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Guest Post: Micah of HANDS Kitakami

Letter from volunteer Micah (exchange student) to Japan Studies Student Leaders, Willamette University. Copied here with permission from Micah and Anna Thomas of the HANDS Kitakami NPO

The coast along Kamaishi, taken on March 29th 2011

Dear my lovely JSSL-ers,
Greetings from Japan! Many of you may not know who I am, so I shall take a brief moment to introduce myself. I am Micah Mizukami, junior, spending a year at TIU. Last year I was the president of JSSL.
I write to you all today because I would like to share my experience volunteering in Iwate Prefecture. In November of last year, I went to Iwate for the first time with two other Willamette students, Emily Abraham and Heather Hurlburt, if you know who they are. Yesterday I came back from Iwate again after volunteering for four days by myself.
I’m sure you all have seen the pictures of the damage and destruction that was caused on March 11, 2011. Nearly a year has passed since that day, and things have been cleared up quite a bit. By taking a look at these pictures, you can see how far the clean up process has progressed. http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/09/see-how-japan-has-rebuilt-in-the-11-months-since-the-earthquake-and-tsunami/

As all of you are part of JSSL, you are all bound by a common interest in Japan. If you have the opportunity to come to Japan, whether to study abroad or not, I highly recommend volunteering. Although the pictures in the link above make it seem like everything is okay, do not be deceived. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in the Tohoku region of Japan.
I spent Wednesday through Saturday of last week volunteering in two different cities in Iwate, both of which are shown in the link above. The first two days were spent in Rikuzentakata and the other two were spent in Kamaishi. Back in November, I went to Kamaishi, so I was already familiar with the area, but Rikuzentakata was a first. As we drove to the work site, I could not comprehend what was before my eyes. There was nothing. If you look at the pictures of Rikuzentakata in the link above, you will see that there is, in fact, nothing. Nothing but dirt. Debris separated and organized into mounds. A few buildings (three, or four) remain, but are badly damaged. It’s as if a town never existed there. On my first day in Rikuzentakata, I helped build rafts used to grow and harvest oysters. The second day I spent cleaning dirt off of letters, postcards, and other paper documents.
In Kamaishi, also pictured in the link above, half of the town is perfectly fine, unaffected by the tsunami. The other half, however, is eerily quiet, a deserted ghost town. It truly feels like a post-apocalyptic world. Some buildings have been torn from their foundations [*], nowhere to be seen, while others stand falling apart, debris scattered everywhere. The first morning in Kamaishi was spent helping an old woman, whose house was lost to the tsunami, move her things from a friend’s house into a temporary housing facility. This old woman was so grateful that she treated the two other volunteers and me to tea and Japanese sweets. She also talked of her experience with the disaster and how she was safely out of the country for a wedding, but how many friends and acquaintances were lost to the devastation. Despite losing her house, many of her belongings, and friends, seeing her gratitude and generosity after simply helping to move her things was quite moving.
Other jobs in Kamaishi included removing dirt, oil, and other debris from the gutters, cleaning a mound of what used to be a barbershop, and walking around Kamaishi with a map to mark down which buildings still need to be cleaned out before being torn down. Another incident that left an impact on me during volunteering was cleaning the pile of debris that was once a barbershop. While cleaning up, an old woman sitting in the back of a taxi passed by, and seeing the volunteers, she bowed her head deeply towards us. It was a silent display of gratitude and I’m not sure if any of the other volunteers noticed, but the old woman bowing silently in the taxi left a deep impression on me.
However, we are all volunteers. As volunteers, we have no expectations to be thanked. Instead after volunteering, we thank the person who asked us to volunteer before leaving the work site. Thank you for letting us work here. In November at the quick volunteer orientation, we were told that volunteers should not have the mindset of ボランティアをしてあげる, but instead think in terms of ボランティアをさせて頂く. I will humbly receive the favor of volunteering, not I will give you my help volunteering. It is with this spirit that we volunteer. We are all grateful for being allowed to work in such an area, grateful to learn from the experience of volunteering.
I met many wonderful people during my stay in Iwate. All of the volunteers are truly people to look up to. They spend their free time, their weekends, volunteering. Some even spend all their time volunteering, with no salary or income. They all know that there is still a lot left to do, but they work while smiling, laughing. Everyone works as hard as they can, does the job as best they can. If I have the chance, I want to volunteer a third time this spring. I hope that other Willamette students will go and volunteer as well. While the jobs vary in type and intensity, help is always welcome.
I apologize at how long this email has become, but it is my hope that JSSL will spread the message that although nearly a year has passed, Tohoku should not be forgotten. Even though the pictures make it seem as if everything has been cleaned up, that is not the reality of the situation. A lot remains to be done.
I wish you luck with Sakura Matsuri preparations and such. I am also very impressed at your organization in welcoming the ASP students this year. Keep up the good work!
Thank you.
Peace and Love,
Micah Hisa Mizukami

