Project Overview
Our Mission
Project STAR aims to engage children of different ages from 8 to 10 with persistent stuttering, providing them with an opportunity to express themselves through movement in workshops. Our workshops aim to create a supportive-safe space that encourages children to reconnect with themselves physically and mentally to gain confidence via dance, contact improvisation and artistic reflection. Through these workshops, we hope to help children understand the feelings of frustration and lack of confidence one with a persistent stutter may experience and learn to diffuse negative emotions healthily.
Our team
Feiru Ma
Team LeaderFeiru is the founder of Project STAR. She is in charge of the choreography of our workshops. Feiru understands the difficulties children with a persistent stutter may face and strives to help alleviate the feelings of frustration and lack of confidence which often accompany a persistent stutter in those children.
Miho Asaoka
Workshop CoordinatorMiho also works on the choreography for our workshops, as well as assisting in efforts to organize the workshops themselves. Primarily, she skillfully teaches workshop participants about dance and is an expert in breaking down a complicated dance routine into an intuitive one.
Yebin Lee
Outreach SpecialistYebin is responsible for spreading awareness about our project through social media and connecting us with external organizations so we can reach more volunteers for our workshops.
Haruka Nagayama
Scientific Research AssociateHaruka helps us prepare educational content in the form of informative presentations about stuttering and connect us with external organizations who specialise in helping children who stutter.
"I joined Project STAR as this Project helps reach out to audience who stutter, an issue that is commonly misunderstood, to be able to be "cured" in a short - term. Stuttering is often easily overlooked despite it having severe effects. "
Fumie Go
Communications officerFumie helps Project STAR to grow and connect with a wider group of people as well as assisting in strengthening the significance of our workshops & activities.
"I wanted to participate in an organisation that advocates for people with difficulty communicating, and the way Project STAR works towards recognition of stuttering was attractive for me.""
Andrew Wang
IT SpecialistAndrew is in charge of the website design for Project STAR and assists the project in IT related areas.
"I joined Project STAR in order to use my skills in programming and IT to make a difference in the world. I am grateful to be able to work as a part of Project STAR, an organization that helps facilitate real change for those who stutter. "
Isara Moriya
Nagano Branch DirectorIsara is the director of our branch in Nagano. So far, she has helped us coordinate workshops bimonthly in Nagano.