Niyodogawa has an ageing population and not enough people to help with the practical things. Problems Corner started because someone needed their gutters cleared.
The first request came from a woman who lived two houses down from the office. She was 83, her son was in Osaka, and the gutter at the back of her house had been blocked since the last typhoon. A simple job — maybe thirty minutes with a ladder.
After that, word spread. An elderly farmer needed help moving wood before the rains. A couple in their seventies needed someone to drive them to a hospital appointment in Kochi City. A woman wanted her vegetable patch cleared. None of these things are difficult. They're just hard to do alone.
Problems Corner is now a scheduled service, two days a week. We take requests through a notebook at the local co-op and do what we can. We don't charge. The interns on the Community Track handle most of the shifts.
What surprised us is how much of the work is just being present. Some people don't need anything done — they want someone to come, have tea, and talk for an hour. That turns out to be as important as the gutters.
Niyodogawa's population has been declining for decades. The people who remain have deep knowledge of the land, the weather, the history of this valley. Problems Corner is partly about keeping that knowledge close.