In Japan, to become a 'hikikomori' means to withdraw from the world and social life. Many of those who suffer from the condition shut themselves in their bedrooms for years on end, refusing to work, study or interact with anyone around them. More than half a million people are thought to be hikikomori, most of them young men. One organisation, New Start, has come up with an unusual solution: rental sisters. The sisters-for-hire visit regularly, helping to coax the hikikomori out of their bedrooms and back into society. That could mean just talking through the door, going out for lunch or even moving into a hikikomori boarding house and starting some part time work. Reporter Amelia Martyn-Hemphill finds out about the increasingly popular rental sister phenomenon for BBC World Hacks in Tokyo.Presenter: Harriet Noble
Reporter: Amelia Martyn-HemphillPhoto Caption: A Former Hikikomori
Photo Credit: BBC
NachrichtenGesundheit, Wellness & Beauty
People Fixing The World Folgen
Discover the people and the projects trying to make the world a better place.A weekly programme looking at common challenges around the world and the creative ways people are trying to tackle them.Presenter Myra Anubi speaks to reporters, experts and innovators to investigate how effective different solutions are, share their successes and inspire listeners with what is possible.
Folgen von People Fixing The World
504 Folgen
-
Folge vom 16.10.2018‘Rental sisters’ for Japan’s Reclusive Young Men
-
Folge vom 09.10.2018Fighting the ‘Water Mafia’ with Pipes in the SkyIn Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, access to water is a minefield. The marketplace is dominated by water cartels, or mafias - water is often syphoned off from the mains supply and pumped in through dirty hosepipes. But Kennedy Odede is trying to change that. Dubbed the ‘president of the poor’, he set up a scheme to pump water up from a borehole deep underground, and deliver it through a new network of pipes with a difference. To avoid contamination, and keep them safe from the cartels, Kennedy’s pipes are suspended 15m in the air on a series of poles that carry them around the slum.In this episode of World Hacks we travel to Kibera to meet Kennedy, see the aerial waterways in action, and ask if his scheme can expand to help people living in slums across the globe.Presenter: Dougal Shaw Reporter: Sam Judah Producer: Sam Judah for the BBC World ServicePhoto Caption: Kennedy Odede Photo Credit: BBC
-
Folge vom 02.10.2018Mending Our Disposable CultureVolunteers around the world regularly get together to fix other people’s broken stuff free of charge. Reporter Nick Holland visits an event called a Repair Café in the Netherlands and links up with a team running a similar workshop in India. He asks what difference this 'make do and mend’ movement can make to our disposable culturePhoto Caption: Repairing a radio with a soldering iron Photo Credit: BBC
-
Folge vom 25.09.2018Smart Stimulation for People with DementiaAnyone who cares for someone with dementia knows the struggle to keep them stimulated and engaged as the condition progresses. This week World Hacks looks at three clever ideas that attempt to help.First up, a designer in the Netherlands has created a device that projects simple interactive games on to any table. Using lights, colours and sounds, the Tovertafel, or ‘Magic Table’, allows users to push rustling leaves, pop bubbles and catch virtual fish. We visit a dementia club in north London where it’s the star attraction at their weekly meeting and visit the creator, Dr Hester Le Riche, at her head office in Utrecht to find out how it works.Another game features next, a simple board game called Call To Mind, which stimulates conversation through its gameplay. And finally we look at some brightly-coloured rehydration drops, which draw the attention of people living with dementia and so aim to keep them healthy as the condition worsens.Presenter: Nick Holland Reporters: Claire Bates, Susila Silva, Tom CollsPhoto Caption: The Tovertafel in action Photo Credit: BBC