[*] The buildings in Kamaishi reduced to foundation were mostly torn down later. Rikuzentakata’s buildings were not, they were washed away. –Anna

 Thanks again to Anna Thomas of the HANDS Kitakami NPO for allowing us to reprint Micah’s letter.

Vol Projects: Aid Distribution #1: The Warehouse

Volunteering Projects: Aid Distribution #1: The Warehouse
For this series, I’d like to walk through several of thevarious volunteer projects out there. Volunteering in Tohoku involves many different types of work. Everythingfrom gutting buildings – digging and scrubbing mud – gutting houses – knocking downwalls – running community cafes – holding soup kitchens – clearing ditches –building shelves – unloading massive trucks – and so forth.

For today’s entry, I thought I’d quickly talk about the process of warehouse distribution. On Jan 26th, we worked with a team effort by It’sNot Just Mud and the On The Road project to lend support to DSP (DisasterSupport Project) to help move 130 tons of aid that was expected to arrive overa two-day period at their Warehouse facility in Natori city, just outside ofSendai. This one of their aid warehouses is based outof the gymnasium of a junior high school in Natori that was devastated by thetsunami.  Although the damage to thecentral building has resulted in it being abandoned, the gymnasium was clearedout, and now provides a space for hosting the incoming aid for distribution torefugee shelters until last Summer, and is now targeted aid relief for theresidents of the Temporary Housing facilities. However, many of the prefecturally managed distribution centers will be disbanded on March 11th, following the first year anniversary of the disaster.

Natori Junior Highschool – Jan 26th, 2012



When unloading the trucks, there are several different strategies to handle the unloading process efficiently. Some teams prefer to set up distribution lines, and pass goods from one person to the next in long chains.  Other teams tend to rely on loading trailer carts until they are full, and then carting the supplies to their resting point. For heavy boxes, it’s often easiest to form long lines, and to have people progressively push the boxes along the floor to reach the resting point. 


The work load is reliant on the timing of the trucks to arrive. During the Summer and Fall the trucks generally arrive on time, but once the snow starts falling, truck arrivals become quite random.  On this day, we had to split up our lunch break into four separate sessions.  After a slow morning, we suddenly had an onslaught of three trucks show up almost as soon as the previous one had left.  Due to difficult traffic conditions, there was no way to confirm when the trucks should be coming. 


Either way, it’s quite satisfying to stand in a room with tons of aid, and knowing that it’ll be helping out the residents of the temporary housing units in the near future.  

Unloading boxes of clothing and blankets from the trucks

Here is a video produced by our work team, courtesy It’s Not Just Mud, with an entertaining view of the unloading/loading process. Please check it out!

The trucks have finally been emptied. 

Otsukare sama deshita / After the long day.

List of Tohoku Initiatives

http://tpf2.net/initiatives

The List of Tohoku Initiatives is a great crowd-sourced project by the group behind the Tohoku Planning Forum.  Using an attractive webpage designed to utilize regularly updated information compiled via Google Docs, viewers are presented with an increasingly comprehensive list of the several initiatives out there that are addressing the needs of the Tohoku region. 

If you scroll through the list, and discover any gaps on Tohoku Relief focused projects, please consider taking the time to add them to the list. I will be adding a permanent link to this via the Foreign Volunteers Japan website as well. Big thanks to the Tohoku Planning Forum (www.tpf2.net) for setting this up!

