October 1, 2012.
On this day we went to JOCA Office for Scram School event preparation.
So, this event is made for students in Kamaishi who do not have place to study
due to tsunami and earthquake last year. We are supposed to help students to
speak English. This is a rare opportunity for them to meet and communicate with
foreigners. Therefore, we have to encourage them to improve their English skill
by talking with them as much as possible. The important thing is we have to act
as a staff, not a guest. So, we have to be professional and help the
proceedings.
We are asked to prepare an event on
November for them. Everyone suggested some activities that involved
communication and traditional introduction. However, the main goal is to make
them speak English, so we have to put the traditional stuff aside. Finally, we
decided to have greeting cards, cooking (Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian dishes),
Justin’s game (actually it’s Philippine traditional game, but we don’t know how
to call it), fashion show by using recycle things for the costume, and sports
as our activities that we will do on the event. Each of us must be in charge of
one activity. The event will start in the morning till 04:00 p.m. However, we
are still waiting for JOCA staffs to approve our activities. I mean, they have
to check everything that will be needed first. Is it visible or not, and if it
is okay, they will inform us. I cannot wait to hold this event. It is going to
be a lot of fun!
October 2, 2012.
Today we got lecture from Tono
Furusato Public Corporation by Mr. Kindaichi, the manager. Tono Furusato Public
Corporation was founded in 1988. It has 68 employees. Their goal is to increase
economy of Tono city, to research new products, to promote and find ways to
sell products, and to train employees as well. Their main concern is light and
water. The light source is from solar panel. The water source is from springs
on mountain through pipes that had been constructed 53 years ago. Half of water
needs in Tono is facilitated from this corporation. They have purification
water and hydro-electric power as well. They produce Doburoku, kind of Japanese
alcohol. They also provide tourist facilities.
There were 300 self defense helped
four days after Great East Japan Earthquake. Two weeks after that, this
corporation sent buses to Kamaishi, disaster affected area, for the victims to
take a bath. Since the disaster crashed everything they had, including houses,
they could not take a bath. This corporation helped as much as they can for the
recovery. Once a week, people come to Tono Furusato Public Corporation’s office
to take a bath and have meals. The office is a place to stay, take a bath and
have meals for volunteers as well. It is one kind of indirectly support for
disaster recovery. The army is staying there, too. Because there are so many
people go there to take a bath in onsen (Japanese bath style), there is a time
division of who is taking a bath at what time.
This corporation’s best assets are
bath and food. There are about 1200 people taking a bath in a day when it is
peak time. They must pay ¥ 300 each person. It is half price. However, right
after the disaster, they could take a bath for free. This corporation also sells
agro products from Fukushima, but everyone is still afraid of the contamination
of radiation in agro products as the harmful rumor has been spread. Tohoku
region gets bad image after Fukushima radiation accident. Whereas, the agro
products have been tested and they are free from radiation. They also sell Tono
products, like vegetables, fruits, and flowers.
There is an ongoing project of making
bypass of Tohoku region to coastal area. As we know, Tono is in the middle of
Iwate prefecture. Therefore, Tono may be like neglected or forgotten once the
project has done. The thing is on that bypass, everything that is needed will
be there. There is no need to go down to michi
no eki (a place to stop by to buy local products). This corporation has
been struggling to find the solution of this problem. They work hard in
selling, increasing productions, and finding new strategy. They want to discuss
it to federal nation to make a shortcut way to Tono, so Tono will not be
forgotten.
After having lecture, we went around
the office to see some stuff they had. They showed us an old traditional
Japanese house and everything in it, such as old cooking utensils, slippers,
etc. We got to see the solar panel and hydro-electric
machine as well. They also had a pond which its shape is similar to Japan’s
with 1: 600 scales. There was a building that was affected by the earthquake.
The foundation was cracked. They moved the building and it took one month and a
half, so they can repair the foundation. We also helped to move things to other
place. Today was fun!
October 3, 2012.
We went to Volunteer Center in
Rizukentakata City. It is built on April, a month after Great East Japan
Earthquake. At peak time 1,200 people came as volunteers and 37 buses came on
one day. The total numbers of volunteers here over 18 months was about 120,000
people. We saw what volunteers do daily and got information about the condition
after disaster. Many people are still living in temporary houses. They still
have mentally pain that is difficult to vanish. They are desperate because of
losing their homes and families and seeing the terrifying disaster with their
own eyes. There are 200 people who are still missing, and the families are very
sad and still hoping to find them. The volunteers come not only to clean debris
after disaster, but they also emotionally concern about what is going on and
want to help as much as they can. They plants sunflower seeds as well.
Sunflower is believed to be able to cleanse radiation. However, they must not
overdue themselves to do volunteer activities, because if they do, they will
faint and everyone will feel pity and guilty because of letting volunteers do
hard job. In the afternoon we helped cutting grass and cleaning the toilets.
