When it was time for Naomi Kodama to tell her parents what gift she was hoping to receive for her tenth birthday, she told them that she didn't want any gifts at all. Instead, she hoped to use her birthday to help others. Naomi wanted to have a birthday party where guests could make donations for life-saving bed nets. “There are people who barely have anything and we need to help them,” she wrote in the party invitation.
JCI Secretary-General Kodama was proud of his daughter's generous gesture, and shared the invitation to Naomi's bed net birthday party with his staff. Despite the difficult weather during the night of the party, guests all had a great time at the Adrenaline Zone and Demolition Ball celebrating Naomi's birthday and preventing malaria! The children all thought it was cool that Naomi did not want to receive presents this year, and some are now hoping to have their own birthday parties to help those who are in need!