Volunteer in Ishinomaki with "It’s Not Just Mud"

* The following is an excellent editorial piece on a volunteering experience with the It’s Not Just Mud group, written by Brent Danley Jones, posted with permission. 

THE PROGRAM:
It’s Not Just Mud (INJM) is an NPO started by an Englishman-turned-teacher-turned volunteer leader who upon seeing the extent of the damage to the coastal city of Ishinomaki decided to start an organization to support a grass-roots rehabilitation effort in the community. Although only recently developed, the power of social media and the positive reputation of the program created a steady flow of volunteers. Focusing primarily on rebuilding, there is also a strong community aspect and the very presence of the volunteers can help give hope. INJM is not alone in the effort as other volunteer organizations in the area overlap and work together. The people of Ishinomaki, even nine months after the initial disaster, are still living in the second floor of destroyed houses or have not yet moved out of temporary housing, struggling with unemployment and supply shortages, while picking through the rubble to recover what they can from lost lives. There is a sadness that has settled about the area that shows signs of lifting as citizens of the city begin to reassemble, and the presence of volunteers and their efforts help warm against the winter cold. More than saying “Ganbarou Tohoku” (do your best banners displayed to support the most affected region) there are people here, taking no pay, willing to do whatever task, big or small, that will help return a sense of normalcy to an area that is still correctly categorized as a disaster zone. In addition to contributing their hours of work, volunteers in INJM give a bit of strength and spirit, as if to say “You are not alone” through their actions. Between the contributions both tangible and invisible, INJM is supporting those who wish to do their part for the affected people of Japan.

THE CITY:
Ishinomaki is a coastal area big enough to get its own stop on the bus line from Shinjyuku to Sendai. Even 9 months after the highly destructive combination of earthquake and tsunami, the damage remains evident. With limited funds and resources, the slowly progressing process of cleaning up and rebuilding is still the daily task for a majority of its people. Before, in the area based near the volunteer organization, there were about 1000 families living in an area of the city where there are now less than 200 remaining. Some parts of the city have been rebuilt, some businesses have reopened, and vending machines again line the streets, however there is an eerie feeling when driving along the main city strip and seeing brand new buildings neighboring a shop front that is still bashed in, furniture and debris scattered and left as it was months before. There is a large ship still breached out of the port and a gigantic red oil tower barrel in the divider section of a main highway. Garbage dumps have stacked hundreds of cars in alien-like pyramids. Barren landscapes near the coasts are like house graveyards, where only foundations and wreckage are left with a few shaky but still standing structures in the distance. There is not a suburban location in the whole city where you can turn 360 degrees and not see some sign of the catastrophe that took place. The damage to the city you can’t see is left in the hearts of its people, many of whom are still living in the shadows of their formers lives. The job of volunteers is to do what they can to repair both. As time passes, glimmers of hope can be seen as well: new shipments of supplies being given away on the streets, small memorial shrines along  roads, families restanding their family’s grave stones, stores reopening, students biking on their way to refurbished schools–there is a resilience here that acknowledges the horrendous past, but continues to push forward into a better 
tomorrow.

THE DESTRUCTION:

THE WORK:
Everything from breaking down and entire first floor’s drywall to helping a community tent lead a soup kitchen and bingo day for elderly residents, from cleaning photos of sports days twenty years ago to helping replenish the dwindled supply of shellfish, the work is varied and volunteers go wherever they’re needed. No labor skills are required to join, so those who volunteer with INJM take the jobs that simply need to be done. Sometimes volunteers may work with other organizations, be they other foreign aid organizations or local community efforts, going wherever they’re told, to do what they are requested to do, as best they can so someone else with plenty to deal with doesn’t have to. Because everyone is making this effort, it adds up little by little into progress. It can be surprisingly fulfilling to do what would even seem like repetitive work, such as taking nails out of rotted boards barely holding together a house for six hours, but because you’ve done it someone else doesn’t have to, and they will move to work onto the next stage in the larger plan to fix a house in the grand scheme project of rebuilding a city. Every strike with a sledgehammer or conversation listening to the story of loss puts repair and healing another step further. The work can be hard, but it not usually to the point of exhaustion, and always in the company of other like-minded volunteers whose positive optimism helps ward off some of the residual darkness that still envelops many corners of the city.

