JEN‘s team in Ishinomaki reported that it had divided up into four groups that were focusing on removing mud, providing hot meals, addressing emotional needs, and providing mobile relief services. The most urgent of these tasks is mud removal. The tsunami left wide swaths of … Read more
JEN is calling for volunteers to help in the effort to help in the sludge removal efforts, to distribute cleanup kits (rubber gloves, rubber boots, masks, shovels, buckets, etc.), and to prepare warm meals as it continues to assist and survey the conditions around Sendai … Read more
One of the roles of Japan Platform is to match companies who are willing to donate relief supplies with the nonprofit groups on the ground that have assessed the needs in the affected region. It recently announced that 489 different types of items had been … Read more
Japan Platform sent a letter thanking JCIE for its support and for its timely action to raise funds, saying, “We hope to do our best as there are still areas that are deprived of relief assistance.” JEN is sending teams of volunteers to serve food … Read more
The Association for Aid and Relief (AAR) is providing mobile medical treatment on the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit areas. Currently, the northern half of the peninsula is being covered by a medical team from Tokai University and the Japanese Red … Read more
This week is the traditional “Golden Week” holiday in Japan, and many Japanese people are taking advantage of their time off to volunteer in the Tohoku region. As described in a recent Japan Times article, many groups are trying to organize the outpouring of concern into practical assistance … Read more
As described in an AFP article on May 9 , the cleanup task in Tohoku is immense and volunteers have been helping local residents to remove the massive amounts of debris and the foul-smelling sludge that was left by the tsunami. A British resident of … Read more
A staff member of the Association for Aid and Relief (AAR) shared his experiences helping at an evacuation center in the Minato Middle School in the city of Ishinomaki (Miyagi Prefecture). He first arrived in mid-April, about one month after the earthquake struck, to … Read more
The Japan Association for Refugees (JAR), which is one of the Japan Platform member organizations, has been organizing groups of volunteers to go to Tohoku and help with the clean-up and other needs. What is unique about these groups of volunteers is that they include … Read more
JEN reports that temporary housing is being built in the city of Ishinomaki. There are currently more than 22,000 people living in evacuation centers there, so there is an urgent need for housing. During the Golden Week holidays, JEN was able to provide an average … Read more