Miyagi Support Center News “LINK (Yui)” No. 53, November 5, 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) Headquarters for the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities

Miyagi Central Support Center
Office: 2-12-2, Itsutsubashi, Aoba-Ku, Sendai City
Phone: +81-80-4373-6077
FAX: +81-222-66-0292

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

URL: http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/resource/tohoku_earthquake.html

Survey record (as of November 4, 2011)
Total number of the persons with disabilities who had dialogue with JDF: 1,575
Total number of the supporters: 787

“Wishing this toilet unit would be a standard in Japanese society.” Said Mr. Hatakeyama, Director of Nozomi Welfare Workshop

November 5 was a house-moving day for Nozomi Welfare Workshop and we helped them. The new facility was very close to Bayside Arena. A temporary toilet unit was attached to the new workshop. It was much different from ordinary one. It was a barrier-free toilet. It took much time, money and energy for them to get it. Mr. Hatakeyama’s words were so impressive. He claimed, “This toilet should be a standard for disaster relief housing scheme in Japan.
Not the cheap makeshift one, but the one friendly for anybody and based on need should be the mainstream.”

Photo: A temporary toilet unit

Helping a house-moving of Nozomi Welfare Workshop

We helped the house moving as the first step activity of the new Nozomi Welfare Workshop. We carried the refrigerator, desks, and so on together with the staff members, whose faces showed the new resolution to the restarted Nozomi Welfare Workshop. We felt through our support activities that Nozomi was indispensable place for the users of persons with disabilities. (JDF supporters from Ibaragi and Shizuoka Prefecture)

Photo: A house-moving of Nozomi Welfare Workshop

Exchange program with Frontier Association, Non-Profit Organization in Miyazaki Prefecture

On the 4th day of our support activity at Himawari Welfare Workshop we had an opportunity to join their exchange program with Frontier Association, Which is an organization to support youth. This is the third time for them to visit the affected areas. 9 members including Mr. Hirao, Chairperson came by bus with cheering messages and drawings painted on the whole body. They felt what they could do was very limited, but through their occasional visits they could see the way forward in the reconstruction process. They were so impressed by the power to overcome the difficulties. They were looking forward to coming back again to appreciate the progress. Mr. Aono, Director of Life Support Center for Persons with Disabilities showed the video vividly recorded the tense moment of the Tsunami surged, and reported the center’s support activities for the persons with disabilities. And then we could directly hear from the persons with disabilities who were the users of the center how they went through the days after the disaster. The Director added that sharing their hard experiences with those who came from other prefectures meant a healing process for them to be free from stress. We found the importance of listening to them. Listening, responding, and sharing with others as many as possible is a very important role of JDF. (JDF supporters from Tochigi and Ibaragi Prefecture)

Photo:Exchange program with Frontier Association

Footmarks of Support activities

Upon request about handrail in bathroom in a temporary house, the staff of local Welfare Office, the family members and I talked together at their house to solve the problems they were facing. Some houses have condensation and even rain leaking. The community people have a big worry toward the coming winter season. It was a merit for them to get their temporary houses at earlier stage, but now a demerit caused by the rush work brings a big gap from the revised temporary houses coming up later. I wish they could have warm, comfortable space to spend this winter. (A JDF supporter from Nagano Prefecture)

On March 11, 2011 I was at home, watching TV which showed the real time scene how the Tsunami swallowed the towns. I was horrified and stunned by the fact and kept on watching TV. Since then I had been seeking what I could do. I decided to join the JDF support activity. Coming here, I witnessed the disaster situation with my eyes. Frankly I could not find words to express my feeling.
During the JDF support activity, staff from various welfare workshops said, “The community broadcasting announced that the Tsunami was 5-6m high. It made us careless and overconfident to think such Tsunami was manageable. But in a moment the Tsunami was just in front of us.” ”We have to assume even the things beyond our assumptions” They talked to me very seriously. The lesson they shared is my treasure.
Now I feel it is my given role to make most of this treasure and share it as a message for risk management and prevention of disaster with the people abound me. I would like to show my sincere gratitude to the people of the welfare workshops and JDF, which let me join the support work. (JDF volunteer from Shizuoka Prefecture)

I had a chance to visit Onagawa Temporary house community. It was around 1 hour drive from Wakuya Center. The car passed Ishinomaki city and reached Onagawa cho. On the way to there, we saw the buildings toppled over sideways which we were familiar in the news films, and run the roads without any road sign. I met an affected person. She was self-reliant before, but during shelter life for two months, her walking condition had been getting worse. I reassumed how much a sudden deprivation of life base give a big damage to anyone’s life, and how an ordinal daily life is important and fragile. She once became bed-ridden, but now she can walk with a cane. She cannot take a bath in her bathroom since the so-called barrier-free handrail is not available for her. She falls down at the entrance. In spite of such inconvenience she says with smile, “I am all right. I can endure since it is a temporary house.” I think her words represent the patience of almost all of the affected people. It shows the strength of human being as well. It reminds me of the words, “The disaster attacked everyone in the same way, but the effects were different.” We should get close to endurance-free society for persons with disabilities in high speed. (A supporter from Saitama prefecture)

Translated by Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
Volunteer translator: Ms. Mayumi Yamazaki