19
Sep 2012
Mr Paul Bilney tells us, “I’m back here in Ishinomaki!”
Paul first came to Ishinomaki all the way from Australia in April last year soon after the disaster struck. A veteran international volunteer, Paul he has now joined Peace Boat’s disaster relief efforts four times, playing an important role in the reconstruction process of Ishinomaki and support of survivors.
01
Sep 2012
Peace Boat provided relief activity for the flooding in northern Kyushu between 15 July – 10 August 2012, in Taketa City, Oita Prefecture. 41 volunteers (with a total of 212 volunteer working days), together with many individual volunteers, visited the local disaster volunteer center run by the Social Welfare Council (hereafter referred to as “SWC”) scooped mud out of the houses and facilities, as well as cleaned the roads and street drains.
Upon completion of the volunteer activities, Peace Boat staff member Suzuki Shoichi who was in charge of the local coordination interviewed Mr Mizuno Masaya, the head of Kujyu branch of the SWC.
31
Aug 2012
Photo gallery from the biggest local festival, the “89th Ishinomaki Kawabiraki (“River Opening”) Festival,” held in Ishinomaki on July 31 and August 1, 2012.
30
Aug 2012
The final performance of Fukushima & Venezuela Music Youth Ambassadors was held on August 18 at Tsuda Hall in Tokyo. Approximately 450 people, including family members and other guests of the Fukushima TV Junior Orchestra, people connected to the Venezuelan Embassy, and evacuees from Fukushima who live in the Tokyo area, participated to see the children perform.
10
Aug 2012
Peace Boat has been providing support to residents of temporary housing including publishing a community paper, cultivating vegetable gardens, making benches and planters, and more. Communicating with the residents is one of the most important things in understanding the needs for such projects.
This is a report on “Ocha-kko (tea parties)” which Peace Boat has been organizing as a space for communication more than 600 times throughout the different communities of temporary housing in the city of Ishinomaki.
09
Aug 2012
Miyagi Prefecture and Ishinomaki in particular are famous for producing the delicacy sea squirts. However, the tsunami greatly affected this industry, with none able to be harvested last year. The Peace Boat fishery and coastal support team has conducted activities to support those committed to the coastal recovery, and reviving the fishing industry. This article explains the process to produce sea squirts.
09
Aug 2012
A very special concert to welcome back the youth from Fukushima and to welcome to Japan the Venezual youth participating in the “Fukushima & Venezuela Music Youth Ambassadors – Widened Horizons: Opening the World’s Door for Fukushima’s Youth” will be held on Saturday August 18 in Tokyo!
05
Aug 2012
As part of a recreation project for children in Fukushima, Peace Boat planned a mountain climbing trip to Mt Fuji from July 21-23, 2012. This post is based on the diary of Takeda Nobuhiro, a Peace Boat Disaster Volunteer Center Staff member himself from Koriyama, Fukushima.
01
Aug 2012
This is a report on Peace Boat’s disaster relief activities after the heavy rain and flooding in Takeda City, Oita Prefecture, Kyushu.
At midnight on July 20, 5 days after the Peace Boat advance team entered Takeda City, 9 staff members including the first volunteer team arrived at the site together with materials and equipment for relief work. They then began to meet with staff members of the local Disaster Volunteer Center run by the Takeda CIty Social Welfare Council, and launched relief efforts for mud shoveling and cleaning.
30
Jul 2012
The Peace Boat Center Ishinomaki opened on June 2. The acceptance of the local community has been growing, and there are now around 20 local visitors each day. Including the many large-scale events, the Center has welcomed over 1,000 people in the six weeks since it opened.
This report outlines a day at the Peace Boat Center, including volunteer activities, events, and more.