12
Dec 2012

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Hurricane Sandy Relief Volunteer Project: Japanese Volunteers Supporting Disaster Victims in New York

The March 11 disasters in Japan resulted in an outpouring of concern, support and solidarity from the United States, which has been truly inspiring and encouraging, and made a tangible impact on the lives of people affected by the disaster in the Tohoku region. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Peace Boat travelled to New York together with Ishinomaki residents to assist in the volunteer and relief effort coordination efforts, to reciprocate the support that we received in Tohoku from the people of the US.

12
Nov 2012

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Peace Boat begins disaster relief for Hurricane Sandy

The Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Centre (PBV) has dispatched two coordinating staff members today (November 12, 2012) to consider and begin potential support for the ongoing relief efforts in New York and surrounds following Hurricane Sandy.

Messages of support and donations have also been generously provided by the citizens of Ishinomaki City, expressing gratitude and solidarity in turn to the people of the United States who provided so much material and emotional support to those affected by the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

06
Nov 2012

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International Standards for Humanitarian Aid: HAP and Sphere

Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Centre Programme Officer Maho Takahashi participated in the Training of Trainers (ToT) for the “Sphere Project” held between October 20-26 in Seoul, Korea. The Sphere Project sets minimum standards in humanitarian response for NGOs and NPOs, aiming to improve the quality and accountability of actions taken during disaster response.

22
Oct 2012

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“Intro to Disaster Volunteering” Begins!

Peace Boat is proud to announce the launch in September 2012 of the Disaster Volunteer Training programme, designed to help prepare for future disasters. This is a four-step program composed of both introductory and intermediate-level courses.

By hosting these classes around the country and offering online certification, we hope to provide as many people as possible with the opportunity to learn these skills and knowledge.

10
Aug 2012

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Ishinomaki Tea party!

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

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Growing sea squirts

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.

01
Aug 2012

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Kyushu Floods: Disaster Relief Activity Report

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.

23
Jul 2012

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A New Project in Ishinomaki – Painting ‘Tairyo-ki’ on Containers!

A new voluntary project has launched since May 2012 in Oshika Peninsula, Ishinomaki City. As a part of the ongoing fishing support, Peace Boat is assisting to paint Tairyo-ki (large colorful flags that symbolizes the wishes for a good catch and safe fishing) on the side-face of containers that have been used as storage.
As the containers are plain brown, they are not a very appealing sight on the landscape, sitting on bare soil. So, in response to a request from fishermen from Koami-Kurahama, Peace Boat agreed to help make these containers instead into a symbol of recovery.

15
Jun 2012

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My fishing village experience!

“Oraho’s experience” (“my experience” in Tohoku dialect) is a new volunteer programme launched in 2012, in which participants can interact more with local people in the disaster affected areas by talking, eating, and sleeping together, not just working together. Peace Boat initiated this programme in the hope that participants can gain a rich experience based on direct personal connections with the local community, and that this programme can bring people closer together and inspire more ideas for the future.
This article features an interview with Komori Shizu, a participant in the 2nd program held in Oginohama, and local fisherman Fushimi Kaoru who hosted her.

11
Jun 2012

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Making Accesories with Ogatsu Stone is “something to live for” – Funakoshi Ladies, Ogatsu

The fishing village of Funakoshi sits on the northern side of the Ogatsu Peninsula, about a one-hour drive from central Ishinomaki. Today, there is no sight of children at the Funakoshi Primary School, where the 17m-high tsunami flooded up to the 3rd floor. In the school building, however, you can hear the laughter of the ‘Funakoshi Ladies’ in their workshop, furnished with tatami-mats in the hallway.

The ‘Funakoshi Ladies’ now famously make and sell necklaces and cellphone straps made from Ogatsu Stone, as well as “Kai-no-Netsuke (shell charms)”, a popular charm for happiness in marriage.