On the 27th, Shusaku Nishikawa and Tomoya UGAJIN visited Saitama Children's Medical Center and the Ronald McDonald House Saitama (hereinafter referred to as Saitama House), a lodging facility for sick children and their families located within the hospital.



This is Nishikawa's second visit to the facility this year, but including the online exchange during the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be his fourth consecutive year. Nishikawa wants to "do something for the children in his hometown," and has continued to interact with the children in various ways, such as donating medical supplies and uniforms to the facility and interacting with them online during the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, Ugajin, who shares the same thoughts as Nishikawa, also participated for the first time and joined the activities.

After arriving at Saitama Children's Medical Center, the pair greeted hospital director Dr. Akira Oka and then visited Saitama House.





After touring the Saitama House facility and the rooms actually used by the families of sick children, the group interacted with volunteers and members of the Liver Transplant Family Association. The family members were delighted to see the players again for the first time in a year, and deepened their bond by signing autographs and taking photos. Finally, they all took a commemorative photo together, and the two players presented the children with message cards and autographed goods, bringing their visit to Saitama House to a close.



Next, the two players visited Saitama Children's Medical Center, where they toured the ward while receiving explanations from the doctor in charge and interacted with the children. They deepened their interactions by giving presents to each child, using a Heartful Cart (a cart that distributes daily necessities and toys for free to support hospitalized children and their families) loaded with Reds goods.



It was clear that each child was enjoying this special time, with some children interacting with the players with shining eyes and others telling them about their dreams.

Although it was a hectic hour and a half, the two had bright faces after bringing energy and smiles to the children, and they left the hospital saying, "I'm glad we visited. We'll come again!"



Ugajin, who was visiting for the first time, said, "Being an athlete is a happy job. I think it is our mission to be able to encourage children by having them look at us with sparkling eyes, and I would like as many people as possible to know about this kind of activity. I would be happy to hear from the children who told me about their dreams that they have now made them come true."

Nishikawa, who was visiting for the second time, said, "I came here with the determination to give energy to the children, but every time I interact with the children, it's me who receives energy. I can really feel that the children are supporting us, and I want to be someone who can give energy to the children by having them see me do well on the pitch. I would like to continue doing this in the future." With these words, he concluded his visit.

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]