by Shota Okajima, Amelia Gonzalez Tesch and Kenichi Hackman
SGI-USA Youth, Young Women’s and Young Men’s Leaders
Hello SGI-USA! Thank you very much for your efforts to support the youth! We are excited to celebrate March 16, Kosen-rufu Day, which marks the day in 1958 when second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda passed the baton of kosen-rufu to his youthful disciples, with Ikeda Sensei taking full responsibility of kosen-rufu.
Our district meetings were incredibly joyful in February, with many more members and friends of the SGI getting connected and strengthening our sense of community. Our efforts to win in our discussion meetings are rooted in our three guidelines as a Buddhist community this year, which are: shakubuku rooted in friendship, strengthening our youth and strengthening our community. Combining these three guidelines, we are determined to win in gathering many youth at our local district discussion meetings this month!
The heart of the Soka community and the engine for expansion lie in our districts. With youth taking the stage, we are certain to develop the districts even more. Young people are yearning for a sense of community, and what better way to respond than by warmly embracing each youth we encounter! With prayer and four-divisional unity as our foundation, we can all advance together in raising the youth. Thank you to the men’s and women’s division members for all your support!
We can use this month to create new ideas for our discussion meetings that can be implemented at future gatherings. The times are changing, and it is necessary to find fresh ways to encourage and connect people. For example, we do not always have to start the meeting with gongyo. We can begin, for instance, with explaining the basics of the practice, like chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and the Gohonzon. Or maybe, we can create more time in our agenda for discussion, rather than listening to one speaker, so that everyone can participate! Together, we can look for new ways to revolutionize our discussion meetings.
Through everyone’s strong determination to create joy, we can find the best possible ways to encourage our youth and the community. As a four-divisional team, we will start with prayer! We will advance joyfully with our district teams! And we will meet with the youth one by one, to awaken many youthful Bodhisattvas of the Earth this month. Please join us!
We Rise
Kejuan Holloway
Mid-City Friendship District Young Men’s Leader
Los Angeles
World Tribune: Kejuan, thank you for talking to us. Can you share a little bit about your district?
Kejuan Holloway: We have a very special thing going on. We have inspiring leaders and big goals. It’s a lot of support and love. It’s a safe, comfortable, warm space for anyone to come.
We heard you joined the SGI in January 2024.
Kejuan: Yes, and it has been a transformative journey—a voyage through the depths of my Buddha nature. I am a hip-hop artist and professional audio engineer, both studio and live. But I was broke. Like broke broke. And it didn’t make sense. Even though I had spent years mastering my craft and diversifying my income streams, every attempt to secure funds failed.
SGI members embraced me as my raw, unfiltered self. They guided me through different SGI meetings, and I started reading the World Tribune on the regular. My faith fueled my creativity, and I recorded and released 30 singles and three independent studio albums in 2024. I also stepped into the film industry, appearing in 10 films and TV shows. I did all of this while living in a shelter. Proof that success is not about where you sleep but where your spirit rests. And just last month, I signed a lease for an apartment! It has been too good to be true—but that’s how Buddhism works.
Congratulations! You also became a district young men’s leader. How are you attracting youth to your district?
Kejuan: This practice is not just about achieving personal goals. It’s about lifting others up while we rise. As I continue to flourish in music, film and business, I vow to use my platform to spread the Mystic Law.
It’s not like life has stopped “life-ing.” I’ve just learned a better way to deal with it. And I owe that to my daily practice supported by my district and friends in the SGI. It’s all a part of my beautiful journey. I look forward to continuing to be proof of this practice with my actual life. I think that will be the ultimate recipe to attract youth for decades to come.
Do you have any ideas for your March discussion meeting?
Kejuan: The more we can connect people’s interests to these events, the more young people we can attract. I was thinking maybe a basketball game or some food right after the meeting. It’s a family event but we can play music and still turn up. If it’s fun, people are going to come. It’s an attraction, but it’s an attraction for kosen-rufu. This is the chance to show people what we’ve got.
Rooting for Each Other to Win!
Meylin Gonzales Huamán
Mideast District Young Women’s Leader
Sommerville, Mass
World Tribune: Hi Meylin. Thank you for speaking with us about your district. What’s your district like?
Meylin Gonzales Huamán: Our district is a vibrant community made up of artists, gardeners, students and young working professionals. We are an eclectic, intergenerational group of people ranging in age from 18 to 70-plus. Our discussion meetings are joyful, and the vibes are always good.
Being close to Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Hult University, many of our youth members and guests are college students and Ph.D. candidates. This creates a dynamic space where diverse perspectives come together.
How is your district preparing for your March youth-led discussion meeting?
Meylin: We have four active young women that I visit regularly together with our chapter leader. They often emcee, present study material or share their experiences at meetings, bringing fresh energy and perspective.
For our March discussion meeting, we made an extra effort to involve all the youth in planning. Our goal is to create a meeting that everyone feels excited to invite their friends to. We decided on a theme: How to live a life without regrets. We will have a “burning questions” activity instead of a traditional intro to Buddhism and include real questions our guests have asked us. And we’ll provide food since most of the youth will be coming straight from school or work!
What are your goals and determinations toward the meeting and for the youth of your district?
Meylin: As we move toward March and beyond, my determination is for the youth to see themselves as protagonists who lead and shape our district’s future.
Currently, I am a Ph.D. student in sociology. Last year, my friends in the program began asking me a lot of questions about my Buddhist practice. So, I asked them, “Do you want to come with me?” Now, two of them attend almost every month. Sharing Buddhism is the way to speed up our human revolution, and I want the youth in my district to experience that, too.
I have been encouraging my friends and the young women in my district to make specific goals toward March 16. This helps me chant concretely for each person so we can all break through together. In our district, no one struggles alone—we always root for each other.
March 7, 2025 World Tribune, pp. 6–7
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