Japan

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture

BENEFICIARIES
Approximately 1,265 individuals and 1,178 households of 6 communities and general Ishinomaki citizens were reached by JEN’s activities during this period.

ACTIVITIES
1) Volunteer Dispatch

Sludge Removal
Supported by 2,059 volunteers, JEN has completed removing rubble and sludge from a total of 176 buildings and lots in Ishinomaki City.

JEN’s volunteers participated in a joint ditch cleaning and park weeding effort organized by JEN and the community on July 9th and 10th in the South Kazuma area. JEN was requested to coordinate volunteers to work in an oyster planting in the Higashihama area of Oshika Peninsula on the 14th of July. The Head of the Disaster Response Taskforce in Higashihama is hoping to complete this task by mid-August and he wishes to develop a relationship with JEN for the next few years of the reconstruction process. Dispatching volunteers for oyster planting started on July 19th and is ongoing every day on a scale of between 5 and 8 volunteers.
One of the locally-hired staff in the Ishinomaki office was sent to our ‘Let’s Go to Tambo (rice-paddy)’ event held between the 29th and 31st of July in Niigata Prefecture where JEN has been assisting since a strong earthquake in 2007. This training opportunity was aimed to develop our staff’s capacity to organize events that attract volunteers from urban areas. They will learn how to establish and manage local committees, and the management of a large group of volunteers in the field.

JEN was also requested to dispatch volunteers for a distribution event targeting residents of temporary shelters, organized by the Jusanhama fishermen’s committee on July 18th. JEN’s volunteers helped in venue set-up and packing of materials for 200 participants.

Soup Kitchen
JEN has been providing hot lunch meals to earthquake/tsunami victims taking shelter in their own houses. Since April when JEN started tracking the numbers, 21,875 meals have been provided.

Because of the decline in the number of users, JEN and community members have decided to complete the soup kitchen services at Nakayashiki Community Space on July 22nd.

The communities involved have left many appreciation messages to JEN staff and volunteers involved in these soup kitchen services. JEN’s team working at temporary shelters was given message by one of the residents that ‘we really appreciate the soup kitchen services in Nakayashiki. Thank you very much’.

2) Psychosocial Care through Community Space
JEN is providing community spaces where evacuees can gather for activities and share their experiences as part of the psycho-social care program. The strategy of this project has been clarified as follows. There are currently 3 places where activities are being piloted:

Common to All Community Space
• 10 iPads were donated by the Japan Magazine Association.
• A massage session by volunteers was held in each community space and eased the stress of 16 community members.
• A One-Day Psycho-Social session was held in Nakayashiki and Koganehama by a group of psychologists.
• 4 PCs are now installed with internet access in Nakayashiki and Koganehama

Nakayashiki Space
In the reporting period, a meeting was held by the community members and JEN’s staff to discuss the use of this community space after the completion of the soup kitchen service. Nakayashiki will now be used as a weekly café on every Tuesday by the same group, now named ‘Nakayashi Kissa no Kai’ (Nakayashiki Café Group), starting on July 26th.

JEN will support the wider use of this space open to community members through setting up the guidelines and promotion as a self-governing body, local children’s groups and volunteer organizations.

Other issues and opinions about this space were also raised in this meeting such as ‘this space requires more electrical appliances’, ‘we want a study group and career guidance for children’, and ‘we would like to make a vegetable garden and flowerbed decoration near this cafe’.
5 iPads are now available for rent-out to community members.

Another legal support session by lawyers has been requested, so JEN will assist in promoting this event to be more inclusive.

Kazuma Space
JEN facilitated a joint cleaning event of Kazuma Park on July 9th and 10th with the community’s self-governing body. This was widely announced through the self-governing body, local children’s associations, and the Kazuma Primary School. As a result, 100 local community members including children participated in the cleaning event. After this cleaning event, more children can now use this park for football/soccer.

The land for building a permanent building for the community space in the Kazuma community was selected. It is approximately 500 square meters.

JEN has been approached by some of the active community members to support their planned summer festival on the 20th of August. We are planning to organize these motivated members and help them plan the festival.

Koganehama Space
The Koganehama Space has been repaired by local contractors and volunteers. JEN supported the repairs with electrical wiring, ceiling fans, and sewage inspection/rehabilitation in June. During the reporting period, 10 tatami mattresses have been purchased and installed upon request of the community. A ventilation fan and netted windows were installed by volunteers and now prevent flies. Locks on the front door and windows still need to be installed and quotes from local contractors are being obtained.

The community members in Koganehama already established an association called ‘Ishinomaki no Fukkou wo Kangaeru Kai’ (Civil Group to Think of Reconstruction of Ishinomaki), and Koganehama Space has been used as a base for this organization. It now has a website in Japanese, including calls for volunteers to implement clean-up activities of the community.

5 iPads are now available for children in the community as cyber library.

3) Economic Recovery Assistance
3-1. Rubble Clearance through Assisting Local Waste Management Contractors
No specific updates for this reporting period.

3-2. Assistance of small to mid-size local businesses
JEN will begin projects to encourage the revitalization of small to mid-size local businesses over the next year. A deep assessment on small business in Ishinomaki City is ongoing.

4) Material Distribution
4-1. Assistance for People in Transitional Shelters
JEN distributed items including bedding, clothing, kitchenware, hygiene materials etc. for 4,128 households at transitional temporary shelters in Ishinomaki City as of July 21st.

Ishinomaki City has requested JEN to cover not only those families in the prefab transitional shelters but also those supported by the government living in private apartments. The number of households exceeds 5,000 and the location could be as far as Sendai City or Ohsaki City. Now JEN is assessing the feasibility in reaching these beneficiaries and distribution operation.

4-2. Other Distribution
JEN has distributed vegetables to the Higashihama area of Oshika Peninsula where community members still suffer from lack of available vegetables and fruits. The first distribution on July 15th targeted 263 individuals in 79 households. These bi-weekly distributions were requested until the end of August when the transitional shelters are scheduled to be completed.

5) Needs Assessment
5-1. Needs Assessment at Transitional Shelters
The result of the needs assessment was shared with the Civil Cooperation Department of Ishinomaki City on July 15th. JEN is now waiting for their feedback. In total this needs assessment is scheduled to cover 796 households.

Miscellaneous:

The rainy season finished on the 11th of July in the Ishinomaki area, 14 days earlier than normally. After this rainy season, the weather now becomes very hot and sunny. It was reported that 4 people suffering from heat disorder already got carried to the hospital in ambulances on the 10th of July. Response to heat in evacuation centers will need to be considered.