~Distributing bicycles to the satellite high schools in Fukushima~


We would like to introduce the story about our project to distribute bicycles to high schools in Fukushima this time.

People who were affected by the disaster need to slowly but surely get back to their life that they had before 3.11. Although they may not be able to live back at the places they used to, they need to start a new life at the places they are now, whether that is at the evacuation center or temporary housings. Particularly for children, schools play crucial roles to let them get back to the usual life cycle.

The residents who used to live less than 20km away from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are not allowed to go back to their houses, schools or anywhere that their lives were situated due to the hazards of radioactive contamination. The children whose schools were situated within this area are now going to satellite schools that are located at the places of evacuation.
Satellite schools are mostly opened inside other schools or community centers by renting open rooms or spaces. The schools that were located inside the 20km evacuation zone have split into several satellite schools to continue the education of their students. Each of those satellite schools have tens of students coming to study.

However, the places of evacuation, especially the temporary housings, may not always be located at areas that have good transportation. Therefore, some students have to go a long way to go to school.


In this regard, the Board of Education at Fukushima Prefecture sent a request to ADRA to provide bicycles to the students who commute to school from a far distance.

To meet this request, ADRA made good use of the connections we have been building and worked with an organization called Setagaya Asia Project (SAP). SAP has been collecting the illegally parked bicycles in Setagaya, and sending them to countries such as Laos and Indonesia through ADRA Japan.
Thanks to SAP, 104 second hand bicycles were collected and we coordinated the trip to Fukushima to distribute those bicycles.



(from left) College student volunteers, teachers at the satellite schools, members of SAP


We made 2 round trips, one on July 27th and another on 29th, to deliver the bicycles to Fukushima. A 4 ton truck was filled with more than 50 bicycles each day and the bicycles were delivered to 7 different satellite schools. Students who used to go to 2 different high schools that were inside the 20km evacuation zone are now studying in these 7 satellite schools.
Thanks to the 2 college student volunteers and SAP members that accompanied us, we were able to go around and distribute the bicycles to the schools really smoothly.

The situation on the ground looked quite hard for both teachers and students. For examples, teachers are using the home economics’ class room as the staff room. Students are using community centers for classes. However, regardless of their hard situation, all people at the satellite schools were energetic and we received warm welcome everywhere we went.



“Please express your happy feelings receiving the bicycles, 3,2,1!”


The students who are going to use the bicycles helped us unload the bicycles from the truck at some schools.
The voices such as
“wow, this seems to be pretty good!” or
“Yay, so happy to get mine!” went up from these students.

Although SAP has cleaned them, the bicycles were illegally parked bicycles originally, and some of them are partly covered with rust. We honor the students and teachers who didn’t make any unpleasant faces but just appreciated the things we provided.



“yay we got the bicycles!”

Although worries for the unknown future remain in Fukushima, people are trying to live strong. We will continue to support these people from various aspects.
We appreciate your help.


====================================

We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

"The challenges to build a community"

6 month is about to pass already after the huge disaster on March 11th .
Construction of the temporary housings at Yamamoto town, where ADRA has been working at, finished before the Obon season and all the houses were given over to the people affected by the disaster. The evacuation center was closed after all the evacuees moved into the temporary houses. Although many people have moved and started their lives at the temporary housings, there seem to be some problems rising in those temporary housing complexes.

On August 29th, a lecture conference titled “How to build autonomous communities at the temporary housing complex” was held by the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperating (JANIC) and Miyagi Recovery Center in Sendai city. Our staff, Hideo Watanabe joined this conference as one of the panelist.

In this conference, Mr. Taro Tamura from the Office of Disaster Volunteer Coordination of the Cabinet Secretariat had a speech on the examples and clues to make a better community at the temporary housings first, followed by the panel discussion on how we could support the people living in the temporary housings.




Hideo Watanabe from ADRA Japan and Mr. Tachioka from Personal Support Center Corporation were the panelist for this discussion.

