Japan

PERIOD OF REPORT: 9 April – 23 April 2011

Progress report from our partners on the ground at Japan Emergency NGO (JEN)

Approximately 5,735 people were reached by JEN’s activities during this last period
Evacuees at evacuation centers as well as those in their own houses without food stocks in Ishinomaki City are the primary target groups of JEN
 

ACTIVITIES
1) Material Distribution
Between 16 and 21 April, JEN distributed portable heating pads, wet tissues, and dust-protective masks, clothing and sludge removal equipment to the evacuees in Oshika Peninsula near Ishinomaki City.

2) Sludge Removal Volunteer Dispatch
Supported by 296 volunteers, JEN has completed removing rubble and sludge from 48 houses in the Watanoha area of Ishinomaki City since 11 April. The number of beneficiaries is approximately 192 persons.

3) Soup Kitchen Volunteer Dispatch
JEN has been providing hot meals for lunch and for dinner to earthquake/tsunami victims taking shelter at their own houses. In the reporting period, JEN volunteers provided 3,385 hot meals. The meals have varieties of curry, rice balls, pork cutlet, Udon noodles, sandwiches, etc. Two groups of volunteers are taking turns every 10 days.

4) Psycho-Social Care through Community Café
JEN is providing a space where evacuees can take a bath as well as gather for activities and experience sharing, providing psycho-social care to 10 communities. This project will start with 3 pilot communities where JEN has established a good relationship through relief activities. This community space will be called ‘Community Café’ and JEN will organize various entertainment and relaxation activities with incoming volunteers.

During this reporting period, the renovation work on the electricity system and the floor at the first café has started.  So far: 2 concerts with audiences of 200 have been held, face and body massages given benefiting 89 evacuees, and haircuts benefiting 165 evacuees were organized at various evacuation centers. Until the completion of the rehabilitation work, all these activities will take place in the evacuation centers. Hopefully, as the project continues, the evacuees themselves will actively participate in the event organization in order to assist the community with their own skills and professions.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture

PLANNED FUTURE ACTIVITIES
1) Rubble Clearance by Local Companies as Revival of Local Business
There are huge piles of rubble in the affected areas and clearance work has started, but the local waste management companies cannot participate as they lost their resources due to the Tsunami. JEN will assist such companies with 60 vehicles such as Press Packers, Arm Roles and 4 Trucks in order for them to participate in this clearance work so that they can resume their business and keep their employees who are at risk of losing their jobs. This project has started on 29 April.

2) Assistance for People in Transitional Shelters
In Ishinomaki City, 10,000 transitional shelters will be built and occupied by evacuees in the next 12 months. The first 137 households have already moved in on 29 April. Local authorities, however, are providing the residences without furniture and living necessities such as kitchen utensils, clearing materials, and hygiene kits. JEN will provide living supplies according to the moving schedule decided by the city council.

3) Nutrition and Livelihood Improvement
Through connecting local vegetable shop owners in Ishinomaki and farmers in Ibaraki who are affected by the harmful rumors of radioactivity from the nuclear power plant and whose agricultural products are either priced under value or cannot be sold in the market, even if it is safe according to the government criteria. JEN will support vegetable shop owners to reinstall their destroyed shops and connect them to the farmers in Ibaraki.

MAIN ISSUES/CHALLENGES

A severe staff shortage is causing a delay in assistance. 6 evacuees have been employed in Ishinomaki City as JEN local staff. From now on, they will be trained on the job so that the projects can be handed over to them, and the HQ personnel dispatched will be based in Tokyo for support. This local staff recruitment wishes to support the livelihood of those who lost their occupations due to the earthquake and tsunami.