Twelve Years of HOPE and Friendship

Anthony Beaucamp • November 16, 2025

Hi, my name is Anthony, but everyone calls me just "Tony". I am originally from France and moved to Nagoya at the beginning of 2010 to study for a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering.

I decided to stay in Japan and had the chance to work at various universities around the country since. I am now Associate Professor at Keio University (Yokohama), where I teach optical design and fabrication.

Three people leaning over equipment in a dimly lit lab; one person peers through a device, others observe.

I was in Japan when the great Tohoku earthquake struck on March 11th 2011. Although I lived far from the worst affected area, we really did feel strong seismic waves moving the ground even in Nagoya. From the news coverage, I took the measure of the damage and suffering caused by the tsunami in subsequent days, and something started stirring deep inside of me. I wanted somehow to be able to do something for the people in the affected area. This is when I first came across HOPE Japan. They were organizing relief actions in Tohoku at the time.

After joining "HOPE Night", an event that took place monthly at "Shooters Sports Bar & Grill" in those days, I quickly befriended the core team of volunteers in Nagoya and became a regular volunteer to events such as the "annual gala". The gala is a dinner event that takes place in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kansai. Up-to 200 attendees listen to the activities of HOPE, and fund raising takes place in the form of silent auctions, bidding events, as well as traditional pledges. The team always strives to make these events highly entertaining, as well as poignant in expressing the importance of access to clean water with a "water Kampai".

There are a few things that have made me stick with HOPE through the past 12 years of volunteering.

The first one is the exemplary transparency of the organization. The yearly reports let us know exactly how the funds raised at the galas and other events are impacting the lives of people in Cambodia, Ethiopia and other countries.

The second one is the well-thought-out sequence of actions that are taken to support local families and communities in the target countries. It all starts with access to water (by providing a well), then access to a livelihood (formerly with the loaning of cows, recently through micro-credit), and finally access to education (by building schools). In my mind, these steps represent the most rational way to help people escape the spiral of poverty. The video reportage shown each year demonstrates how a little kickstart in life helps communities raise in dignity and get a firm foothold on the path towards self-improvement.

Finally, the third reason for sticking with HOPE has been the great people who make up the organization. I have met countless people, many whom are now my friends for life, working with HOPE. On a personal level, this is also priceless!

Historically, aid and relief in Japan was coordinated at the national level. For a long time, individual citizens did not really understand the need for private involvement in these activities. I think that Japan has come a long way in that sense, over the past 15 years that I have lived here. Organizations like HOPE have been recognized to have significantly contributed to this shift in perception and action. I feel honored to have witnessed this wind of change, but also to have the chance to keep contributing my small part towards HOPE continued efforts in the future!