Mr. Tachioka said the followings about the supports their organization is providing to the people affected by the disaster and the challenges that he foresees.

“We must not let people suicide or let the lonely death happen. We need to watch those. It is also important to find jobs for people in the temporary housings from now on. I feel that the smaller the scale of the temporary houses are, the greater the problems the people could be facing, because the lack of information which is available. We must be careful not to forget the little important things.”

Hideo introduced ADRA’s supports to the people affected by the disaster and said the followings.

“There have been a lot of people coming in to Yamamoto town to help. However, some temporary housing complexes have been receiving a lot of supports while others are receiving almost none. There are some temporary housing complexes that don’t have any community leader any place for the people in the temporary housings to gather together. Each temporary housing complexes are in different situations from others, which is making it harder for the Department of Social Service to do something. We are planning to hold a coordinating meeting from September 1st to solve this problem. First, get people to know about their neighbors. Just building a community association isn’t the goal. We have to consider the minorities that are going to be included in the same complex. There need to be diversified cooperation. It is important for us to know what the neighboring cities and towns are doing especially.”

There were questions from the participants afterwards and it developed into a lively discussion.


Hideo making a speech as a panelist (right), and Mr. Tachioka (middle)




The huge disaster of 3.11 has affected people and areas in a really large scale. Although temporary housing complexes are suffering to build a new community under their own circumstances, community is not the only unit that we should care about. People need to start from the individual level and get to know about their neighbors first. Then, that connection can be expanded to other members in the temporary housing complexes, a complex as a whole, a town, a city and so on. The ties between individuals come first.

We think that the small connections that people build with each other are the foundations of the bigger communities.

ADRA will promote further cooperation with others to help people build communities at the temporary housings. Thank you for your support.




====================================

We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

~ Taking a few minutes to relax and unwind with the foot baths~


Since we finished the soup kitchen program at ADRA Dining Hall in the end of July, we are now focusing on the programs to facilitate the lives of people in the temporary housings and are currently providing mobile foot baths (ashiyu) to them.
We have been working with a mobile team called Ashiyu-tai since August 7th, and will continue it till September 3rd. This team is built by the cooperation of the Nippon Foundation ROAD project and the volunteer station of Aoyama Gakuin University.

Presently, there are 1,038 temporary housings in 12 areas in Yamamoto town. All of those housings were given over to the people in need before the Obon, which is initially a Buddhist holiday but a holiday that is regarded as a family uniting time in present Japan. 4 months had already passed when the last house was given over to a family who had been waiting to move in, since the first group of people had moved in.

Some people say it is harder to communicate and know about the neighbors when they are living in the temporary housings, compared to the evacuation center they stayed at first. There are some people who even say that they do not go out of their houses because there is nothing to do.

In June and July, ADRA Japan had welcomed the Ashiyu-tai at two temporary housing sites with the Department of Social Service (DSS) of Yamamoto town. We remembered people telling us that the foot baths made them feel so comfortable and telling us to come back again thus we decided to work with the Ashiyu-tai in August again.


*What is Ashiyu (foot bath)?
Ashiyu is a small shallow bath that people can dip their feet into a hot water till their ankle. This warms up people’s body and promotes metabolism by enhancing the blood circulation. It is a health management practice that people at any age can enjoy. It detoxifies your body because you sweat a lot with your feet in the hot water. Ashiyu also makes people both physically and mentally relaxed.





We are now coordinating the dates to have the ashiyu visiting the temporary housings with each of the liaison persons at those sites, who we got the contacts from the DSS of Yamamoto.

The schedule
8/8~8/10: former Sakamoto middle school
8/11~8/12: Hakone area
8/15~8/17: Uchide are
8/18~8/19: Takase Nishi Ishiyamahara area
8/22~8/24: Chomin field area/ North Chomin field area
8/25: Hakone are (with a mini concert of Trombone ensemble)
8/26: Takase Nishi Ishiyamahara area (with a mini concert of Trombone ensemble)
8/29~8/31: Nakagawa Kogyo housing complex area
9/1~9/2: Chomin field area

Some people had never got in ashiyu before but once they got their foot into the hot water, most people came back again and again.
The people who knew ashiyu were even waiting before the service time.









