News
Fukushima & Venezuela Music Youth Ambassadors – Widened Horizons: Opening the World’s Door for Fukushima’s Youth
June 21, 2012
Download this as a PDF flyer here.
BACKGROUND
The young people of Fukushima have endured one of the world’s largest-ever earthquakes, a devastating tsunami and the terror of the nuclear accident at the Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Residents still face severely heightened levels of radiation. This is an untenable situation for anybody, but especially cruel for youth and for their worried parents. To respond to the needs raised from the local community, Peace Boat would like to make every effort possible, with support and solidarity internationally, to provide the opportunity for youth from Fukushima to travel on the open sea and experience diverse societies and cultures, an experience that will promote their healthy ongoing development and positive mental health, enabling them to better cope with the stresses of daily life in Fukushima.
FUKUSHIMA & VENEZUELA MUSIC YOUTH AMBASSADORS:
Delegates from the Fukushima Television Junior Orchestra will join Peace Boat’s 76th Global Voyage together with delegates from the world renowned The Simón Bolívar Music Foundation (also known as “El Sistema,” providing free music education to 350,000 children in an effort to discourage them from crime and develop a culturally rich society), following music exchanges with the Gustavo Dudamel Youth Orchestra LA (YOLA) program, the El Sistema Los Angeles group which provides programs for under-privileged young people.
OBJECTIVES:
- To meet local needs through evacuating youth in Fukushima from radiation contaminated areas for the duration of the program, reducing the burden of fear and worry on their parents
- To enable the youth to develop their musical skills, thus their confidence and hopes for the future, through experiencing the social impact of music through the famous “El Sistema” principles and through connecting with young people from the US and Venezuela who share their passion
- To energize and encourage the Fukushima communities, through the renewed energy and perspectives brought home by the participants, and in particular by inviting evacuees from Fukushima to attend a major concert held in Yokohama concert upon the delegation’s return to Japan
PROGRAM OUTLINE:
31 July - Fukushima Television (FTV) Junior Orchestra delegates fly to Los Angeles
1 August - FTV delegates exchange with YOLA youth
2 August - FTV & El Sistema delegates join Peace Boat in Mexico - Music, language, sports, art and cultural activities while travelling at sea for 14 days
17 August - Peace Boat 76th Global Voyage returns to Yokohama
18 August - A joint concert will be held in Tokyo, with 60 evacuees from Fukushima living in the Kanto area invited.
Fukushima Television Junior Orchestra
The Simón Bolívar Music Foundation
Gustavo Dudamel Youth Orchestra LA (YOLA) program
Peace Boat’s 76th Global Voyage
VOICE FROM 2011 PARTICIPANT:
“Until meeting my Sri Lankan friend who experienced the tsunami in 2004 at the same age as me, I was not able to feel I have a future. Looking at the big smile and positive spirit he carries, it gave me the courage that I could have a future to look forward to.” (14 years old participant)
Youth from Fukushima will travel at sea for 14 days with Venezuelan youth who survived severe flooding in which 30,000 people lost their lives in 1999.
DONATIONS WELCOME
Within Japan:
Bank: Japan Post Bank (Branch 019)
Payee Name: PEACE BOAT
Payee Account Number: 0177458
*Please write “Fukushima” before your name.
*Please see this link below for The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. details:
Outside Japan:
Please donate through our affiliate organization, Peace Boat US, in New York, United States.
Peace Boat US is a 501(c)(3) tax deductible US organization.
Secure online donations can be made to Peace Boat US via Pay Pal; Pay Pal will send a receipt which can be used for tax purposes.
Alternatively, a check can be sent to Peace Boat US, and a receipt useable for tax purposes will be sent to you.
See this link for details.
CONTACT:
Peace Boat (Maho Takahashi)
Address: B1 Nokk Bldg., Takadanobaba 3-13-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-75, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3363-7561
Peace Boat Global Voyage
Peace Boat Disaster Relief
* This project is coordinated in collaboration between Peace Boat and the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center.