THE WEATHER: S’cold.

THE HOUSE:
Through the power of social networking, when originally setting up INJM they were looking for a home base to live, and through extensive tweeting and retweeting found someone willing to leave a house standing that was planned for demolition. It was fixed up along with a neighboring home and both now serve as the main base of operations. Over 30 volunteers can fit in and hopefully no one snores. Meals are done banquet style and everyone is in charge of keeping the place clean and functional. The main room is the “lounge” where most spend their time when not out working. It feels like a commune of sorts, and when you get the right sort of people together (and from my albeit limited experiences they were always the right sort) you’re going to want to put down your book or laptop and be a part of the house, and you’ll most likely not want to leave.

THE ROUTINE:
The basic procedure goes like this: wake up –> toast –> work –> get home –> chill –> onsen –> party –> sleep. Volunteers come up for days, sometimes weeks at a time, with others who came and never left. Volunteers, it seems, never really say goodbye–they most always come back. This, I would say, is due to a casual genius of the work and structure of the program. Unlike some other larger-scale efforts which develop many rules and procedures for those who come, INJM has a basic routine of working and living that gets the basics in order so that necessary things get done while leaving the rest of the time fairly free. Volunteers choose assignment crews to join and work from  about 9am-4pm. After completing the jobs, everyone eats, sleeps, and lives together in two houses. No mandatory tasks outside of work are administered to volunteers, but when you see people preparing for dinner or cleaning up afterwards, you feel compelled to assist as well, and so everyone does so without being designated to tasks. It’s quite amazing how fast new arrivals, myself included, quickly fall in line with this system of administration-free responsibility and seem to adjust to life in the house. The rest of the available time outside of work and chores is free to be used at the discretion of volunteers, which usually takes the form of gathering in the main (heated) room where everyone comes to talk and spend time with the others there from all over Japan and the world. The feeling of working with these people, all good people, and then spending the nights together in revelry is a great source of motivation; the relaxed atmosphere of the base camp allows the volunteers to unwind while becoming better friends, making everyone look forward to spending the next day of work together. Also, after most everyday of work, there is an onsen trip to relax and recuperate after a day’s work and get everyone clean at once instead of having up to 30 people lined up for the shower. This is also a… powerful bonding experience, in that you will most likely be sitting naked in a jacuzzi with friends made that same day. Lights out by midnight to be up at 8am for a toast buffet.

THE PEOPLE:
The work is the goal, and the people are the energy; volunteering is a mix of both. The people I met while volunteering were an outstanding group of positive, humorous, quirky-to-eccentric folks from all around the world. An Australian oil rig towboat deckhand, a British fashion designer, a kindergarden bus driver from Brussels, a New Yorker with a passion for roller disco working at a cosmetics production factory in Tokyo, a radio engineer from Oklahoma who came just to volunteer, Japanese company employees who take their vacation just to help Ishinomaki, English teachers from around Japan using their breaks for a purpose, a group of Japanese college students, a group of study abroad college students, and a deaf Japanese girl who taught everyone Japanese sign language during her visit that people were still using even after she left. So many people from so many backgrounds, here in Japan for so many reasons, but all of them brought here for the sole purpose of doing something for nothing, volunteering to give something back. This spinning world is powered by such acts of kindness. There wasn’t a bad apple in the bunch, even if some are quieter than others everyone will find something to laugh about, something to add to the group, and everyone works to validate their being there. What really surprised me was just how fast you could feel like real friends living with these people; I think I may have come at a particularly good time when a lot of great folks happened to show up all at once, but could scarcely believe how quickly not just a few people warmed up to one another, but how everyone came together as a group, and I’m not the only one who didn’t want to leave partly because of that. Doing good work with good people sounds a lot better than warming my desk at the office.