While they put their feet into the hot water, the Ashiyu-tai is there to have a chat and massage their hands and arms to make it a more relaxing and enjoyable time.

Ashiyu can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of their ages. The children who do not have much places to play around gathered around the bigger sisters and brothers from Aoyama Gakuin University with interests and excitements in their eyes. We played with the children in the spare time.





☆The voices of the people who used the ashiyu (extract from Ashiyu-yai report)

“It is so good to have someone to talk with” (Male in his 60s)

“I am using the ashiyu every time it comes. I came yesterday, and earlier this morning too. I wear two pair of socks even during the summer time because I have poor blood circulation and my feet are so cold. The rooms are small but I appreciate the fact that I am alive and people who let me get into this temporary housing. I am so grateful. I try to have a walk on this street everyday and my feelings get relieved by doing so.” (Female in her 70s)

“It is so hot in the temporary housing. The wind used to run through and keep the house cool in our previous house, but there is only one window in the temporary housing. The tsunami came across the rout 6 and I ran away from it by driving my car. The tsunami was right behind me. I couldn’t save the people that I saw that time. 5 months after that day, we are becoming able to smile again at last” (Male in his 70s)

“I went to see my house after 10 days had passed since the earthquake. The tsunami had washed away even the big rock and the big maidenhair tree that stood in my yard. We used to have an empty lake that we laid a lot of white stones in. I moved the things that were left in the lake and I found about 40 of those white stones. I was so happy to see it because I used to always polish and take care of them. I have been come to this ashiyu a few times and got to meet people from different places like Okinawa or England. It is really fun to meet new people.” (89year old Female)

“My house is still there but the first floor was flooded because of the tsunami. All the important things have been moved to the second floor but I cannot bring them here because my car broke. The car is at a garage to be repaired now. I cannot do anything without a car. I cannot go to grocery shopping or go to the city hall. But I will come back here again.” (26years old male)


We were able to hear the real voices of the people in the temporary housings that we cannot usually hear through this ashiyu project.
ADRA Japan will continue to support the people living in the temporary housings. We appreciate your support.



====================================

We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

We introduced a story from the staff of Yamamoto town’s disaster response headquarter in the last blog. This time, we would like to introduce the stories from ladies who work at the city hall and staffs who came from other prefectures to help. They are one of the many people who used the ADRA Dining Hall.





~Interview~
< The ladies who works at the Yamamoto town’s city hall>

Mihara (ADRA staff):
“Do you think ADRA Dining Hall helped?”

Mrs. A:
“It helped me a lot because I used to eat only instant noodles and rice balls before the ADRA Dining Hall opened.”

Mrs. B:
“I loved the ADRA’s spicy curry. Fried prawns were so good too and I was happy to be able to eat vegetables here.”


Mihara:
“What do you think about the future?”

Mrs. A:
“We cannot do anything about the things that happened already. I just have to change my mind and try my best to get back to the usual life. I cannot cope with it if I don’t think this way. I don’t want to look at myself as a victim forever.”

Mrs. B
“I want to get back to usual work. I cannot remember what I used to do before the earthquake because my job has totally changed since then. But I remember that I felt relieved when I saw my colleagues at the workplace after the earthquake. I want to live my life smiling.”


These two ladies always came to the ADRA Dining Hall together. The smiles on their faces while they were having their meals together with their seats right next to each other are unforgettable.
Although they are the victims of the earthquake themselves, they were always caring about the people in other areas. They say “people in Fukushima must be having harder time” and “we cannot say the word, cheer up to those people so easily”.


Mihara:
“How was ADRA Dining Hall?”


Mr. A (staff at Yamamoto town):
“Thank you for the meals. You did great work even though it must have been hard to run it because the volunteers changed every week.”

