300 Food Packages Every Week for Evacuees in Minami-Sanriku Town

Second Harvest Japan (2HJ) has started sending food packages to people in Minami Sanriku since June. In this project, our volunteers make some 300 food packages at 2HJ's Tokyo office every Thursday. 2HJ distributes the packages to about 1,400 households living in temporary houses through a volunteer group in Minami Sanriku. A typical package contains items like rice, miso, soy sauce, condiments, dried food, and snacks. To see the places to which the group distributes the food, I, as a volunteer coordinator, visited the site and helped with the distribution of food packages to temporary houses on July 15.

Packing boxes at 2HJ's Tokyo office

Unloading packages from 2HJ's truck and loading them into a local volunteer group's truck in Minami-Sanriku town

First, I visited about 90 temporary houses, which were built where there used to be a camping school and a camping site. I then visited 50 to 60 temporary houses next to the schoolyard of an elementary school.

Distributing food packages each of which weighs more than 20 kg.

This lady said that when the tsunami hit the area, she had wrapped her baby in a towel and run away desperately to the hill.

Most people living there worked in the local fishing industry, but everything was swept away by the tsunami. Now they have no choice but to live in temporary houses. Our food packages were appreciated very much by the recipients because it takes as much as 40 minutes going for shopping as there is no supermarket nearby. One of the recipients said to me, "Thank you for coming all the way from Tokyo."

A message from children from all over the world is attached to every package.

It will take people in temporary houses a long time before they have steady income. Some elderlies who live alone cannot go for shopping by themselves. Demands for our food packages are high. We need to send packages continually.

Food Packaging Volunteers Needed!

Date: Every Thursday

Time: Morning Shift (from 10:00 to 12: 30)

         Afternoon Shift (from 1:30 to 4:00)

Place: 2HJ's Office (see the map.)

To apply, email us at volunteer@2hj.org with the date and shift(s) of your choice.

Report on Relief Efforts in Iwate Prefecture

We at Second Harvest Japan (2HJ) have been committing ourselves to relief efforts in Iwate prefecture and other affected areas since late March. Currently, we bring in truck-loads of relief supplies such as food mainly to Ofunato city every other week. Three local volunteer groups in the city have been energetically working in collaboration with 2HJ.

One of them is Ofunato Support Network Center (OSN-C), a volunteer group organized by local volunteers. Their main activities are to obtain relief supplies, distribute them, arrange volunteers, and organize regular events to rejuvenate Ofunato city. Their "Yappeshi" festival on May 29 attracted more than 2,000 people.

Face painting at "Yappeshi" festival

Poster of "Yappeshi" festival held on July 10

2HJ's COO Otake (fifth from left) and OSN-C staff members

Another volunteer group is "Sansan no kai."

The group, led by a local Italian restaurant owner, makes 2,000 meals every day and distributes them to evacuation centers and temporary houses. As the owner's unique characters attract more and more volunteers, the group's activities are expanding. Predicting that more and more evacuees will move to temporary houses from evacuation centers, the restaurant owner spoke sincerely about his determination to protect elderly people who live alone from dying a solitary death by visiting them regularly to bring his group's meal.

"We won't be overcome by tsunami", a slogan put on the window of RIAS Hall, which accommodates the base of Sansan no kai

Cooking in the kitchen

HJ's COO Otake (second from left) and Sansan no kai members

The last group 2HJ has been collaborating with is All Hands. All Hands is a US-based non-profit organization specializing in providing support for survivors of natural disasters around the world. To assist survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, a lot of volunteers from all over the world have been cleaning up debris in Ofunato city and Rikuzentakata city. Local people say that they are encouraged very much by those volunteers who come all the way to Japan and work consistently and diligently. 2HJ distributes food to Rikuzentakata city in cooperation with All Hands.

At an evacuation center

At the base of All Hands

2HJ will strengthen the collaboration with the three groups and aim at the introduction and building of a food bank in the community. 2HJ's support for Ofunato city should not be temporary, and from a long-term standpoint, establishing a locally initiated, sustainable framework is important. To accomplish this, 2HJ will continue to collaborate with more local volunteers and organizations.

2HJ has so far received considerable emergency aid from a number of people, and your donation money will be used for distributing relief supplies to the affected areas and building the food banking system.