Hello! My name is Joshua, and I’m a teacher who co-founded a small English school in Japan. When we first opened, things were going wonderfully — our enrollment was growing, we had a great business contract and we were building a warm, supportive community of students and teachers.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and everything changed. Practically overnight, we lost about 80% of our students. Despite doing everything I could to adapt — online lessons, community outreach, and additional part-time work — I had to take on about $12,000 in loans and credit card debt just to keep the school running and cover basic living costs like rent, utilities, food, and of course debt repayments.

I don’t regret it, because it allowed me to keep my school alive and avoid losing my home. But even now, I still have the lions share of the credit debt about $10,000 in student loans remaining, and with the sharp decline in the Japanese yen, repaying everything has become nearly impossible. Imagine over the course of a year, your loans essentially increasing by 30% just because the money you earn became worth less.

Currently, I earn about $1,500 per month(due to the decline of the yen), and more than half of that goes toward loan payments. Between low wages, the weak yen, and rising living costs, I’m barely able to make ends meet. I’ve been working extra hours and started a new part time job and well as other gig work, but it still feels like I’m stuck in a cycle of debt I can’t escape from. Like every time I get to the surface of this ocean I'm trapped in, the surface gets further. It's like being Someone like Tantalus in the Greek underworld reaching for food and water.

That’s why I’m reaching out — to ask for some help from kind-hearted people who might be willing to support a teacher trying to rebuild after some very hard years.

Regarding that, We have managed to rebuild our student base, though have not been able to regain our business contract which represented significant amount of our income.

If I can raise $7,000, it would lift a huge weight off my shoulders and finally give me the breathing room to focus on what I love most — teaching and helping students grow through language and cultural exchange.

If you’d prefer to help in another way, I also teach private English and Japanese lessons online, so taking lessons instead of donating would be a wonderful way to support me too. Additionally, if you know anyone who wants to learn Japanese or English as a second language, you can contact me and we'll perhaps we can arrange online classes. I have availability after 4pm Pacific Time.

In any case, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. In addition to financial donations, I also accept donations of kind words or encouragement!

— Joshua