Mr. B (Staff from Hiroshima):
“Thanks to you, we were able to do good work. It is really important to take care of our health over here. The meals tasted different depending on the person who cooked and I never got tired of them. I ate them all every time!!”

Mr. C (from other prefecture):
“I became able to eat the things that I used to dislike!”

Mr. D (from Yamamoto):
“I am very grateful for you all. I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet the volunteers who came all the way to Yamamoto if the disaster didn’t occur. I got the opportunity to broaden my network.”

Mr. E (from Gifu prefecture):
“It helped me a lot since I cannot cook by myself. The menu always changed and I didn’t get tired of the food. The vegetarian meat made out of gluten was surprising!”





Mihara:
“What do you think about the future?”

Mr. D:
“Be positive. Look in the future. There is nothing we can do about the past but there are so many things we have to do for the future. I will be confident and move on to the next.”

Mr. E:
“I feel like there was something more I could have done. It was very difficult for me to continue the work fast and precisely, since it is different from what I usually do.”

The respondents to our interview

The Yamamoto city hall staffs, staffs from other prefectures and ADRA volunteers often got together and enjoyed their time sharing stories at ADRA Dining Hall.
The users of this hall told us that they felt relaxed and comfortable when they came to ADRA Dining Hall after a long tiring day of work.

The head of the DSS at Yamamoto who took care of us the most

Although the soup kitchen assistance at Yamamoto finished after 4 month of operation, we will continue supporting the people of Yamamoto town in the temporary housings with the town of Yamamoto and DSS.
Thank you for your support.



====================================

We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

~The crashed ice festival at the temporary housings~


The middle of summer, August.
ADRA have been holding a crashed ice festival in cooperation with Yamamoto town’s DSS and ACE, a non-profit organization.

We visit different temporary housing sites every weekend and not only serve crashed ice, but also offer places and materials to play games such as yoyo, quoits, origami (Japanese paper holding), and patchwork. This is an event that people from young children to the elderly can have fun.







Some people are feeling a lot of stress from their lives at the temporary housings, others who are living alone do not have much opportunities to interact with other people in their daily lives. We hope that this crashed ice festival will provide chances for those people to relax and make friends.

Followings are the places that the crashed ice festivals have taken places since the end of July.

July 30th The temporary housings at the site of former Sakamoto secondary school
July 31st The temporary housings at Hakone area
August 6th The temporary housings at Nagawa area
August 7th The temporary housings at Takase Nish-Ishiyamahara area


We have got favorable reviews saying the cold crashed ices on a hot summer day tastes better than usual. People’s favorites are Green tea flavor with bean paste and condensed milk, and Strawberry flavor with condensed milk.







The crashed ice festivals scheduled in the future are

August 27th Temporary housings at Chomin field
August 28th Temporary housings at Uchide area
We are trying to arrange the festivals in the temporary housings at Nakayama- Kumano do area and Touden are in September.





The temporary housing residents gathering at the crashed ice festival site.

Many residents at the temporary housings have also joined the event by working as volunteers and they have been playing active roles in it. The crashed ice festivals have been supported by the volunteers who help the residents to get together.

ADRA Japan will continue to support the people in Yamamoto town through managing these kinds of event as well as other programs.



============================================

We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

The voice of the ADRA Dining Hall users


The soup kitchen support, the ADRA Dining Hall which started on April 6th at Yamamoto city hall in Miyagi prefecture came to its end after 4 months of operation.







In this blog, we would like to introduce Mr. Katsuyuki Ishikawa’s story that he told us in an interview. Mr. Ishikawa is a former staff at the Yamamoto city hall and was one of the users of ADRA Dining Hall from the very start. He now works as Yamamoto city hall’s volunteer.


~Interview~
Mihara (ADRA staff):
“Do you think ADRA Dining Hall helped people over here?”

