One Year Anniversary East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in the Tohoku region – Part One
tsunami on March 11,
2011, if you do not already know. Because of this, World Vision (WV)
invited Malaysia Asia to experience their ongoing efforts in the affected areas
of the Tohoku region.
Before getting to the first WV project area, we arrived at
Ichinoseki, a lovely town with a touch of old-fashioned charm.
Below are some pictures taken from the bus, hotel room and on the streets of this beautiful little town.
regions, so I was surprised that seeing it in real life was an entirely different
experience.
Seeing piles of debris of cars, structures, the skeletal remains of
buildings and empty lots of land for as far as the eye can see. Thoughts of
what really matters ran through my mind.
Well, that would be another story
another time. I would like to share these photos for now.
an empty lot.
Fishery Cooperative (KFC), a WV livelihood recovery project.
The fishing industry is responsible for 70% of the economy in the Kesennuma area. When the earthquake
and tsunami struck, the lifeblood of the fishing industry faltered even
further. Needless to say, families and children are badly affected.
This prompted World Vision Japan (WVJ) to initiate
the livelihood project to help revive the fishing industry.
Team Leader Ryoichiro Mochizuki.
warehouse where fish dealers store the marine products.
By mid-March, in a few days, all three freezers will be in the whole operation. A total of 3000 tons is the capacity
of the three freezers, and this will benefit 26,000 people, directly and
indirectly, in terms of rebuilding life after the tsunami.
In addition, WV has helped produce 40,000
stickers for a re-branding campaign. Dealers and distributors use these stickers
when shipping their products to other parts of Japan.
and WV Hong Kong trying to muster a smile in -60C degrees!
Fishery Cooperatives is to complement the freezer warehouse and fish processing
space. These items were forklifts and other machinery for moving goods around.
both WVJ and KFC to improve the marketing and elevate the brand image of
swordfish and expand the market to urban areas.
of the Livelihood Recovery Project, what kind of government support has been
given to this area.
He explained, “WVJ will step in or help where the
government cannot. The government builds temporary shelters.”
Reduction Project at Tsuya Primary
School.
A designated evacuation centre after the
tsunami, even though the school lacks electricity, access to
information from TV or Radio and clean water. Hence, WVJ and the local
municipality have collaborated to build wells in ten schools.
In some schools, the water quality still needs to be improved for
drinking, and quantity is little, so there will be ongoing efforts to improve
the situation. Solar panels are also in the pipeline to prepare for a more
viable environment during the disaster.
supervised.
with Mitsuko Sobata, Communication Officer for WVJ, about her experience during
and after the incident of the tsunami and earthquake.
resilience of the people.” Despite this, she added, “The people are worried that other
countries will forget about what happened.
reconstruct the community. Before phasing out, WVJ will ensure the local
community can survive long-term.”
Ryoichiro Mochizuki also had similar thoughts concerning the people affected by the tsunami. He said, “The people do not ask too
much. They try to be self-sufficient; I’m quite impressed.”
Conclusion
Remember to read Part Two of this story about the Year Anniversary observation of the East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami in the Tohoku region.
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