News Updates

February 24, 2012

We are nearing the one year anniversary of the March 11 disasters. In this time, over 1,000 international volunteers from over 50 countries have come to Ishinomaki, together with over 10,000 Japanese volunteers, and provided much-needed assistance to survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. The city has made fantastic progress; shops are reopening, the fisheries and factories are restarting their operations. Ishinomaki still has a very long way to go before it has fully recovered, but with your continued support, the city can begin to flourish once more.

We would like to share with you some of our news from Ishinomaki, more information about our volunteer work and our plans for the one year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

New Projects
Peace Boat is beginning some projects to deal with the evolving needs of the community in Ishinomaki. These projects are:
The Wakame Seaweed Project
Temporary Housing Support
The Newsletter Project
The Gardening Project
Shoveling Snow in Niigata

Extension of Volunteer Activities
Peace Boat will continue offering week-long volunteer trips for Japanese and non-Japanese speakers from April onwards. Please keep checking this website as information about dates and availability is regularly updated.

March 10 & 11, 2012 – Remembering the March 11 Disasters
On March 10 and 11, Peace Boat will be supporting an event taking place at Hibiya Park in Tokyo. The event Title is “Peace on Earth”, and it will take place between 11am and 7pm on a stage in front of the water fountain. The event is free, and will feature talks by guests, live music, an organic market, food stalls and stands for NGOs and NPOs. At 2.46pm, there will be a minute of silence in commemoration of the victims of the tsunami.

Also on March 11, there will be a candlelight vigil event at Tokyo Tower from 6.30pm to 8pm. This event will be a fundraising event, aimed at raising money for the people in Fukushima who have been affected by radiation, and for the survivors in Tohoku. The event will feature Taiko Drum performances by GoCoo. For more information on either event please visit: http://www.peaceonearth.jp/ (Japanese only).

No Volunteer Activity in Ishinomaki – March 11
Out of respect for the people of Ishinomaki, on March 11, 2012, Peace Boat will not be carrying out any volunteer activities in the city. Instead, we will be respectfully supporting the people of the town as they carry out their own memorial service for the disasters.

Peace Boat’s Blog – Call for Contributors
As the anniversary of the disaster approaches, we are asking people to share with us their experiences as disaster relief volunteers. The independent blog “Voices from the Ground” has been a fantastic resource for documenting the contributions of our international participants, and a great way of attracting new volunteers, who can see how important and rewarding the work can be. Please get in touch if you would like to contribute a written piece, or if you have time to be interviewed by our staff. To view the blog please go here.

New Facebook Page
Peace Boat’s Disaster Relief Volunteer Center has launched a new Facebook page. This new page is dedicated to giving information about our long-term projects and the work we are doing to support the people of Ishinomaki as they rebuild their community. The emergency phase is over but the work is only just beginning. Please click Like on our page to keep up to date on all our projects in Tohoku at: PBVsaigai.

New website launched by partner organization
A number of local NPOs have suffered the loss of workers and facilities, and they are finding it extremely difficult to continue their work. The organisation “Mori No Dengonban Yururu”, which aims to support NPOs who want to resume activities, launched a new website called “Fukko Miyagi” (“Miyagi reconstruction”). This website aims to collect funds to help local NPOs restart their activities. For more information, please visit their website (available in English):
http://www.fukkou-miyagi.jp/en/

 

PBV’s achievements between March – December, 2011
The image below shows the achievements of the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center (PBV)’s activities between March – December, 2011. Without the contribution of the volunteers, we would not have been able to achieve this and we are grateful for your support towards our activities!

We look forward to continuously working with you in the future!

TAGS: Disaster Relief • Earthquake • headquarters • international volunteers • Ishinomaki • Japan • Kanto-Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami • Peace Boat • peaceboat • Relief • Tokyo • Volunteers