THE PARTY:
Upon arriving back home after the nightly onsen trip, preparations are made for dinner, and it’s a makeshift banquet hall where everyone eats together. Now properly bathed and fed, the party takes the night. As many know, when I say party, I rarely mean dancing, flashing lights, and bad club music. A party is anywhere that good people are laughing and drinking long into the night, and the parties here are every night to bond and blow off steam and rejuvenate the soul for the next day’s work. Don’t get me wrong, the purpose of all volunteers being here is to help the people of Ishinomaki as best we can, and that goal of making an outstanding contribution to the community is never surpassed by anything else. With that work completed, however, the night is your own, and spending time with these amazing members and happily chatting and laughing for hours seems to be the best way to spend time before bed. A few chu-hi Strongs from the local convenience store and laughter amongst friends is the best thing to get you into a deep sleep and avoid the chilling cold that takes the house as soon as the lively conversation comes to a close (and the heating stoves are turned off). Some of the dumbest moments led to some of the biggest laughs, such as the story of Oklahoma’s hometown single stop sign parade, or certain complications involving a virgin marriage and birthday candles, and the true nature of dance parties. The Party is where you make new friends of complete strangers and I made a baker’s dozen in only five short days.

THE RESULTS:
A feeling of accomplishment. The positive vibe from helping people through hardship. Many new friends. Knowing you’ve made a difference. Having finally been able to aid in an effort I felt compelled to assist in ever since March 11th, 2011, albeit if only in a small way for a short time. Smiles from those around you and the validation of doing a little bit to help the country you live in. Actually going to Tohoku and doing your best after reading hundreds of signs saying “Tohoku, do your best!” I was originally planning on staying 3 days, maybe four, but ended up pushing all the way into the 5th, barely catching the last train home from Tokyo so that I could be up at 7am for work the next day. Others felt the same, wishing they could have stayed longer, and entire groups revised schedules to be able to continue volunteering. Throughout my life I don’t have a history of giving back. I enjoyed it when I did, but didn’t seek out the opportunities often. Something about the work, organization, situation, and people of It’s Not Just Mud really came together to instill a sense of having done something good that I hadn’t felt in too long a time. I’m already planning my trip back when I’m back on break, and thinking about who I’m going to take with me. Volunteering in a disaster zone gave me a new look at myself, to see the things I was worrying about as insignificant, and allowed me a better look at the bigger picture. This world and the people in it thrive off kindness. Even when politics and big corporations, mother nature, and jerks-in-general seem to be making a bigger change than good actions, it is all I can do to participate in a program like this so at least I’m doing something positive to help those around me, hoping those good energies are received and duplicated. It’s motivating, and I plan on taking this as a fresh start to a new year. And I’ll be back for more. Maybe you can be too.

Please visit the blog of writer Brent Danley Jones to follow up on his further adventures and writing.  His Profile states that Brent is a “Writer writing from somewhere in Japan. Expect to see novel serialization, flurries of haiku, the occasional drinking song, and more metaphors than you can shake a stick at.”

Tohoku Planning Forum #2

英語で行うが、この東北の震災後の復興計画に関するフォーラムはForeign Volunteers Japanの活動に役に立つかもしれません。

私は第一回のフォーラムでボランティア活動について発表をしていて、とっても良いディスカッションになりました。FVJは団体としてこれから段々大きくなって行くから、将来の活動についてはいろいろ考えなければならないと思うので、もし東京に居て、月曜日の夕方に都合が開いてたら、是非参加して見てください。

On Monday, January 16th, the Tohoku Planning Forum will be holding its second seminar regarding the rebuilding of the tsunami-hit regions of Tohoku.

A few FVJ members took part in the first forum and found it to be a valuable experience providing many lively discussions on what needs to be done, and how to better manage resources for reconstruction. Since FVJ is gradually expanding our project scope, I think this forum could be a good experience for gaining some perspective on what still needs to be done, and to continue planning how we can address some of those needs.

