Miyagi Support Center News "Link (Yui)" No. 16, May 30th, 2011

Let's support our fellows in Tohoku with our bonds of friendship and strengths.

Issued by the Miyagi Support Center of the Japan Disability Forum (JDF) HQs for the support of persons with disabilities affected by the East Japan Great Earthquake.
Office: c/o Hagi-no-sato Daini Fukuju-en, Taihaku-ku, Sendai-city
Phone & fax: +81-22-244-6965

Seasons change as usual, and the rainy season has just come for the people who cannot help living in shelters still now. They are forced to continue enduring hardships. Meanwhile, so many volunteers have come here from all over the country with their willingness to help us to implement our support activities. We will further continue our "togirenai (long-standing) support" to make it come true as early as possible that the disaster-suffered people we have been concerned can live at home in near future.

To date, a few support centers for persons with disabilities have been reconstructed and re-opened in each area. We will introduce you the activities of some of such centers that the Miyagi Support Center of the Japan Disability Forum (JDF) has being supporting.

Number of visits from the Miyagi Support Center up to May 29

JDF has attained the opportunities of talks with 1,263 persons with disabilities through home visits

Report as of May 26:

The Miyagi Support Center of the Japan Disability Forum (JDF) established a new base in the northern part of Miyagi Prefecture to become active to start a needs assessment program through visits in the northern area. We had talks with 51 persons with disabilities in Minami-Sanriku-cho since the opening of the northern base.

The Miyagi Support Center of the JDF, having set up two bases in Miyagi Prefecture, has met 1,263 persons with disabilities in total as of May 26. Subsequently we will try making necessary supports available for the persons with disabilities in difficult situations.

Exchange of opinions with Yamamoto-cho town mayor, Toshio Saito

“Supports to the persons with disabilities hastened”

On May 27, Takanao Kabuki, the chief of the Support Center of the JDF, and Toshio Saito, Yamamoto-cho town mayor, had a meeting to exchange information and opinions on the suffering situation of persons with disabilities and support plans of the future.

In Yamamoto-cho, located in the coast in the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture, the death toll from the disaster stood at 669 with 71 others remained missing out of about 16,000 town residents as of May 23. There are many persons with disabilities and their family members suffered from the disasters.
In cooperation with the Social Welfare Council of Yamamoto-cho, we helped the re-opening of "Koubou-chikyuu-mura (the earth village of workshop)". This community workshop had been closed since they suffered from the disasters. We have maintained our support to the workshop through sending our volunteers everyday since its re-opening on May 9. The meeting with the town mayor, Saito, was arranged by his office. He asked us to provide information on the re-opened workshop and the help by the Support Center of the JDF.
At the meeting, Kabuki, the Miyagi Support Center chief, reported the progress of the JDF's support activities for the workshop and expressed that the whereabouts of about 900 persons with disabilities in Yamamoto-cho were remained unidentified. Also, he proposed the JDF's active support of the future for the promotion of pubulic services by Yamamoto-cho for the persons with disabilities living at home. Hiromi Taguchi, a participant to the meeting from the Yamamoto-cho Social Welfare Council, presented the town mayor with up-to-date information about the "Koubou-Chikyuu-Mura".
The town mayor, Saito, expressed his pleasure to the re-opening of the "Koubou-Chikyuu-Mura" and his wishes to strengthen their support to the disaster-suffered residents with a special attention to the persons with disabilities. Though Saito had been working hard day after day and the every night not only for the support services to the disaster-suffered people but also for building temporary housings and the restoration of the lifeline, he kindly arranged this meeting.

Picture 1: From left; Kabuki, the Support Center chief, Saito, the town mayor, Ichikawa, the Support Center volunteer, and Taguchi, the Social Welfare Council staff.

Picture 2: Exchanging opinions at the meeting.

From the local center

May 28: Changed the document-filing system of the needs assessment and visit's diary to maintain our "togirenai (long-standing) support" activities.

A word from volunteers

Seeing the reality of the disaster-suffered places, I was speechless at first. I was confused with the misery that I had never imagined to happen. However, smiles of the people suffered from the disasters who I met here and there cheered me up so that I could do my best in my duties. (a volunteer from Tokyo)

I wonder how much I was able to do. But it was a great experience for me to visit shelters and have opportunities to talk with various persons. It became my important treasure. I would like to relay the message of importance of the long-standing support. (another volunteer from Tokyo)

We need more people to help the persons with disabilities rebuild their lives step by step in the community.
Please support our fellows with your contribution!
Volunteers needed
Expected duties:

1. Supporters at the Miyagi Support center: visit to evacuation shelters and support centers/facilities for the disabled for the needs assessments and the support activities depending on the needs.
2. Office staff at the Miyagi Support center: telephone consultations, arrangements of the support activities depending on the needs, accounting, administrative managements, public information, report-writing and record managements.
3. Supporters at Miyagi Northern Part Support center: visit evacuation shelters, needs assessments and survey into the whereabouts of people with disabilities in Kesennuma-city and Minami-sanriku-town.

Translated by the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
Volunteer translator: Mr. Isamu Konishi