Mr. Ishikawa:
“The staffs at Yamamoto city hall were able to focus on the work, without worrying about what how to prepare meals. ADRA’s work meant a lot to us. The staffs have skills and work as a really well organized group. We really appreciate your support”


Mihara:
“Would you tell us about your experience on March 11th?”

Mr. Ishikawa:
“I was at a class for recitation of a Chinese poem in Sendai city that day. The earthquake suddenly occurred and the tables at the class moved around right and left because of the shake. There was a woman outside who was injured on her head with a tile that fell from the roof and she was bleeding. I tried to drive up the Route 6 to hurry back to Yamamoto realizing that a really bad earthquake had occurred, but there was an enormous traffic jam. When I got by the bridge of Abukuma Oohashi, I saw a 5m high tsunami coming. I turned my car back. And the tsunami pushed my car from the back. I must have been died if I was even 10 seconds late. I kept on having nightmares about this tsunami and myself being caught and dying for a while. Telegraph poles making huge noises while it gets pushed away by the tsunami, and fire set on the transformers… I saw the oil base in Sendai burning as well. There was an old lady holding her grandchild tight in her arms under the rain. Soon the rain turned to snow. It seems like the water in the town went out after the bank by the ocean got opened around 8:30 or 9:00 in the evening. I got back to Yamamoto town at 10:00pm. I was able to talk with my wife soon after the earthquake on the phone. She told me that she was going out to see if the neighboring old man is doing fine. We just boiled some vegetables I barely got from my farm and ate without any taste. that night. The light of the candle was the only light we had.”


Mihara:
“What do you think about the future?”

Mr. Ishikawa:
“I am thinking what we are going to do about this town. We need to generate new ideas. There are no ends for anything. Always progressing, that is us. We always have to be thinking how to make everything better than how it is today.”


Mihara:
“Please give us a message to people all around Japan.”

Mr. Ishikawa:
“I do not know how to give back to everyone who sent us the huge donation. I hope that not only my generation but also the generations after will keep on repaying for it. I am filled with gratitude, thank you so much.”


There was another unforgettable word that Mr. Ishikawa said.

Mr. Ishikawa:
“There are many people who are not being able to get along with others at the evacuation centres. It is important not to just complain but to listen to others from equal positions. The temporary housings will give private spaces to people but I think it is necessary to have some opportunities to talk with each other. Trust to each other grows in modesty.”


Mr. Ishikawa lost his wife from this disaster. The old man that his wife was visiting soon after the earthquake survived because Mrs. Ishikawa helped him get up to the second floor of his house.

Mr. Ishikawa:
“She must have had a lot of challenges as a woman in the village, but we never had fights during our life together.”


Mr. Ishikawa told us many stories while we had meals together. He never forgot to have a sense of humor and he used to joke saying things like “you need to pay me if you want to hear the rest of the story”. He often stood on the stage at the evacuation centre he was staying and announced the news from the city halls and self-defense armies to other evacuees. The children living in the same centre told us that they thought he was the most influential man living there.





Although we introduced Mr. Ishikawa’s story here, each and every person who experienced the earthquake and the tsunami has their own story.

There are some people who say it will be much harder after moving to the temporary housings. One of the reasons is that there will be no food provided at the temporary housings, unlike the evacuation centre. Some people have no jobs, no income but still have to find their own way to survive. Many people are facing challenges for their future.

ADRA Japan will continue supporting the people in Yamamoto so that they can get back to their life they had before March 11th as soon as they can.
We thank you for your continues support.





We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

Sunday July 31st, the ADRA Dining Hall was closed after serving approximately 12,400 meals for total. ADRA Japan had been serving food to the staffs of the disaster response headquarter in the town of Yamamoto since April 6th, but this came to an end this day.

The volunteers that supported to run this ADRA Dining Hall reached more than 100 people who came from various back grounds. The ages of the volunteers ranged from early 20s to the late 50s, and their occupations included student, nurse, nutritionist, pastor, Japanese language teacher, former confectioner, and former hairdresser. The volunteers basically worked for a week at the ADRA Dining Hall, but some of them stayed for 2 weeks, a month, or even 3 months to support the work of ADRA Japan.


