APFS Earthquake Relief Project: Thank you for your donations.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, our organization has been continuously providing support (disaster relief project) to Rikuzentakata City and Ofunato City in Iwate Prefecture. We solicited donations for the project and collected 148,000 yen. As this amount was insufficient to carry out the soup kitchen that we had initially planned, we used your donations to provide supplies (food and electrical appliances) in the third phase of our disaster relief project, which took place from May 26th to 30th, 2011. The breakdown is as follows:
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Food items: Rice, miso, soy sauce, salt, retort pouches, and shelf-stable milk.
Electrical appliances: 7 electric fans
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The food purchased with your donations was delivered directly to Tada Kobo, a local leader. This coincided with the end of food aid from the Self-Defense Forces, and some disaster victims immediately took the food after we delivered it. We are deeply grateful for your generous donations.

In the third phase of the project, in addition to providing material support, foreign residents who have lived in Japan for over 21 years (from Iran, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Philippines) went directly to the site and took on hands-on work.

[APFS "Earthquake Disaster Project" Third Phase Overview] ———————————————-
Purpose: As a foreign resident who has lived in Japan for many years, I am committed to contributing to the disaster-stricken areas.
Date and time: Thursday, May 26, 2011 to Monday, May 30, 2011
Content: Support for the reconstruction of private homes (removing mud, clearing rubble, etc.)
- Removal of garbage from private homes
- Demolition of the walls of private houses
- Removing mud from local drainage ditches
- Provision of relief supplies
Six participants (from five countries: Iran, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Japan)
Location of activities: A private house in Takada-cho, Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture
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Following the first phase of providing Bangladeshi food (March 27th) and the second phase of providing Myanmar food (April 9th), the third phase of the project focused on supporting the reconstruction of private homes. Driven by a strong desire to contribute to Japan, their second homeland, the participants immersed themselves in the work. In some cases, they completed in just one day a job that would have taken professional builders three days. The disaster victims were extremely grateful.

The area where we conducted our relief efforts was within walking distance of the sea, and nearby, the police were still actively searching for bodies. In such a dangerous location, the foreign residents persevered and carried out their activities to the very end. Mr. Shigeki Tada of Tada Kobo, who welcomed us for this relief effort, said, "At first, I was worried about whether we could communicate with them because they were foreigners, but in reality, they were incredibly reliable." This disaster relief effort demonstrated that foreign residents are definitely changing from being "supported" in Japanese society to being "living together" with the community.