Well, I realized that there was not much we did to help in Volunteer Center. However,
being volunteer is interesting. I love helping people and I want to learn more
about it.
October 4, 2012
We visited Kamaishi City, the disaster site, in the morning and went to
a small museum of Great East Japan Earthquake. There was a chart of tsunami occurrence
in that area. In year of 1896, there was tsunami which the height was 3 times
lower than last year one. Nevertheless, the numbers of victims were a little
bit same, because they had no preparations for tsunami in that Meiji Era, 1896.
The local citizen estimated the tsunami will be more or less like the one in
1896, so they built sea walls based on it, but apparently it was three times
higher.
It is hard to find public transportation in Kamaishi City after disaster.
There is only taxi, but it is very high-priced. Bus is very rarely to pass by.
It takes ¥ 5,000 from temporary house to supermarket by taxi.
What the most concerned about in temporary houses are elderly people
seldom talking to each other. They only watch television, since nothing else to
do. They keep thinking about tsunami last year. That makes them being
depressed. People who live in temporary houses are mixed from many different
areas. So it is hard to conduct festival that they usually do, because each
area has different culture, although the difference is very slightly.
After that we went to Magokoro Net where Peter-san works. It is like organization
of volunteer. We had lecture from Kanako-san, the employee. Magokoro Net has
been helping for disaster recovery, such as cleaning debris, planting flowers,
building office in supermarket complex to hear what local people need, teaching
children, and planting paddy together with local people. She said it takes ¥
20,000 or more a day for transportation and logistics. Magokoro Net has some
projects, like building community center in disaster affected area and
scholarship for students. The community center building will cost US$ 150,000
because the building materials are so expensive in Japan. So, they ask for
funding support to overseas.
At first, the job after disaster was easy, like removing debris. Now it
is a bit complicated, because the victims need soft side support, not only
physical one. Therefore, Magokoro Net held tea party to have people come out to
get people to communicate more with each other. Besides, Magokoro Net involves
more professional to come to each house to ask what their hardship is. For
example, they want to go to hospital, so Magokoro Net looks for a car to take
them. They do matching first to ensure that the people really need help.
In Magokoro Net, there is Relieve Aid Department to collect toilet paper
and anything for daily life and then distribute them to people who need them. If
they give the stuff for free to one community, the neighbor community will be
jealous and wants to get it as well. Therefore, Magokoro Net sells the stuff on
very low price, so at least they have to think first to buy, did they really
need it. The money will be used for volunteer activities. As a matter of fact,
the victims need something to start business, like handicrafts, for their first
income, since they lost everything due to disaster.
October 5, 2012
Today we went to Non-profit
Organization Tono Yamasato Kurashi Network Office, driving school and some
green tourism places. We also had lectures from Mr. Kikuchi, the manager of
Tono Yamasato Kurashi Network. He said that it is now the time for green
tourism. When people have higher education, they starts to be curious about
where the food comes from, how it is made, and soon, which will be found in
countryside only. There is Maburitto activities: Omoshie School that teach
people to make tasty soup with dumplings inside. This activity is to encourage
elderly people to share knowledge of traditional culture, food, arts and
crafts. There is also Working Holiday which brings people from big city to come
to this countryside and work on the farm fields on holiday. There is no money
involved in this project. The farmer does not really get benefits. However,
after the people who learned farming go back to the city, they buy the farmer’s
product, like rice and apple, because they taste nice. There are 400 new
customers since this activity was held.
There is also Farm Family Minpaku activity which invites junior
and high school students from Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and many big cities to learn
farming and know how a farmer lives in Japan today. There are 120 households who
agree with this project, that their houses are going to be a place for
homestay. There are three rules of this project: don’t work hard, enjoy
yourselves, and experience to sensations.
Another program is Children’s Rural
District Exchange. This program is not only in Tono, but also around the
country. Basically, this program sent children to experience life in rural
area. It can make the children’s attitude change to be better, though it is an
unexpected benefit. There is also Furusato Kodomo Yume Gakkou that brings 5th
graders to rural town. The students never experience of going in group of 4
people and sleep in someone’s house. The challenge is 2 nights away from home,
so the students may grow up a little.
Tono Yamasato Kurashi Network also collaborates
with a driving school. There was only one driving school in Iwate prefecture,
which was in Rikuzentakata City. Although young people who wants to learn
driving become fewer in Tono, but Mr. Kikuchi ask the president of driving
school in Rizukentakata to make driving school in Tono. Mr. Kikuchi suggest of
green tourism concept to be put in driving school. Besides learning how to
drive, people will get plus experience such as farming, horsing, etc in Tono
City. The president agrees and built one. Now in this present time, green
tourism collaborates with driving school works! People who had ever learned in
driving school there came back to Tono on festival day or holiday. Those
projects are very interesting and I would like to promote green tourism in my home
country.
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