The supports by the volunteers were so big that it was impossible to run the dining hall without them. We thank to those volunteers that supported and played a curial role at the ADRA Dining Hall.

Each of the volunteers were asked to write a message on the message board before leaving Yamamoto town after serving at ADRA Dining Hall for a week.







We would like to introduce some of the messages from the volunteers.


- Volunteer who joined the 2nd batch (April 5th to 10th) and launched the ADRA Dining Hall
“Spring is close when Winter is here. I will be back to play the flute again”

People in Yamamoto town were waiting and waiting for the warm spring to come at this cold time of the year. She brought happy feelings to the staffs of Yamamoto town by playing songs that everyone knows with her flute.


- Volunteer who joined the 3rd batch (April 9th to 17th)
“Favor and annoyance, kindness and intrusiveness…like and hate. The line between each of these are thin as a knife’s edge. But “itterasshai” (a Japanese greeting to see one off) is a beautiful word”

We see off the staffs of Yamamoto town that finished their meal at the ADRA Dining Hall with the word “itterasshai”. We hope to deliver some kind of healings to them by this word.


- Volunteer who joined the 4th batch (April 16th to 24th)
“Everyone in Yamamoto town, I just admire you for working day and night to rebuild your precious home town. It may not be easy, but keep up your work and don’t stop believing. Wishing a bright future for Yamamoto town.”

The lights at the town halls didn’t go off until the night gets far advanced during this time. The staffs of the disaster response headquarter were working day and night to rebuilt their town as soon as they can.


- Volunteer who joined the 5th batch (April 23rd to May 1st)
“Stars are shining in this town. I will do my best. Thank you for your help.”

The town of Yamamoto is famous for the beautiful stars at night among the former volunteers. The volunteers who came from big cities were especially amazed of the view that they see in the sky at night.


- Volunteer who joined the 6th batch (April 30th to May 8th)
“Keep smiling and take care of yourselves. The cherry blossoms over here are beautiful.”

There is a small avenue of cherry blossoms right next to the ADRA Dining Hall. The view of the cherry blossoms petals falling like a blizzard that can be seen while eating at the dining softened both staffs’ and volunteer’s hearts.


- Volunteer who joined the 7th batch (May 7th to 15th)
“Thank you for the stories about Yamamoto’s history and well- known products. I loved seeing your smile that reflects your prides of the town.”

There were times that the staffs of the disaster response headquarter told us some stories about their town. They show how much they love their own town.


- Volunteer who joined the 8th batch (May 14th to 22nd)
“I was happy to see the smiles on your faces when you were eating the desserts that I made.”

This volunteer was a former confectioner and made various desserts with the limited ingredients that were available at the site. In the end of the term, she wrote a message to the people in Yamamoto town with chocolate. Many headquarter staffs were taking pictures with this message that was displayed at the dining hall.





- Volunteer who joined the 10th batch (May 28th to June 5th)
“I got encouraged by the staffs in Yamamoto town who never gave up their hope and who were trying so hard to rebuild their town. They reminded me of the flower dandelion that stands up again and again even if it gets stepped on by people. Thank you so much and I will come back even from USA! Lots of love”

There were people like her who came overseas to help this project. She says she felt the hope of the future of Japan in the studious efforts of the staffs and the volunteers she worked with.


- Volunteer who joined the 12th batch (June 11th to 19th)
“I got power from everyone over here. Thank you so much and I would like to be back!”

She says she joined this program because she wanted to do something for others but she actually got power from the people in Yamamoto town in the end.


- Volunteer who joined the 13th batch (June 18th to 26th)
“Thank you for having me again. I will come back before long”

This volunteer came back to the ADRA Dining Hall after volunteering in other fields of Yamamoto town. She says she just got attached to this town.