Starting from 19:00 on Monday at Keio University, this time’s forum welcomes three eminent Japanese experts with firsthand experience in community building in various places in Tohoku:

1. Prof. Hiroto KOBAYASHI, Keio University
(Minamisanriku: Community building in temporary housing estates, rural-rural community support)

2. Prof. Naoto NAKAJIMA, Keio Univerisity
(Kamaishi: Learning from past disasters in Tohoku and reconstruction in Kamaishi)

3. Prof. Michio UBAURA, Sendai University
(Ishinomaki: Downtown revitalisation and reconstuction of a commercial center)

The event is produced by Architecture for Humanity, Tokyo (@AFHtyo) and Tokyo Planning Forum (@TPFsquare), in cooperation with Keio University.

Please consider checking it out on Monday if you can. Hope to see you there.

For more details, please visit the TPF² Facebook Group

Or their Webpage:   http://www.tpf2.net/

We Will Always Remember You

In October, Kenji Araki, a director from NY came to Tohoku to film a video as part of another project, and joined the It’s Not Just Mud crew for a couple days. This video is addressed to international citizens as a thank you message from the people of Tohoku, and really conveys a warm and encouraging message.

To the people of the world: there is a video we would like you to see.
On March 11, 2011, at 2:46pm, the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region ofJapan was hit by the most powerful earthquake the country had everexperienced. As the overwhelming scale of the destruction from thequake and resulting tsunami became clear, and the number of livesreported lost continued to climb to reach over 10,000, the people ofour country were devastated with grief and a sense of dejection.

It was during this time that you, the people from different countriesacross the world, called out to us with a message of strength andsupport: “Ganbare Nihon!”—Be strong Japan! You lifted out spirits andgave us the courage to keep our heads up and move forward.

Nowhere is this feeling of appreciation stronger than it is with the people ofTohoku. Anyone who has spent time helping with the rebuilding effortsknows how strong these people are, and how thankful they are.

This video by Kenji, titled “We WillAlways Remember You” begins with a series of video footage showingthe terrible disaster the earthquake wrought.It then turns the spotlight to Taylor Anderson (then 24), anAmerican assistant language teacher (ALT) in Ishinomaki City, MiyagiPrefecture—one of the areas hit hardest by the disaster.

Anderson,was teaching at an elementary school when the earthquake hit, stayedwith the frightened children until they had all been safely evacuated.However, on the way home, Anderson herself fell victim to the tsunamithat came rushing in after.

Anderson’s students appear in thevideo and speak of their memories of their teacher: “Taylor sensei wasreally nice. She really cheered us up when the earthquake struck.”

There were many other touching scenes in the pre-productionfootage that Kenji showed the It’s Not Just Mud crew when he stayed with them in October, and it’s great to see the wonderful final product. As Jamie ofINJM puts it “If you have been to Tohoku post disaster on any kind ofrelief mission, this video is relevant to you. Feel free to share.”

It’s only 7 minutes, but definitely worth watching. I’d recommend having a box of tissues handy nonetheless.

Update: Since the video was pulled from YouTube by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York due to copyright infringement, despite the wish of the director for the video to find as large an audience as possible, we have embedded a version shared on a Japanese video sharing site below. Please check it out. 

<a href=”http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm16388428″>【ニコニコ動画】【転載】We Will Always Remember You</a> 

Here is an earlier video also by Kenji Araki filmed on March 17th, and conveys a message of support and solidarity for Japan. Ice T and Robin Williams also make appearances in the film.

Please fill in the Survey on tokyo hazard vulnerability and preparation

Relief supplies for Minamisoma – During delivery by Rescue Japan

Please fill in the Survey on tokyo hazard vulnerability and preparation

This survey aims to gather information related to disaster preparedness from residents in Tokyo targeting 4 Wards (Edogawa, Koto, Meguro and Minato)

It focuses on the following hazards Floods, Tropical storms and Typhoons, Water scarcity, Fire, Extreme heat, Extreme cold.

