News
Oct 13 Event: Relief Activities Report and Launch of the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Leader Training Programme
October 5, 2011
Peace Boat will be holding a special event on October 13, reporting and looking back on the activities in the 200 days since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and announcing the launch of the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Leader Training Programme. This programme will train people in disaster relief skills to ensure that the effects of future disasters can be mitigated. Please join us to learn about our work, our future goals, and to connect with other Peace Boat supporters.
Bookings for this event are now full, however it will be broadcast live on the internet (English interpretation not available) here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/peaceboat-live
On the day, many items from Ishinomaki including the “cans of hope” and tshirts, books and so on will be available for purchase, and a photographic exhibition of activities in Ishinomaki will be held.
The venue will likely be crowded immediately prior to opening, so we recommend arriving early and visiting this corner before the event begins.
3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Relief Report
Announcement of Ishinomaki Volunteer Training Project
** Bookings for this event are now full. Thank you for your understanding.
Date: October 13 (Thu)
Time: 18:30-20:30 (Door opens at 18:00)
Place: JICA Global Plaza 3F Lecture Hall
Address: 4-2-24 Hiroo, Shibuya, Tokyo (1 min walk from Exit 1, Hiroo station)
Capacity: 500 people
Participation fee: Free
Language: Japanese, with simultaneous interpretation into English
Content:
PART I: Recent activity report and documentary screening
Guests from Ishinomaki:
- Ito Shuki (Director, Ishinomaki Disaster Recovery Assistance Council)
- Matsumura Gota (Executive member, Ishinomaki 2.0)
Volunteer representatives:
- Erica Angyal (Official nutritionist to Miss Universe Japan)
- Mima Hiroko (2008 Miss Universe Japan, Model)
- Fukushima Katsushige (Comedian)
Premiere documentary screening:
Documentary / 27 minutes / Director: Yamakawa Takuya
September 2011 / Created by Funnypro in cooperation with Church World Service
PART II:
Panel Discussion: “Real relief can only be provided by other human beings”
- Kamata Minoru (Honorary Director, Suwa Central Hospital / Author)
- Yamamoto Takashi (President, Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center)
Guest Talk “Learning from the disaster experience, Mitigating the damage from future disasters”
- Sarajean Rossitto (Adviser, Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Fund, Give2 Asia)
- Kayama Rika (Psychiatrist)
- Kim Kyungmook (Associate Professor, Chukyo University)
- Amamiya Karin (Author)
Announcement of the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Leader Training Programme
A reunion for former volunteers in Ishinomaki will also be held following the event. Please contact us for more details.
We look forward to seeing you there!
(Information about this event in Japanese is available here).
TAGS: Disaster Relief • event • headquarters • information session • international volunteers • Japan • Kanto-Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami • Relief • report • SUGIZO • Tokyo • Volunteer • volunteering • Volunteers • Yamamoto TakashiOrahono Recovery Festival to be held!
October 3, 2011
The “Orahono Recovery Festival – Ishinomaki/Onogawa/Higashi Matsushima” will be held on Sunday October 16.
Since the massive disaster occurred, countless numbers of volunteers have been providing support by participating in an endless list of volunteer activities including meal preparation, distribution of supplies, providing assistance at evacuation centers, mud clearance and assistance with fishing industry activities. Volunteers are continuing to help with these activities everyday. More than six months have passed since the disaster and as the debris that covered the town is gradually removed, shops are starting to re-open for business. There is, however, still a long way to go until the primary industries make a full recovery. Just as progress towards recovery was being made, the fishing villages that had been cleared of mud were once again troubled by mud and flooding caused by the heavy rain of Typhoon No. 15.
Despite this, local youth associations, fishing and agricultural industry representatives, the chamber of commerce and tourism association have come together to hold a “recovery festival.” The cities of Ishinomaki, Onagawa and Higashi Matsushima will work together to hold a recovery festival in the Ishinomaki region for the first time since the disaster.