- Volunteer who joined the 14th batch(June 25th to July 3rd)
“I was so happy when the staffs told me that the meals that we made were so good. Both nature and people were so nice over here. Thank you so much for having me”

Most of the volunteers had never cooked massive portion of food at once until they joined this program. They said it made them happy when the staffs that they served told them that the food they cooked in a different way from home still tasted really good.


- Volunteer who joined the 16th batch (July 9th to 17th)
“Yamamoto recovers day by day, and the cicada cries as the usual summer”

This message was actually written as a tanka, one form of Japanese verse. He expressed his feelings of encouragement in this short verse.


- Volunteer who joined the 18th batch (July 23rd to 31st)
“Thank you for the 100 days in Yamamoto!”

She joined the third batch of this program and stayed at Yamamoto to assist the management of the ADRA Dining Hall. She has been volunteering in many areas outside of Yamamoto as well and says she will continue to work for the tsunami relief.





ADRA Dining Hall opened in the cold winter season, still snowing and everyone warming up at the fire in front of the city hall. The season changes and the dining hall saw the cherry blossoms’ petals fall, went through the rainy season and now listening to the cicadas’ cries.

ADRA Dining Hall served well, and we think closing this means that Yamamoto is surely recovering one step at a time.


ADRA Japan will continue providing assistance in cooperation with the town office and DSS to rebuild Yamamoto town as the way it used to be.


（Ritu Orihara）


We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

-A homey lodging-

It has been three and half months since ADRA Japan started to run a soup kitchen on April 7th. ADRA staffs and volunteers stayed at one inn, named “Nakashou Inn” which is in town of Watari, next to town of Yamamoto, since April 16th to July 3rd,.
We lodged a dinner hall inside of this inn. We partitioned this dinner hall with corrugated cardboard, and slept with sleeping bags.

During we stayed at Nakashou Inn, the landlord and other staffs sent us on the work every morning, and said “Good Morning, have a good day!”, although ADRA staff and volunteers left early morning to serve meals for breakfast at “ADRA Dining Hall”. They also said “Welcome back!” when we come back to this inn. Nakashou Inn was the place we could feel like a home.


(ADRA staffs and volunteers were relaxed as if they were home.)

The landlord’s took care of us so much. For example, he set up another washing machine for us. Also, he sometimes served meals for us such as sashimi, rice seasoned with soy sauce and boiled with other savory vegetables, and fries.

We wished to stay at this inn much longer. However, we left the inn and moved to city of Kakuta on July 3rd. That is because the number of customers were getting bigger at this inn. We also considered our activity for the future. So, we decided to leave Nakashou Inn.

The day we left this inn, the landlady told to us, “Summer is coming, so the weather will get hot. Whenever you need ice, let us know. We will give you ice as much as you want.”


(“Nakashou Inn” staff, and ADRA Japan staff and volunteers.)

The day which we left this inn, the landlady was saying “Have a good day!” and never said “Good bye.”
Then, we realized that we found our new home in prefecture of Miyagi. We look forward to come back here again.

We have to remember that our activity is supported by many people like a staff of “Nakashou Inn”. ADRA Japan keeps on support to recover the town of Yamamoto, and other tsunami-stricken areas.

(Chika Mihara)




We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

“Making Rice Balls”


ADRA Japan has run a soup-kitchen for staffs of the disaster response headquarters in town of Yamamoto. We prepare three meals, and cook several rice balls a day. We make rice balls for not staffs of the disaster response headquarters but volunteers of the volunteers’ center in town of Yamamoto.


Dozens of volunteers gather at the volunteers’ center on weekdays. In addition, more than 200 volunteers come to the center from the whole of Japan on weekends.
Volunteers register themselves as volunteers at 8am, are assigned jobs, and work until 3pm. Most of them remove sludge and rubble from houses or field of local agriculturist such as strawberry. They work very hard.