Fill in the form here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGVBWVFMNkUxZFdFeVRDdnlRb1VpV3c6MA

Results will be used for a presentation in December and essays to be completed by the New Year. Basic data will be posted in mid December (http://sarajeans-notes.blogspot.com/)

 

東京の災害に対する脆弱性とその防災意識調査

Please share this link for the J survey on hazard preparedness:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFdZM29ONllzNVdsLWg5cHNRcU1jR2c6MA

東京の災害に対する脆弱性とその防災意識調査

こ の調査は、国連大学の災害と人道援助のコースの履修生によって行われています。東京都民の災害に対する防災意識についての情報を収集しております。洪水、 熱帯性暴風雨、台風、水不足、火災、猛暑、厳しい寒さといった天候に起因する災害に焦点を絞ってご質問させていただきます。 お近くにお住まいの地域の方々にもこのアンケートに答えてくださるようお誘いいただければ幸いです。東京の住民のウェブサイトにもお載せいたします。

お時間を取らせていただいて恐縮ですが、よろしくお願いいたします。

 Foreign Volunteers Japan has begun campaigning with Kanto-based International Schools to collect coats for children affected by the disaster in Tohoku, who will soon be facing a harsh Winter. If you work at, or are involved with a school that might be interested in getting involved, please feel free to contact us at foreignvolunteersjapan (at) gmail (dot) com.

The initial campaign will be centered around allowing students to help students, but will soon to expanding to a larger campaign for collecting halogen and kerosene heaters, heat pads, heated blankets, and other Winter essentials, depending on local needs and requests in the Temporary Housing communities across the Tohoku coastal area.

Please stay tuned and further details will be posted as the campaign evolves.

Thank you sincerely for your support!

Romeo for Tohoku (Aroma Rich Juliet contest – I need your vote!)

Posted on behalf of hard-working Tohoku Volunteer Dean Newcombe, in support of his work with Intrepid Model Adventures and their long-term volunteer project in Ishinomaki: 

http://aroma-rich-romeo.jp/profile/dean.html
Romeo and Juliet. We all know the story, but perhaps most of us don’t get the chance to be labeled as ‘Romeo’! That’s exactly where I have found myself though.
Living in Japan has granted me many opportunities, and many of them very surreal. I certainly didn’t expect to be standing as 1 of 8 gentlemen hoping to become the image of Romeo here in the land of the rising sun, and further more, I didn’t realise how passionate I would become at taking the 1st prize!

Agencies searched Tokyo for talents that stood out, who did something a little bit special. Guys who present sport on TV, guys who perform magic and dance, but I had other ideas…to further establish the ‘Volunteer / Model’!
So here I stand, the ‘Sweet Passionate Model’ (not self labeled I should state! ;) ). I won’t be calling up to any balconies, or delivering romantic lines, but I will be doing something which I believe is much more important! I will be taking Romeo’s spotlight to Tohoku, and I will be showing what a modern Romeo would really stand for! I will donate all the money I get from winning this contest to those in Tohoku!
If you believe in this cause…
  1. Visit – http://aroma-rich-romeo.jp/profile/dean.html – From anywhere in the world you can register a vote. You don’t need to speak Japanese. Just hit the gold button and when the box with Twitter and Facebook links comes up, you have voted. Thank you!
  2. Visit – https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126479670783802 – This is the event on Facebook and has more information. Join the group and invite others explaining why they should care.
  3. Keep voting. This is not a one off, you can vote daily! Each device you have and each browser (Firefox, Chrome, Explorer) can register a vote, and I need them all.
  4. Spread the word in any other way you can, and let me know that your there supporting me so I can thank you personally!
Against all the odds, can the Volunteer Model pull this off? With your help…yes!

Fashionista’s Romeo – By Nathan Berry of ECA Photography – Tokyo 2011

Modern Day Romeo By Anatole Papafilipou of Moonlight Studios, Hiroki Takeru of Studio 47 and Chanyn Kirtman of Chanyn Cheree Styling – Tokyo 2011

See more from ECA photography.
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Reflections and Narratives of Relief Work for Japan

* by David H. Slater

The measure, experience and meaning of a “disaster” is in large part a function of the relief that is, or is not, provided to those in need.

