One month since then

One month has just passed by. Nothing has been improved so dramatically. We still have aftershocks over and over. People in Tohoku area are facing lots of realities to confront. Now getting free from the fear of death , they started their lives from " being nothing." Some went back and forth between their wrecked and muddy houses and the evacuation places to clean up their properties. Some just abandoned their hometown to another cities to let their children begin their school lives as they used to. I heard many families had made a hard decision to live in separate for various reasons. Boy, there are lots they have to face with.

Then, it is so encouraging to see dozens of volunteers and organizations are stepping into these areas to help them out to rebuild the land along with the Self Defense Force parties and other public support organizations from abroad.

However, there are many other people who don't move out to the safer places. They just stay each home that was damaged partly and try to find the way to clear their houses. Yet most of their conditions like those areas being away from the officially appointed evacuation spots, the daily necessities are not delivered enough. Even electricity, water and gas are not all back in full at places where piles of debris and rubble still sit, not to mention some mountainous and remote areas. The condition is not always satisfactory sanitary wise. It looks like hard to draw an exact map as for where to go distributing goods due to lack of detailed information.

One support organization called "HOPE International Development Agency" was asking people to make hygiene kits to hand out to people in heavily distracted Tohoku area. They claimed specifically 9 items to be set in a plastic bag. I read a flyer and when I finished reading it, I knew what to do next. I had checked the items at home and ran to the shop to get the rest in short supply.

When I got the donation drive of this agency at the Hilton Nagoya the day before the due date, there were several staffs working on the donated goods and sorting them out. I was surprised to see it was outside a hotel doorway. It was a bit windy. When they saw me approaching, they soon recognized my large paper bag full of kits. I was so glad they smiled at me. I hope our support will bring people over there lots of smile on their faces as well.

One month has passed but it will be a long long way to go for a recovery. I only pray for all those who are struggling and fighting against an on-going hardship -----for desperate residents, each member sent into devastated areas from organized bodies and of course for people working in the crippled nuclear stations.

(from Peace Boat website)