A JCIE team visited several hard-hit towns Tohoku on June 17–19 in order to speak with NGO leaders, government officials, and local citizens about their communities’ needs and how outside aid can be directed most effectively. Following are the reflections of JCIE/USA Executive Director Jim … Read more
In August, the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA) carried out a sports exchange in Okayama Prefecture. The program brought 46 junior high school soccer players aged 12–15 and 6 teachers representing 3 different schools in Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. In addition, 123 students … Read more
The Association for Aid and Relief (AAR) Japan reports that they are providing supplies (e.g., cookware, dishes, cleaning/laundry supplies, cupboards, tables, etc.) to approximately 17,500 households living in temporary housing in 13 towns and villages—about half of the affected households in Fukushima Prefecture. As of … Read more
The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA) has been continuing to provide assistance in various forms to medical facilities in the Tohoku region. In response to a request for assistance from the Inawashiro Hospital, located in the tsunami-stricken port town of Kesennuma (Miyagi Prefecture), … Read more
The Association for Aid and Relief (AAR) reviewed its nine months of relief efforts since the March 11 disaster. To date, it has provided sets of household items for 20,719 families living in temporary housing (the target is roughly 35,000). AAR is continues to provide … Read more
The Association for Aid and Relief (AAR) Japan held a special event for children at a school in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, in a town that has been affected by the radiation leak from the nuclear plant. Children are only allowed outside to play when the … Read more
Many residents in the Tohoku region were engaged in small-scale farming prior to the disaster of 3/11. Rice farming in particular has not just been a source of income, but an integral part of the region’s culture and history. The tsunami had a devastating impact … Read more
JCIE and MetLife Alico Japan announced 21 grants for organizations helping children and families affected by 3/11. These include groups such as Peace Jam, which aims to create a peer support group of mothers with small children in Miyagi who have been facing great challenges … Read more
The Tokyo-based Takagi Fund received a three-year grant from JCIE’s Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund to assist its efforts to educate and promote collaboration and information-sharing among grassroots groups in the Fukushima region and elsewhere that have been dealing with radioactive contamination. The … Read more
NICCO has been carrying out a special project that uses food to promote economic recovery and support community building. In the early stages following the disaster, NICCO had been running daily soup kitchens to feed evacuees, but as local restaurant owners began reopening temporary shops, … Read more