MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Marines and community members prepared food with Japanese orphans ages six to 17-years-old as the scents of spiced grilled buffalo wings permeated the air in the kitchen of a foster home.
The giggling children looked on with curiosity and anxiously gave a try at cooking for the first time with the help of volunteering Marines.
Marines and community members volunteered their time to teach the children of Yahata Gakuen foster home in Hiroshima how to work together and cook American meals Feb. 21.
While the cook-off gave the Japanese children an opportunity to practice basic math skills by measuring ingredients and use the conversational English they’ve studied, it also gave them the chance at building friendships and making lasting memories with the Marines and community members that volunteered their time.
“All of the children have come from broken families and some were abused by their mother or father,” said Motoko Murakami, the director of the Yahata Gakuen foster home. “I try to give them good experiences and memories for when they grow up.”
Murakami said the children find events like the cook-off very enjoyable and while it gave them pleasant memories for the future, it also exposed them to the ways and foods of a different culture.
The Marines and community members spent the morning and part of the afternoon teaching the foster children the value of teamwork as they all cooked buffalo wings, pizza and red velvet cakes in teams.
When they finished preparing the meals and sat down to eat, the Marines and children all shared a sense of accomplishment at finishing a task together and with their own hands.
“I had fun,” said Kait Nishimura, an 11-year-old at the Yahata Gakuen foster home. “We did everything together. I’ve realized that people can work together and have fun. I’ve never experienced these feelings before.”
While the children had new feelings of joy and accomplishment during the cook-off, the volunteering Marines and community members gained memories and learned their own lessons.
“Volunteer work is something to live for and makes you feel good,” said Lance Cpl. Samantha Blount, a ground supply clerk for Marine Aircraft Ground Squadron 12. “If I make a kid happy, it makes me happy it makes me feel better and lets me know I’m doing good things.”
Blount said volunteering at foster homes and working with children inspires her to always do the right thing. Volunteer work provides her with memories for the future when she might need them, she added.
Sgt. Tchaikawsky Samuels, a Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 airspeed program analyst has volunteered his time to orphanages and foster homes for the past five years.
Samuels said he hopes that some of the volunteering Marines will be inspired to host their own visits to orphanages and take some of their own time to visit the children.
“When children are young, they’re impressionable,” said Samuels. “It’s usually memories like this that they take with them and that they will use to build their foundation and form their opinions.”
When the cook-off came to an end and everyone ate their fill, the volunteering Marines and community members loaded in their vehicles and drove away as the children lined up and waved goodbye.
“I’m very grateful to the Marines and had fun with them,” said Nishimura. “I hope the Marines will keep the new friendship with us going.”