She also sold the luxury car and used the money to buy forklifts for the group. Ms. Onodera once let her daughter miss some school and travel with her to Africa to distribute the donations. The trip has made her become much more appreciative of what she has. The group also involves children. It does not have big corporate sponsors and high-tech equipment.
Members also make visits to the Sahara Desert to help build wells.
Although Motherland members insist the group has no political or religious affiliation, at times they are monitored by government officials and police. Some people oppose them because they send supplies to communist North Korea. But the value of giving doesn't have political boundaries, these mothers insist. They point out that after Japan's defeat in World War II, relief supplies poured in from around the world. I know how hard it is when you cannot get access to food, because we went through it.