arrupe Arrupe Refugee Center received the Kuruppo Award 2021 (SDGs category) and a certificate of commendation from the Mayor of Kamakura.
Kuruppo, a town coin, is part of Kanagawa Prefecture’s “SDGs Tsunagari Point Project” and was created in September 2019 as a tool for residents, stores, and businesses to connect through points to solve social issues. It is currently spread across 13 areas, including Tokyo, Nagano, Osaka, Okayama, Tottori, and Fukuoka prefectures, as well as municipalities in Okinawa Prefecture.
Kamakura City introduced the program in January 2021, and 5411 citizens and 197 businesses and organizations (as of January 21, 2022) have participated and used the program.
Alpe Refugee Center is also utilizing “Kuruppo” to help refugees in the center connect with the local community.
* Machi no Coin Management Company “Funny Corporation Kayak” wrote a cartoon episode and an introductory article.
■Episode Cartoon: “Smiles Brought Back by Machi no Coin” (Omoshiro Corporation Kayak)
A heartwarming episode about a Sri Lankan refugee who got his smile back after encountering the community currency “Machi no Coin” (Kayak Inc.)