Impact

“Kaizen” is a Japanese term for continuous improvement through many small steps directed towards one goal. This is the philosophy being applied in the Mentorship and Apprenticeship Programs by addressing one child at a time.

Imagine a youth who is growing up in a single parent family. He or she is intelligent and gets bored easily at school. There isn’t very much attention to go around, as the parent who is present is usually just trying to make ends meet. Now this child is pointed towards being convinced that the best way to get attention is by acting out and getting other kids to do the same. When the child’s teacher reaches out to the parent, there is always the desire to help, but the resources are simply not available. Getting in trouble at school on regular basis sets a dangerous pattern, and the child slowly becomes a statistic. It is very easy to see how this path feeds the vicious cycle.

Now imagine this child meeting Mr. CJ in 1st or 2nd grade. CJ exudes confidence, calm, power and kindness, which children feel instantly. When CJ lowers himself to the child’s eye level and tells them that he has come to help them become a black belt ninja instructor, the child is completely on-board. In fact, all children subcounsciously are always looking for a role-model to follow. With luck and a little bit of your help, it can be an instructor like CJ, who dreams of building the virtuous cycle turning an at risk student into a black belt role-model for future generations.