SGI Members in Africa Commemorate March 16

On March 16, 2008, SGI members in African countries gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of March 16, 1958, which is the day second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, just weeks prior to his death, met with 6,000 Soka Gakkai youth and bequeathed to them his deeply held purpose of creating lasting peace and individual happiness based on the humanistic life philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism. In Côte d'Ivoire, some 1,500 gathered in Abidjan. SGI-Côte d'Ivoire General Director Andre Deazon and Women's Leader Martine Deazon encouraged the members, half of whom are youth, to work for building lasting peace in their country. SGI-Cameroon held commemorative meetings at 31 venues throughout the country, including Yaounde and Douala. SGI-Uganda Leader Amita Shyam attended a gathering in the country's capital Kampala. In Madagascar, SGI members gathered in the capital, Antananarivo. Youth members shared the history of the Soka Gakkai and clarified the mission of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. A cultural show followed the meeting.

[Adapted from an article in the April 18, 2008 issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka Gakkai, Japan]