Miyagi Support Center News "Link (Yui)" No. 39, August 25, 2011

Support our Tohoku fellows with bonds of friendship and strength

Issued by Japan Disability Forum (JDF)’s Support Center for Persons with Disabilities affected by the East Japan Great Earthquake

Offices:
Headquarters: 2-12-2 Itsutsubashi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai City
Phone: +81-80-4373-6077 Fax: +81-22-266-0292

Miyagi Eastern Area Support Center: 99-7 Motomachi, Wakuya-cho
Phone: +81-229-43-6639 Fax: +81-229-43-6685

Miyagi Northern Area Support Center: c/o Wakaba-en, Touwa-Machi, Tome City
Phone: +81-90-8349-9403
Website:
http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/resource/tohoku_earthquake.html

The Wakuya-cho support center has been opened 2 weeks ago. I will cover the Ishinomaki-city and Onagawa-town areas. Meetings have been held to review the support so far and to plan the activities from this center. Information booklets and JDF pamphlets have been made available to spread word of our support activities.

Photo: May 18 in Utazu and August 22 in Utazu

・Number of consultations with persons with disabilities: 1,489 persons
・Number of supporters/volunteers: 613
Date: August 25

5 months after the disaster, our support from here …

The 2nd consultation meeting of welfare organizations for persons with disabilities was held at Miyagi-prefecture office on August 22nd. 11 organizations were represented. Various issues were raised such setting up funding for establishing group homes and the ongoing difficulties with surveying the conditions of the survivors. We discussed further the need for meetings to exchange and coordinate experiences. Especially AAR proposed the need for exchange meeting based on their experiences abroad. AAR is considering the provision transportation fee for organizing meetings. Unfortunately, at the prefectural level no capacity is available due to huge disaster and in spite of the importance of collaborating the proposed meeting(s) will not be held in the foreseeable future.

Support footprints

Temporary housing without handrails

By: A supporter from Nagano prefecture

We were contacted by a mother of a 19 year old girl with epilepsy. They had requested for hand rails in the bath room of their temporary house but the builders said they could not install them in the prefab bath-units. It would seem there are many other people facing the same problem. Of course, we can increase the dispatch of helpers instead, but that does not always match people’s preferences for their ways of living.

This one will last!!!

Sheltered workshop “Nozomi” has been given a new signboard. Made voluntarily from discarded lumber and a table top it didn’t cost a penny. This one will last for time to come.

By: A supporter of the Northern Area Support Center

Photo:In front of new signboard

Wish to make braille pamphlets

A supporter from Nagano prefecture

A man with a visual impairment who had run a massage-therapy clinic for 20 years.

A man with a visual impairment who had his own massage-therapy clinic before the tsunami in Kesennuma-city, but who now stays in a shelter in Wakuya-town. After the showing of a barrier-free movie showing of “A Yell from Heaven” he approached us with the offer of making Braille pamphlets with the support from Japan Association of Blind Dogs. We gratefully accept his offer.

♦Recruitment of volunteers continuous！♦

Activities:

Support・・・Needs assessment (visiting), support services, etc

Administrative・・・Telephone consultation, administration of needs, accounting, general affairs, public relations, etc

Where:

Miyagi Support Center (Wakuya-chou, Toda-gun) and Miyagi Northern Area Support Center（Tome-city）

We prefer volunteers who can work for 10 days. We are waiting for your call: +81-80-4373-6077

Translated by Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
Volunteer translator: Mr. Peter Bontje