If they are not out hiking, they can be found having fun at other places, such as bowling alleys. After that, she takes them out for lunch.

Akiko, a 52-year-old Japanese woman, has been spending her weekends this way for the past two years.

She moved to Malaysia almost 20 years ago after marrying a local. Speaking to FMT, she said it was a new experience for her to see so many refugees since there are not many in Japan.

At first, she said, she did not intend to get involved with them. She just wanted to help a friend who needed someone with a car to take the children out for their weekly hike. She did so on several weekends and soon came to love the outings.

She now looks forward to her Sundays with the children. “I can’t help much to improve their lives,” she said, “but this is the least I can do to make things better for them. And it feels good that I can help them take their mind off their troubles.”

In order to finance their activities with the children, Akiko and her friends pool their money and plan ahead, and they don’t consider this a burden.

“It’s fun,” she said, displaying pictures and videos of a hiking trip during which the children stopped midway to dance.

Most of the children she spends time with are from Afghanistan. Their age ranges from 10 to 17 years. Some of them don’t attend school as the centre they used to go to has been shut down.

“But it’s easy to communicate with them as they can speak English well,” Akiko said.

The children all have UNHCR cards, but she told FMT it’s hard for them to live without financial support from the government.