Gravity Free earthquake & tsunami relief volunteer report Vol.3-English ver.-
Posted: January 12th, 2012 | Author: risejapan | Filed under: News | No Comments »It’s been over half a year since the events of March 11th.
We apologize for the delay in reporting.
The purpose of collecting donations was for serving meals at the disaster area. We were able to serve people in July, but after our US tour in August, this was stopped due to concerns over sanitary conditions.
ARTh Camp Project (which Gravityfree operates) served 7,000 meals out of a total of 110,000 meals provided at the Ishinomaki Volunteer Base Kizuna. The people in the effected zones were very thankful. It made us realize how important a meal is.
Around this time, the volunteer space had to move out of the local assembly hall, and all the construction equipment, cars and a things rented from the Nippon Foundation had to be returned. So, we put a part of our donations to the budget to move and maintain the volunteer base.
Even though we said the donation was for provisions, I hope you can understand that our ARTh Camp Project has to work under the oversight of the Ishinomaki Volunteer Base Kizuna.
Now, the Ishinomaki Volunteer Base Kizuna is renting space in an unused hospital to support volunteers from throughout Japan.
I would like to report on the volunteer activities since then and a project going on right now.
In early July, Members of ARTh Camp Project went to volunteer at a tiny fishing village, called Oohara on the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi prefecture.
This area was separated from the mainland and rescue/reconstruction efforts were delayed for more than 4 months.
This is one of the closest areas to the epicenter of the earthquake.
Before the disaster, Oohara was famous for oysters.
The volunteer work focused on supporting the local fishermen, collecting fishing equipment and gathering tools for oyster farming.
Since the harbor has sunk about one meter, the area around the port is covered in water during the Spring tide.
Most of the rubble has been put in piles and the area resembles an empty lot.
Some of the fishermen have been able to get back to business, but the port is still sunk and the prospect for the recovery is still far from certain.
The volunteers presence helps support the locals and fishermen.
The current problem at the stricken area is temporary housing.
The victims have split up to live at the temporary housing from various places and have lost communication within their communities. This has increased the number of suicides and people falling ill and dying from isolation.
People are beginning to care for those who lost their families and will to live on 3/11.
Ishinomaki Volunteer Base Kizuna started a project called “Sun Rice Project”, delivering 3kg bags of rice with a letter once a month to the people who live in solitude at temporary housing, as well as providing companionship and looking out for the health of the victims.
We brought 100kg of rice for our donation this time. 3kg is about how much Japanese, who use rice as a staple, consume per month. This time we visited a temporary housing area in Watanoha, Ishinomaki. There are 20 houses living in solitude out of the 80 households in the area. We distributed the rice and letters with Mr. Suda, who has been watching over the temporary housing.
Some people are doing very well, but others are coming to the hospital 3 times a week or coming in with very dark expressions on their faces. We’re worried about what’s to come.
Some people aren’t able to be seen by anyone other than Mr. Suda. It’s no wonder some of these people feel so isolated.
Koji Yoshimura, a representative from Kizuna, told us that similar letters delivered during the Great Hanshin Earthquake 16 years ago has resulted in friendships that have lasted to this day. If there is at least one person someone is in contact with, they can look forward to that person visiting periodically and it’s a reason to go on. I can only imagine if I was all alone, how helpless I’d feel… the hands of a volunteer can provide so much warmth.
There are ladies having a fun time making crafts at the temporary housing assembly hall. What they are making is “Tsurushi Hinaningyou” (a traditional Japanese decoration). For people who have lost their jobs, it’s very important to provide a space for side jobs. There is also a car sharing system for people who have no transportation to be able to use a car with a reservation.
After distributing the rice, we headed back to Oohara for a meeting to build a community house from an old traditional Japanese house. In total there are 87 people left in Oohara. Most of them are living in temporary houses, but some of them live in partially destroyed houses while they make repairs.
A project is in progress to rebuild and reconstruct the old traditional Japanese houses in Oohara which were carried out by the tsunami, and transforming it into a community space / a store where also you can have a meal.
After starting up, it is the purpose to create long-term employment and to hand the operation of the store over to the locals. Ishinomaki Volunteer Base Kizuna has taken a leading part in the project. We also will use part of our donation for this project.
It’s not clear how much will be done, but the goal is to have the community space open up on the first anniversary of the earthquake, March 11th. After it opens, an event is being planned and we want to take care of the people who currently live in solitude in temporary housing. Also there are plans to have it work as a cafeteria for the locals using ingredients from the local area.
About the situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant, there is not enough information, and even in Japan there are no reports. There’s a heightening sense of anger and fear. Right now, people who aren’t in an evacuation zone are mostly living their lives as normal. People worried about their children being exposed to radiation are temporarily moving to safer areas and seeking temporary treatment from volunteers.
According to some volunteers from the Fukushima area, if you’re there a while, something you can’t smell you and can’t see is causing a paralysis. There are some people still living there like they always have. Right now, Japan is experiencing a significant amount of stress from that thing we can’t see. However, right now, there is radiation out there and it will likely cause increasing damage for years to come.
Food with high doses of radiation is circulating and ending up in places like school lunches. It can’t be seen or smelled and is sneaking in. The Japanese government is quietly watching as people born and raised in Fukushima are left without any course of action. Some people can’t afford to leave Fukushima, some don’t want to leave the place of their birth, and many others have their own personal reasons for not leaving. It’s incredibly difficult to watch as the damage spreads.
For now, we plan to continue to support the Sun Rice Project in delivering its 3kg of rice to isolated families and to help build community spaces. We also plan to support the Ibuki Project, which is trying to find ways to temporarily evacuate children from the Fukushima area.
While providing support, we plan to continue posting updates on the web. Please continue to help us support those impacted by the earthquake and tsunami.
Gravityfree
English translation by Robert Porter and Yasushi Matsui
