18
May 2011
Peace Boat is happy to announce that we are now able to offer a plan for short-term volunteers, to spend two days in Ishinomaki and Onagawa assisting with efforts to remove mud and debris, and generally clean, homes and businesses in the area.
We hope that this will be a chance for many people who have wanted to volunteer, yet found it hard to make a full week, to join the relief operations.
18
May 2011
Over 180 non-Japanese volunteers, or ‘International Volunteers,’ have joined Peace Boat’s relief activities. As a rural town, Ishinomaki does not see many non-Japanese visitors, so the presence of International Volunteers is a source of fascination and encouragement for the locals. As many helping hands as possible is needed in Ishinomaki, and it is important to include non-Japanese in these efforts – both people resident in Japan and from elsewhere. Domestic news coverage of the destruction is on the wane. The presence of the international community still continues to be needed in Japan so that the devastation may not be forgotten, and efforts to rebuild can be continued together.
17
May 2011
Torii Kenta joined the Peace Boat group dispatched to Ishinomaki on April 8. He initially stayed for 3 weeks and found that the area around Ishinomaki train station showed a marked improvement over that time. His faith in volunteerism and the relevance of working there was reaffirmed. He deduces that the factors contributing to this are the increasing number of volunteers and also the fact that many volunteers are staying for longer periods and gaining mastery over the content of their tasks. The whole effort is speeding up and increasing in scope. “I thought the power of human strength is not be laughed at,” he says optimistically.
12
May 2011
The situation in the affected areas remains extremely serious. In Ishinomaki alone, there is a need of provision of 20,000 meals each day, and even at the current rate it will take two years to fully clear the homes of mud brought by the tsunami. Peace Boat will therefore be holding information sessions to call for disaster relief volunteers not only in Tokyo but nationwide throughout Japan. See this post for details.
12
May 2011
Peace Boat stores all donated relief goods at the indoor baseball training hall on the Ishinomaki Senshu University campus. Relief goods include food, sanitary goods, household items for everyday use as well as equipment required for sludge and debris removal. Volunteers working at the storage area keep tabs on all items incoming and outgoing. They are also responsible for keeping items stored and separated according to category.
“Sometimes you will find letters addressed to the survivors of the quake in boxes of donated relief goods. Whomever sent the items express their solidarity with the survivors…really, it made me well up with tears when I came across that letter.” says a storage area volunteer.
11
May 2011
The distribution of hot meals by Peace Boat is carried out in coordination with a number of other organizations conducting the same service. Meetings are held between the groups to determine how many meals need to be distributed to which area.
The ‘delivery team’ is then responsible for the safe distribution of the prepared food.
On the day of this post, 1000 meals prepared by the Kitchen team were to be distributed throughout 8 areas in the region, along with other relief goods.
10
May 2011
The tsunami which followed the earthquake of March 11 demolished a large fish processing factory located in Iharatsu, a mainly residential seaside town located about 1 km from Ishinomaki. Along with mountains of debris and toxic sludge, huge numbers of fish were strewn about all over town.
Now that over a month has passed, the rotting remains of fish hidden in the debris and sludge are now posing a serious health risk, as well as being the source of an unbearable smell which permeates the area. In order to alleviate this problem, the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Team established the ‘Fish Retrieval Project’.
09
May 2011
Peace Boat volunteers in Ishinomaki are undertaking many other jobs as well as the mud and debris clearance previously introduced here.
The Kitchen teams are responsible for preparing meals, Delivery teams for bringing these throughout the region, Store teams for managing and distributing the relief goods donated from around the word, and other groups helping at evacuation centres such as that at the Minato Primary School.
This report introduces the work of the Kitchen teams.
05
May 2011
One month after the earthquake and tsunami hit, Peace Boat launched a programme together with four other organisations as the local needs moved from emergency relief to support for recovery of the city of Ishinomaki. Together with the local Social Welfare Council, ap bank, and Megumi Japan, the “Smile Project” was launched. Since its beginnings one and a half months ago, mud and debris have been cleaned from more than 200 individually owned residences and businesses.
02
May 2011
In Ishinomaki, the harsh winter is slowly turning into spring. Until now there has often been sudden and heavy snow, rain and wind, flooding the town and toppling the tents in which volunteers are staying. However the weather is becoming warmer, and cherry blossoms have bloomed, marking the beginning of the new year. Many of the schools throughout Ishinomaki which Peace Boat has been supporting are opening for classes, and at the end of April entrance ceremonies were held for the new students.