was the highlight of the night for many audience members, as it was a performance that could only been seen that night at that particular performance.

At the end of the show, I myself got a chance to go back stage. Backstage the performers were relaxing after the show, and the ambience of the room and the personality of each comedian was totally different from the impression that you get from their time spent behind the microphone. It felt like a little after show party. Thank you very much to the comedians who let me take a picture with them.

As we were leaving, Ms. Sugihara promised that she would come and help out with 2HJ’s activities. For those who are planning on volunteering in the future, you may get a chance to volunteer with Ms. Sugihara herself! Thank you very much for a wonderful performance which helped put food in the stomachs of those in need and smiles on the faces of all participants!

 

The next Miritary Charity Performance will be held in March 2013, and when the final details have been decided, they can be found at the website below.

 

Definitely don’t miss out on the next Miritary Charity Performance! It’s sure to put a smile on your face!

NPO Miritary Airport:  www.miritary-airport.info

Miritary Charity Performance:  www.miritarylive.com