Every year, elementary pupils and junior-high-school students from the families of Rissho Kosei-kai members conduct the Little Bags of Dreams Campaign from late April through the end of August. They fill little cloth bags with stationery items, small daily necessities, toys, and cards containing messages of friendship with their parents, friends, and others at home and their Dharma centers. The little bags, approximately 22 x 32 cm. (9″ x 13″), are prepared by the students’ parents and volunteer members of each Dharma center.

Later, the Little Bags of Dreams collected from Rissho Kosei-kai Dharma centers are sent to the countries where children have suffered the loss of their homes and family members as the result of local conflicts. Past examples from these countries include Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, and the former Yugoslavia. Over there, the gift bags are distributed to unfortunate children with the assistance of other nongovernmental organizations. Rissho Kosei-kai has sometimes sent volunteer groups of parents and children to these countries to participate in the distribution of the gift bags.

The goals of the Little Bags of Dreams campaign are first, to help heal the psychological wounds suffered by children in many parts of the world; second, to allow Japanese children and their parents to contribute to the happiness of children who have suffered; and third, to help Japanese children grow spiritually and teach them to appeal to their friends to join in the spirit of sharing in others’ suffering, offering prayers for them, and making donations.