Volunteers for the disaster should prepare their necessaries themselves basically. They should arrange rubber boots, cotton work gloves, goggles, and masks. Moreover, they should prepare their lunches and water.


However, most of them don’t have snacks to satisfy their appetite after finishing their works. They are very tired because of their hard works under a burning sun. They need to supply nutrition and salt in their bodies as soon as possible.


That’s why we are requested by the Social Welfare Council in town of Yamamoto to give volunteers rice balls to supply nutrition and salt. So, we distribute rice balls to volunteers.





(ADRA staffs and volunteers cook rice balls)


The reason why we cook salty rice balls is because volunteers need to take nutrition and salt in their bodies after the hard work. Also, salt can protect these rice balls from food poisoning



We cook 4.5-6kg rice for 50-80 rice balls on weekdays, and cook 15-21kg for 200-280 rice balls on weekdays. Although we start to make rice balls at noon on weekdays, we start to do so in the morning on weekends because we should make a lot of rice balls.









Some ADRA Japan volunteers are good at cooking. They make “special rice balls”. So, volunteers of the center who can have “special rice balls” are lucky person that day.




The most satisfied special rice ball was “HELLO KITTY Rice Balls”
We adopt ADRA Japan volunteers’ ideas not only menus of “ADRA Dining Hall” but also the ways to cook rice balls.



Volunteers of the center who have work more than one month said “I like to eat these rice balls very much after finishing my works. Salty rice balls are good for my body when I’m tired.”


We will keep on running “ADRA Dining Hall” as a place to relieve people’s exhaustion, as long as people need this dining hall.

(Hideo Watanabe)



We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.

~A present to put feelings of gratitude into~


ADRA Japan has distributed stuffs to welfare facilities for the aged and run a soup-kitchen at some places in Miyagi Prefecture since the earthquake and the tsunami hit. Even schools or public facilities which are designated officially as shelters have been not given enough stuffs. It goes without saying that welfare facilities for the aged where many people has stayed and not designated as shelters officially have been not distributed stuffs scarcely.

We have supplied subsistence goods, food, and fuel for heaters to the facilities. It is Nonprofit Organization, “the Liaison of Welfare Facilities for the Aged in Miyagi Prefecture” that has given information about what kinds of stuffs and how many the facilities have needed.

Staffs of the NPO visited our office in Tokyo with a wonderful present on July 15th.



A present from Nonprofit Organization, “the Liaison of Welfare Facilities for the Aged in Miyagi Prefecture”


It was the present that is a picture of a mascot of city of Sendai, “Musubi-Maru”. The mascot was made for promoting tourism to city of Sendai. However, now it is a symbol of rebuilding after the earthquake and tsunami.





The picture was drawn by 94-year-old man, who has stayed at a welfare facility for the aged in city of Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, “Sakuranbo Club”, which we have distributed food and fuel. He dared to draw a picture, although it is said that he is good at making a picture made by pasting multicolored pieces of paper on a panel or other background.



It is ADRA staff, Yamamoto (right), who received the picture


ADRA Japan has received people’s kindness as donations. We have been able to distribute stuffs and food to the survivors by the donations.
It has been about 4 months after the earthquake and tsunami. We get to receive words or feelings of gratitude from the survivors who we have supported. We will work hard in the earthquake and tsunami-stricken areas, linking hearts of supporters and those of the survivors.
Please keep on supporting the survivors and us.




We appreciate your continuous support and assistance to the people affected by the disaster.
You can also support by donating to ADRA through credit cards, bank transfer and postal transfer.

[Credit card]

Please refer to the guidance to donate.


[Bank transfer]

Bank name: The Bank of Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ (0005)
Branch: Omotesando (133)
Account number: 1956381
Swift code: BOTKJPJT
Account name: ADRA Japan

Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please also mention your address, phone number, the date and the amount transferred.


[Postal transfer]

Account number: 00290-2-34169
Account name: ADRA Japan
Please mention [Tohoku jishin] in addition to your name.
Should you require the receipt, please mention so.