[TOKYO, Japan, 28 April 2011]
 |
| © Japan Committee for UNICEF/2011/k.shindo |
| Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture. |
Ambassador of the Japan Committee for UNICEF (JCU) Agnes Chan will visit the disaster area in Iwate Prefecture for four days between 29 April and 2 May.
JCU has been calling for the cooperation of the world to raise emergency funding for assistance in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, and has raised over 150 million yen in generous donations from Japan and abroad. Marking the first time in over 50 years that UNICEF has decided to provide assistance to Japan, directly after the earthquake UNICEF dispatched Japanese specialists working on-site around the world to Japan to provide emergency assistance. JCU has also worked to implement emergency assistance activities with the cooperation UNICEF Headquarters, municipal governments in the disaster area and a vast range of donors including private corporations. Furthermore, in consideration of activities carried out thus far, on 26 April JCU renewed its Emergency Releif Plan of Action until 30 September 2011. JCU will continue to work to assist “Child Friendly Reconstruction.”
 |
| © Japan Committee for UNICEF /2011/k.shindo |
| Shelter in Yamamoto Town, Miyagi Prefecture. |
Before her trip to Iwate, JCU Ambassador Agnes Chan visited the disaster area on the coastline of Miyagi Prefecture between 12 and 15 April. After her visit she said, “The situation was beyond imagination, and after seeing it I couldn’t stop crying as I talked to many people in the disaster area that had lost everything. We must expand assistance measures for the children. JCU is allotting every effort to implementing assistance activities while keeping Japan and people around the world informed of the stern situation in northeastern Japan.”
Kenichi Shindo is a former cameraman of Kyodo News that has photographed various events for JCU for many years as well as the overseas visits of Ambassador Agnes Chan. During the first half of Golden Week Mr. Shindo’s coverage of the Great East Japan Earthquake will be exhibited in Ginza, Tokyo.
<Ms. Chan’s Schedule>
| 29 April (Fri) | Around Rikuzentakata City |
|---|---|
| 30 April (Sat) | Around Rikuzentakata City and Ofunato City |
| 1 May (Sun) | Around Miyako City |
| 2 May (Mon) | Around Kamaishi City and Otsuchi |
[Emergency Report by Kenichi Shindo: Current Situation of the Great East Japan Earthquake]
| Date | 29 April 2011 (Fri) – 5 May 2011 (Thurs) |
|---|---|
| Time | 10:00 - 17:00 |
| No. of pictures | Approximately 80 photographs |
| Entrace | Free |
| Venue | ArtGraph Gallery (Shashin Kosha, in the Ginza Service Center) Ginza Building 1F, 2-9-14 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 Tel: 03-3563-0372 |
It was like an atomic disaster. That was my honest impression of the disaster area of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
I toured the Tohoku and Kanto regions, where a countless number of people died or went missing between the cold months of March and April.
I spent a total of 16 days taking photos, traveling between around 300 to 400 kilometers per day. Honestly, as a 67-year-old man, the trip was very difficult for me and I think that the content of my photos is a bit weak.
However, Shashin Kosha was still kind enough to hold this emergency photo exhibit because, as a cameraman, a job that I believed that I would continue for my entire life, I felt my work was limited.
In other words, I am speaking of the aggravation of not being able to convey the reality of the disaster area, such as the adversity, confusion, sadness, and even the sounds, smells and temperatures.
The unprecedented earthquake and tsunami, and the nuclear power station accident, created devastation too large for words, photos or video to express.
Photos and video can only convey a limited amount of information, but I hope that this exhibit serves as an opportunity for people to look at the reality of the situation and think about what we can do ourselves.
I have received assistance getting coverage for this exhibit from the Japan Committee for UNICEF and the UNICEF Tokyo Office.
| Receiving Prefecture |
Type of Emergency Supplies |
Arrival Date |
Quantity | Donating Company |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miyagi | Water | 19 Mar. | 12,288 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Fukushima | Water | 22 Mar. | 12,672 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Underwear for boys and girls | 22 Mar. | 200,000 | ||
| Iwate | Underwear for boys and girls | 23 Mar. | 30,000 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 23 Mar. | 4,680 bottles |
KIRIN MC DANONE WATERS Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Children’s shoes | 23 Mar. | 10,000 pairs |
||
| Miyagi | Children’s diapers | 24 Mar. | 80 packs | P&G Japan | |
| Iwate | Children’s underwear | 24 Mar. | 9,700 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 24 Mar. | 12,288 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Iwate | Shoes | 26 Mar | 1,404 pairs | Achilles Corporation | |
| Iwate | Underwear for boys and girls | 27 Mar. | 28,266 | ||
| Iwate | Boots | 27 Mar. | 7,462 pairs | ||
| Iwate | Wipes | 28 Mar. | 1,200 | P&G Japan | For babies |
| Miyagi | Recreation kits Early Childhood Development kits |
2 Apr. | 50 of each | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Iwate | Recreation kits Early Childhood Development kits |
2 Apr. | 50 of each | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Miyagi | Book bags | 6 Apr. | 70 | Nihon New Bag Chain | |
| Iwate | Book bags | 6 Apr. | 340 | Seiban | |
| Miyagi | Schoolbags | 8 Apr. | 18,000 | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Iwate | Schoolbags | 8 Apr. | 18,000 | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Miyagi | Personal security buzzers (for crime prevention purposes) | 8 Apr. | 5,000 | ||
| Iwate | Personal security buzzers (for crime prevention purposes) | 8 Apr. | 5,000 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 11 Apr. | 1,536 bottles | VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Replenishments for recreation kits | 12 Apr. | 60 sets | ||
| Miyagi | Miniature toy cars | 12 Apr. | Approx. 1,200 | TAKARA TOMY | |
| Sagamihara* | Water | 12 Apr. | 12,288 bottles | VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Play mats | 13 Apr. | Two types; 80 of each type | IKEA | |
| Miyagi | Drawing sets | 13 Apr. | 60 sets | IKEA | |
| Iwate | Chairs (for 3-5 year olds) | 14 Apr. | 75 | ||
| Iwate | Tables (for 6 people) | 14 Apr. | 11 | ||
| Iwate | Low tables | 14 Apr. | 9 | ||
| Iwate | Notebooks and stationery sets for primary and junior high school students | 15. Apr. | 16,700 sets | ||
| Miyagi | 183 computers | 18-21 Apr. | 3 computers at 61 locations | Distributed to kindergartens, primary, junior high and high schools affected by the disaster as well as their new locations | |
| Miyagi | Copier/fax machines | 18-21 Apr. | 57 | Distributed to kindergartens, primary, junior high and high schools affected by the disaster as well as their new locations | |
| Miyagi | Printers | 18-21 Apr. | 61 | Distributed to kindergartens, primary, junior high and high schools affected by the disaster as well as their new locations |
*Areas receiving disaster victims.
*In certain cases some supplies may be taken from prefectural supply storage warehouses and distributed to shelters and disaster sites in other prefectures.
As of 9:00 a.m. on 20 April 2011 (compiled by the Information and Public Affairs Division).