Focus: This is an open call for short (less than 700 words) pieces on the topic of relief and volunteer activities around the events collectively known as 3.11. We understand “relief” to include a wide range of support: from asking for donations on the street corners of London to digging mud in Ishinomaki; from running up food supplies to Fukushima to housing displaced kids in Kyoto; from fighting the April snows to the August rains; from acting as a part-time counselor to victims to leading corporate social responsibility programs at multi-national companies. Japanese and foreigners, students and adults, professionals and amateurs, practitioners and volunteers of any sort are welcome here.

Send your entries NOW in attached MSWord files to: 311reliefnarratives@gmail.com

Goal: We want to document the relief effort as it is going on. At a time when 3.11 has been largely pushed out of the news cycle, even in Japan, even though huge amounts of work still need to be done, one of our goals is to let others know about the work being done, the work you have done, and maybe the work still needing to be done. This is direct and maybe intimate, but it is not voyeurism. It is also not promotion for a single group, but please feel free to tell us the groups you are working with.

There is a strategic element to this call: to spread the word, to encourage others to contribute, to keep it going.

The single biggest reason that people do not volunteer is that they do not really know what it involves. Let’s tell them.

Format: These pieces must be short (less than 700 words) and to the point, vivid and direct, taking a single aspect of relief that can be captured and made meaningful in this format. No footnotes or bibliographies, but you could include links. The format is somewhere between an essay and a blog entry: it is shorter and more informal than an essay, but more focused on a particular topic or aspect than a blog entry.

Source: Your topic can be based on some sort of local practice, but your piece should be directed to a wider audience, beyond your academic discipline or professional context. First-person narratives are very welcome. This is a chance to digest and present some parts of your experience in ways that communicate to others.  It could be sad or funny, desperate or hopeful–all important parts of the relief experience.

Time-frame: If at all possible, review your older notes so we can include something from the earlier months: clearly, working in April was much different from working in August. Send both.

Your entry: We ask you to do your best to present a finished copy, but we will have the resources to proof-read your work when necessary. Japanese or English are both welcome. We encourage non-native English speakers to write something in English, and we can give it a “native check.”

Collective Product: In the end, we will collect, proof-read and present your entries digitally.  Pending some more funding, we will translate Japanese into English and English into Japanese. We are now arranging for newspapers, journals, universities, relief sites, and others to feature your work and offer links to your work. We will have a web-designer—not me—to make your good work accessible to others.

Clearly, we cannot tell the “whole story’ in 700 words: our intent is to provide enough different pieces to allow readers to understand some of the range and complexity behind disaster and relief.

Note: Multiple submissions from the same author are welcome. Selections from larger pieces are also fine (and might be a good way to draw attention to other related projects). You can use your blog entries if they are suitable or any other source that does not violate copyright.

Deadline: October 1st.  

Check Out Some Others’ Sample Entries Here

posted Oct 19, 2009 10:41 PM by David H. Slater   [ updated Aug 10, 2011 2:52 AM ]

Here are some examples of  others’ experiences. As you can see, they are of vary different styles and focus–which is just what we want.  Of course, since all of your expereinces are different, your entries will be different also.

Attachments (4)

  • Approaching a house.rtf – on Aug 8, 2011 4:04 AM by David H. Slater (version 1)
    3k Download
  • Fieldnotes from Iwanuma.rtf – on Aug 8, 2011 4:13 AM by David H. Slater (version 1)
    11k Download
  • Unstable Ground.doc – on Aug 8, 2011 3:30 AM by David H. Slater (version 1)
    28k View Download
  • What I saw in Tohoku.doc – on Aug 8, 2011 3:41 AM by David H. Slater (version 1)
    29k View Download 

More information can be found directly at the project page:
https://sites.google.com/site/japanreliefnarratives2/

David H. Slater is an associate professor of cultural anthropology at Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. He has been active in the relief effort from the start. He has also been collecting narratives and reflections from volunteers, and now wants to put them together and bring them higher profile.

You can find out more about him here:
http://www.fla.sophia.ac.jp/academics/professors/slaterdavid
http://www.facebook.com/#!/david.h.slater

Please feel free to contact him with questions or suggestions for improvement directly at: dhslater@gmail.com