FukushimaVenezuelaYouthAmbassadors (PDF flyer)
Certificate of appreciation and commemorative token from the Ishinomaki Technical High School!
June 19, 2012
Peace Boat was honoured to receive a certificate of appreciation, a towel commemorating the team’s entry into the Koshien national tournament, and an original photo stand from the Koshien Committee of the Ishinomaki Technical High School, whose baseball team made their first entry into Koshien this spring.
Peace Boat launched a campaign to support the committee by raising donations and collecting messages of support via Facebook in cooperation with other organizations active in supporting Ishinomaki.
While the team unfortunately lost their first game, their pledge for fair play, shouldering the burden of expectations from their hometown, and their high-spirited play in the game left an unforgettable impression on audiences throughout Japan. We would like to sincerely express our gratitude to the baseball team of the Ishinomaki Technical High School and all involved for their courage and inspiration.
International elementary school students lend their support
June 12, 2012
On April 16, a group of 3 students from an international elementary school dropped by Peace Boat’s Tokyo office in Takadanobaba for a visit. The students explained that they heard about Peace Boat as part of a class project to learn about NGOs and NPOs.
Located in Tokyo’s Osaki area, the Canadian International School is a school for first-year elementary through third-year high school students from all over the world; most come to Japan because of their parents’ jobs. After learning in class about the social role played by NGOs and NPOs, the sixth-graders were given a major assignment: to go out and investigate an actual NGO, and give a group presentation back at school about the group’s activities.
Sixth-grade student Joao, from Portugal, searched online for information about NGOs in Japan. When he found Peace Boat, he thought, “It’s a boat that travels around the world–awesome!! Wow, they support the earthquake survivors in Tohoku, too! And there are international volunteers! It’s all for world peace!” He was so excited that he came to visit our office all by himself.
Joao returned to school, where he and his fellow group members Krysta and Ayan worked tirelessly to gather all of the information they had heard and researched and present it to the class. Other groups also gave presentations about many other NGOs, and in a class-wide contest, Joao and his group’s project about Peace Boat was selected as the best one. As part of the assignment, the school had promised to donate 5000 yen to the winning NGO, and Peace Boat was grateful to accept these funds.
===
After the presentation, many other connections between the school and Peace Boat’s disaster relief efforts came to light. Some of the other children mentioned, for example, that their mothers had volunteered in Ishinomaki. Finding out about these connections was another wonderful discovery for the group. The three students got even more excited, and decided to give another presentation for the school’s parents and guardians. To prepare, they came to visit our Takadanobaba office once more.
During this visit, the trio spoke with staff member Takahashi Maho, who is in charge of international efforts for the Tohoku relief project and has also participated in several global voyages onboard Peace Boat. The children wrote furiously, taking notes, as Maho explained about Peace Boat’s disaster relief activities to them in English. Their final question was:
“We’re only elementary school students; is there anything that we can do to help the people of Tohoku?”
Maho answered like this:
- Take what you’ve heard today and talk about it with everyone around you, at school and at home.
- You can also show your support by donating to groups that give aid to the people of Tohoku.
===
“How can we help our friends to understand about this?”
Rereading all of the notes they had taken, Joao and his friends went home and began to prepare for their next presentation and exhibit, to be given on May 11.
===
And then, the big day arrived.
The group prepared a donation box, a dance, and poems which they created all by themselves.
===
Five days later, Joao and Ayan hopped on the Yamanote line and rode once again to Takadanobaba as promised, with their hard-earned donation money clasped tightly in their hands. They were able to collect 2,000 yen, and the event was a big success.
“One day I’m going to ride on the boat, and go to Ishinomaki, too!”
Joao told this to Maho and then went home, grinning from ear to ear, proud of the great job he had done.
Joao, Krysta, and Ayan — thank you so much. On the boat or in Ishinomaki, we look forward to seeing you again soon!
