May 2008, a major earthquake took place in the Sichuan province of China. The earthquake took the lives of about 70,000 people and affected more than 15 million. The most shocking was the collapse of an elementary school killing more than a hundred of its students.

Happy Science decided to support the people of this are in two ways. First, 500 tents were sent to those who lost their homes in the area. This was one of the biggest contribution of tents made by a single organization.

The second support by us was to an elementary school in the affected area of Sichuan. We donated our most recently published childrens book, "What is Happiness" to all the students of the school hoping to deliver a small moment of joy after their horrific experience.

In May 2008, Myanmar was struck by a cyclone which flooded and destroyed its largest city, Yangon. Happy Science, although hoping to help, did not have direct access to the people in the affected areas. After careful consideration we decided to give economic support.

In the remote area of Bodh-Gaya, India, a couple who is a member of Happy Science runs a free school called, the Surya Bharti School. Ms. Yuki Inoue, who is Japanese, married her husband, an Indian man, and moved to Bodh-Gaya where she found many children unable to receive any education. She discovered her mission was to provide as many of these children with suffi cient education so that they can become what they dream to be. So, she started a free school for children living in her area. The school began with some 200 students applying for entrance to a 60 student classroom.

Happy Science decided to support the couple by helping fund this school so that they can nurture the students to be contributing members of society and open the future for their country.

The school gradually grew and is now educating more than 300 students, yet 400 new students hope to enroll each year. Yuki's dream is to build more schools so that she can reach out to more children in need. Happy Science hopes to support her dream and the future of these children continuously.

Surya Bharti School (http://www.interq.or.jp/ruby/mahamaya/ca.html)

Stationery, including textbooks, pencils,bags and more are being donated to different free schools in remote areas of Mumbai and Aurangabad. Happy Science will continue to support free schools for children in these areas.

A medical camp was held for patients in Aurangabad who are too poor to receive any treatment. The camp was run by members of Happy Science in the area willing to support their community.

Pokhara is Nepal’s second major city and is said to be the most beautiful in the country. Here, volunteer members are donating notebooks, writing tools and Happy Science publications to municipal schools and public libraries. One of the library’s staff says that students and teachers alike go to the library to read the Happy Science books that have been donated.

The costal village of Galle, Sri Lanka is one of the areas affected heavily by the Tsunami in 2004. Many buildings were destroyed including schools. Children in this area suffered from loss of their loved ones and also the loss of their homes and schools, which have been the source of their happiness.

Happy Science decided to fund one of these schools to construct a new building for additional classes. The construction finished early 2009 giving the school an additional 4 classes to accept children whose schools were destroyed.

At the opening ceremony in March, 2009, many children gathered with smiles. A girl mentioned, "I was suffering so much from the disaster and it has taken everything away from me, but this school gave me hope. I am so happy I can attend school again." We truly hope this school will nurture many in the future so that they themselves can rebuild their village and country.

Uganda is one of the countries in Africa that suffers from many patients with malaria, a mosquito transmitted disease that causes millions of death annually around the world, most of which are young children. To prevent infection from these mosquitos, a new type of mosquito net, the Olyset Net, was introduced by the Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. This net is woven with a special thread which is soaked with pesticide, killing mosquitoes on impact. The net is effective for about 5 years and has proven to not only protect people from malaria but also decrease the number of mosquitoes in the area when used by a signifi cant number of households, if not all, within a village.

Happy Science has been donating these nets, which are expensive but far more effective than regular nets, to different villages and hospitals throughout Uganda. We hope to continue this activity so the children in this country can grow up safely.

The Golden Age Scholarship has been established to support students around the world to receive higher education and realize their dreams as well as become contributing members of society. Since it began in the year 2003, it has supported several hundred students.

Every year, Happy Science accepts application in March and August and decides who is eligible to receive the scholarship that year. The students are requested to apply by sending in their achievement records for the past year and an essay describing their dreams and goals. Once chosen as a recipient, the student is requested to report on his/her achievement on a monthly basis and write a short essay on various topics on a quarterly basis. Although the students are not obligated to return the scholarship, we make sure the student qualifi es academically and in spirit to receive the gift they are receiving. (The amount each student receives differ according to their education cost and which country they are from.)

Those who wish to apply, please email goldenage@happy-science.org for details and application forms.