Miyagi Support Center News "Link (Yui)" No. 55, November 19, 2011

Support our Tohoku fellows with bonds of friendship and strength

Issued by the Japan Disability Forum (JDF)'s Headquarters for the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities affected by the East Japan Great Earthquake

Offices:
Headquarters: 2-12-2 Itsutsu-bashi, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
Phone: +81-80-4373-6077 Fax.: +81-22-266-0292
Eastern Support Center: 99-7 Moto-machi, Wakuya-cho, Toda-gun, Miyagi prefecture
Phone: +81-229-43-6639 Fax.: +81-229-43-6685
Website:http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/resource/tohoku_earthquake.html

Number of consultations with persons with disabilities: 1,579 persons
Number of supporters/volunteers: 798 persons
Date: up to November 18, 2011

A powerful step toward the reconstruction

A report from the Himawari Workshop in Kesennuma

Reporter: a volunteer from Saitama.

At the time when the East Japan Great Earthquake struck us at 14:46 on March 11, 2011, the members and the staff of the Himawari Workshop were working at a newly-constructed workshop in Kesennuma City scheduled to be opened on April 1. The staff were hurry to call the workshop (the present place of the workshop), but no call was connected. Immediately after the return of the members and the staff to the workshop, the newly-constructed workshop was totally destroyed by a following massive tsunami and the fire.

Afterwards, they had to stay at the workshop as an evacuation shelter. Somehow, they have gotten over the hard time having the relief goods, which were not readily available in the days of beginning, sent to them. They were supposed to be in the severe situation at the first time. Smiles of the members must have disappeared. The chief of the workshop, Komatsu remembers that he thought of what they should do for the future at that time.

Eight months have passed since that earthquake disaster. The members of the workshop have regained their smiles nowadays. And the staff have regained their smiles, too. They returned to normal daily works and have made a powerful initial step toward the reconstruction. There are several kinds of works at the workshop including Kombu processing. It was a newly-started work after the earthquake disaster. This processing work had been undertaken by the other facility before the disaster. But the facility had to give up continuing the work after the earthquake, and the workshop of Himawari succeeded it. Nowadays, they borrow the corner space of a processing company for their work as the newly-constructed workshop site was stricken by the disaster. The processing work contains of cutting long pieces of Kombu to the length of the standard, opening and piling it up, and packing a box with a pile of Kombu beautifully. All of the members work seriously and carefully, showing their smiles sometimes.

Having the progress since the day when they had once lost their smiles, they have regained their work as a source to their life and, the most importantly, their smiles. They have made a powerful initial step toward the reconstruction.

Photo: The members and staff of the workshop regained their smiles as they returned to normal daily works.
(Translator's Note: The Kombu is cultivated on the ropes in the sea and used extensively in Japanese cuisines as one of the main ingredients to make a soup stock.)

Photo: The Kombu of this product is cultivated locally in Kesennuma, and the product has been taking part in the publicity of the reconstruction of hometown.

Bringing love to Kitsunezakihama

Reporter: a volunteer from Aichi.

On November 19, we brought a flower bed set to Mr. / Ms. Hiratsuka in Kitsunezakihama, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. Kitsunezaki is located in the edge of Oshika Peninsula. The distance from the center of the city to there is far. A part of a mountain path was fallen apart and will flood at the time of a high tide. In such environment, the support from the center is hard to arrive there. In Kitsunezaki, there used to be only one store before the disaster, and the store closed after that. And we were told that the people in Kitsunezaki had to take more than one hour to go over the mountain for shopping.

Mr. / Ms. Hiratsuka made the request of the flower bed set because they felt that the opportunities to meet people there decreased sharply after the disaster. They hoped to regain relationships with people and would like to let the same beautiful rows of houses along the street as the ones before the disaster reappeared. This time, we could bring the set with assistance from the Association for Aid and Relief (AAR), Japan. When we visited Mr. / Ms. Hiratsuka, they told us that they were relieved to meet the Japan Disability Forum (JDF) members. Oyster is the special product in Kitsunezaki. We were told that the oyster would be brought up deliciously in three years. I would like to visit there again three years later by all means.

Photos: The person we brought a set of flower beds to and the set of flower beds.

Asahi Junior High Students' Weekly newspaperman visited Miyagi for the fact gathering of the JDF's activities

Reporter: a volunteer from Saga.

We welcomed Mr. Hiromasa Ichikawa, a reporter from the Editorial Department of the Asahi Gakusei Shimbunsha. He was accompanied by the JDF team to visit a care facility for daily living that the JDF has been supporting and spent a whole day for the fact gathering. The article reporting the JDF's activities by Mr. Ichikawa is scheduled to be carried by the issue dated of December 4 of the Asahi Junior High Students' Weekly.

Support Footprints

By: a volunteer from Hokkaido

Hoping to convey these wishes to coming ages

I, for the first time with my eyes, observed the scratches in the disaster fields stricken by the massive tsunami and keenly realized the terror of the nature. My thought that I might be helpful in some way disappeared instantly and the inside of my head became blank. We started working with the Nozomi Workshop as the place for us to be in charge. Unexpectedly, we were encouraged and given the strengths by the persons with disabilities at the workshop working hard and the staff of the workshop having the positive enthusiasm. I felt it was our mission that we convey what we observed, listened to, and felt to those who are interested as much as possible.

By: a volunteer from Aichi

"Cheerful spirit and shining smiles like sunflowers!"

This was the words that a person with disability at the Himawari Workshop gave to us. Some of the people at the Himawari Workshop have still post-traumatic stress; aftershocks easily make them recall what happened on and after the East Japan Great Earthquake. Nevertheless, they have been working hard to help and support each other with their various thought and their willingness to contribute to their family and their hometown. Little by little, they are becoming reassured and have made a powerful step forward. I, myself, have been given a lot of positive spirit and smiles by the people at the workshop for one week. I am sure that they will give the same spirit and smiles to the people in Kesennuma and other places in Miyagi prefecture as they gave me. Now, I am planning to convey what I observed, felt, listened to and the willingness of the people at the workshop to those who are interested after my return to my hometown, Nagoya.

By: a volunteer from Hokkaido

"Holding hands with each other"

It is an immediate future that the support by the JDF will be terminated and the Support Centers will be closed. In this occasion, I appreciate it very much that I was assigned to summarize the activities done by all volunteers from all over the country during the past months. I will be proud of my volunteer work. About two weeks remain before the completion. I would like to expect that we will carefully help the last team succeed the support activities and that we complete the activity report and make it outstanding. Wishing it will be an important message to coming ages.

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