TAGS: fundraising • headquarters • international volunteers • Ishinomaki • Peace Boat • peaceboat • Relief • Tokyo2011 Report available in Spanish
May 18, 2012
The Spanish language report on Peace Boat’s activities in Ishinomaki in 2011 is now available, along with the English and Japanese versions previously published on this site.
Download the report (PDF, 606KB) here: 2011 Report Spanish
We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has contributed to our work over the past year, and look forward to further cooperating to support the people of Ishinomaki.
Reports from Barcelona, Spain
April 9, 2012
Peace Boat is this year carrying out its 50th voyage around the world, having also conducted many voyages throughout Asia and the Pacific. During Peace Boat’s 73rd Global Voyage, which departed Japan shortly after the disaster last year, a photo exhibition was held at each port of call to communicate the damage in Ishinomaki and surrounding area, and the activities of volunteer. This report shares some of the disaster relief related activities carried out together with partners in ports around the world – here in Barcelona, Spain.
A photo exhibition which was continued in the current voyage, “Standing Together! Standing Stronger!” has added photographs of life in Fukushima as well as the latest photographs from Ishinomaki and Onagawa. It intends to communicate gratitude to the countries around the world which gave support to Tohoku and the ongoing effort for the reconstruction.
Presentation on the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in Barcelona, May 2011.
For several months after the disaster when the information was confused even within Japan, we were asked about the situation in Tohoku in every country we visited. Although the images of nuclear accident or the tsunami swallowing the towns and surrounds are broadcast on TV around the world, the lives of people and the actuality of relief work were not adequately communicated. During the 73rd voyage between April and July 2011, the above photo exhibit was held in 16 ports of call around the world. The photo panels used in the events were donated to partner organizations at ports along the way to provide further opportunities to know about Tohoku beyond the period of our visit.
A photo exhibition held in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The donated photo panels are at these partner organizations’ disposal to use in charity events or other programmes. We have since received several reports from Barcelona, Spain, one of the places where the panels were donated.
The first is on a charity classical concert for the reconstruction, organized by “Forza Japo” which consists mainly of Japanese musicians in Barcelona.
The concert was held in cooperation with the city of Terraza in Catalonia, at the city music hall on December 4, 2011. As time has passed since the disaster, the intention was to provide “an opportunity to think of the disaster affected areas in Japan from Spain”. They showed a video that introduced works of “Project Fumbaro Eastern Japan (PFEJ)” where the funds raised were to be sent, set up a booth to write messages of support along with a space to talk about the disaster hit areas with a glass of Cava (sparkling wine from Catalonia) in hand.
The photo panels donated by Peace Boat were also on display. The Consul General of Japan who attended the event also offered to use the panels at the one year commemoration of the disaster in March.
The other report was on the memorial service “Un año después” held on March 11 this year. At 14:46 Japan time (6:46 am local time), a minute of silent prayer was offered on the beach, La Barceloneta. Although no big announcement was made in advance, more than 100 people gathered and thought of the disaster hit areas as the sun rose.
Reports from around the world on March 11 were broadcast in Japanese TV. Indeed we have received a lot of support from all over the world. We would like to report on other examples of support provided from overseas through Peace Boat including the works of international volunteers.
————————————–
A further interesting activity has been taking place during the current 75th Global Voyage, in addition to the photo exhibits. It is called the“On the Road WORLD Genki Mikoshi (cheerful portable shrine)”.
This is organized by the NPO On the Road, with whom Peace Boat works together in Ishinomaki. The members in Ishinomaki hand crafted a portable shrine with messages, which is now being carried aboard Peace Boat’s Global Voyage, gathering messages from people around the world to pray for the reconstruction of Tohoku.
Those who use Facebook can also take a look at their reports uploaded regularly with images and stories from around the world. For now, here is the link to the images from Tahiti.
This portable shrine will be carried with spirit at the ports remaining in the final month of the voyage as it approaches Japan. Stay tuned for more reports!