This recovery festival will be a place for many people to be reunited with each other. Reunion of people with their neighbors, reunion of local residents with volunteers and reunion of volunteers with other volunteers. We hope for many wonderful moments of reunion during the recovery festival.
If many people participate in this festival it will help cheer up and provide inspiration to local shop owners re-opening their businesses. Please tell your family, friends and co-workers about this festival via email, blogs and other homepages. It may be a small step towards something as large as “recovery” but it is an important step for oraho (“us”) to take.
Orahono Recovery Festival – Ishinomaki/Onagawa/Higashi Matsushima
Date/Time: October 16 (Sunday) from 9am to 3pm
Venue: Ishinomaki City Civic Sports Park
Event details: Sale of locally manufactured products; food and drink stalls; stage events; children’s play area, etc.
Organizer: Orahono Recovery Festival Executive Committee
Sponsors: Ishinomaki city, Onagawa-cho, Higashi Matsushima city
Supported by: Ishinomaki Disaster Recovery Assistance Council Inc. (IDRAC)
Inquiries: 0225-95-1013 (Junior Chamber International Ishinomaki)
*The festival will still be held even if there is light rain.
*A shuttle bus to the festival will operate from in front of Ishinomaki station/Ishinomaki Senshu University parking lot
Call for International Volunteers
September 30, 2011
Over 6 months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The local community has been deeply moved by volunteers’ desire to help. The experiences shared by volunteers and the local community will be remembered long after the work in Ishinomaki is over.
Yet the recovery is still far from over, and for many survivors the progress that has been made feels mostly superficial. We must carry on helping the people of Ishinomaki to give them the courage and strength to rebuild not only their homes and businesses, but also their hearts and minds.
Peace Boat has always developed our programmes in response to the needs of the community, and as local requests for help shifted, so have Peace Boat’s efforts. We need volunteers to help clean graveyards, factories, the harbors in fishing villages and other public areas. The recent typhoon filled many of the streets and public places with water and debris, which has set back the city’s progress – a depressing sight for the people of Ishinomaki.
Last week we had 4 international volunteers. This week we have no international team at all. As you all know, the presence of international volunteers in Ishinomaki is vital: it shows survivors that the world has not forgotten about them. This is their biggest fear. The support of volunteers has proved invaluable to the recovery of Ishinomaki and we are now asking for continued support. Please join us and give the local people your hands in solidarity.
Read more about how to volunteer here.
New Ganbatte 365 video clips: Ogatsu stone accessories
September 21, 2011
New 15-second videos Vol. 8 to 11 covering Peace Boat’s activities in Ishinomaki have been uploaded to Youtube by the Ganbatte 365 project introduced earlier on this website here.
See below for two clips of Peace Boat efforts supporting the production of Ogatsu stone accessories previously introduced on this website and Peace Boat volunteers interacting with local shop owners.
Ogatsu stone accessories
Peace Boat volunteers interacting with local shop owners
If you would like to view all videos from No. 1 to 11 please click here .
* These clips have been uploaded with the approval of Ganbatte 365 under the Creative Commons License.
TAGS: Disaster Relief • Ganbatte 365 • Ogatsu • Peace Boat • peaceboat • Relief • video • VolunteerVolunteers needed in Wakayama following Typhoon #12
September 14, 2011
Peace Boat has commenced recruitment of volunteers to help in the emergency disaster relief efforts following the damage caused by Typhoon #12 in the Kii Peninsula region of Wakayama Prefecture.
At this stage volunteers will be based in Kumanogawa town and Shingu City in Wakayama Prefecture. The first volunteer period will be from September 19 to 25 and Peace Boat is looking for volunteers who can volunteer for at least 3 days during this period. “Wakayama Volunteer Information Sessions” will be held in Tokyo on September 17 (Sat) and in Nagoya on September 18 (Sun).
At this stage, we are only able to accept volunteers who are able to speak and read Japanese fluently. Thankyou for your understanding.For further details about volunteering conditions and information centres, please see the following link:
◎和歌山・台風12号被害 緊急支援ボランティア募集
