[OTSUCHI, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, 1 June 2011]
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF |
On the morning of 1 June, Otsuchi Preschool in Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture reopened its doors after nearly 80 days of being closed. From early morning, children led by the hands of their mothers and fathers appeared one after the other, making their way to the newly completed temporary building. All of the children looked happy to be back at school. The teachers, who had been making preparations to reopen the school and who were very excited to see the children again, appeared relieved to see the healthy children and delighted to once again meet the parents.
Chiharu Kondo, the Japan Committee for UNICEF (JCU) field manager in Iwate Prefecture, called early this morning to tell JCU about the reopening of the preschool. She reported, “I was so relieved to see the children coming to school again. I will never forget the expression of relief on the parents’ faces as they walked in with the children. It looked like they were overjoyed to reconnect with the school’s teachers. Some of the children cried at first, but they were playing energetically in no time.”
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF |
| Children walking to school on the morning of 1 June. |
A total of 46 children attended school today. The preschool says that from tomorrow they plan to receive an even larger number of students. After each of the 46 students was accounted for and the vice-principal was introduced, the preschool’s principal, Yumiko Yagisawa, greeted everyone by saying, “I have been looking forward to this day together with the teachers as we prepared for reopening the school. Due to the earthquake and tsunami, there are some of our friends from Otsuchi Preschool that are no longer with us. But know that they are always watching over us. I want you all to play a lot, be nice to your friends and listen to what the teachers tell you.”
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF | ||
| Teachers worked busily from early morning making preparations to reopen the school. The teachers had decorated the windows with paper pictures and flowers. | ||
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF | ||
| Efforts were made to turn the prefabricated school building into a friendly space for children. You could hear the cheering of children from the blue-matted nursery room. | ||
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF/2011/K.Goto |
| The temporary building was constructed amidst a rich green environment about three kilometers inland from the tsunami-damaged school building. |
The 80 some day road to reopening Otsuchi Preschool was by no means smooth. The original Otsuchi Preschool building luckily escaped total destruction; however, Ms. Yagisawa commented that, “You can still see the mark leftover by the tsunami 10 centimeters from the ceiling. Everything leftover in the building is covered in mud while many other things were washed away in the tsunami. Even the windows were smashed.”
There was apparently talk about repairing and reopening the old building, but a decision was made to search for a new location as the area of the old building could possibly be designated as a danger zone. Even after land had been secured, however, temporary housing construction had priority access to prefabricated building materials, and the preschool was asked to wait for three to six months. Nevertheless, a construction company from Iwate Prefecture worked extremely hard for the children that waited for the reopening of the preschool. The company prioritized acquiring materials that were difficult to come by and construction work for the preschool.
Otsuchi Preschool successfully reopened its doors thanks to the hard work of teachers and the participation of numerous volunteers. Principal Yagisawa commented, “The school’s new location is surrounded by green, and is a place where the children can play without fear. Thanks to UNICEF we were able to reopen the temporary building for the preschool on 1 June. I would like to extend a huge thank you to UNICEF and the many people that assisted the reopening of our school.”
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF/2011/K.Goto | ||
| Preparations underway for the reopening of the preschool. | ||
| 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 |
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| 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 | 6-7 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 | ||
| Miyagi | Minicar | 8 Apr. | 3 cars | ||
| Miyagi | Nutritional supplements | From early April | 4,000 bottles | ||
| 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 | Preschool-size chairs, tables and low tables | 14 Apr. | 75 chairs; 11 tables; 9 low tables | Donated to preschools, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools in the disaster area as well as their new locations | |
| Miyagi | Mopeds | 15 Apr. | 5 | ||
| Iwate | Notebooks and stationery sets for primary and junior high school students | 15. Apr. | 16,700 sets | ||
| Miyagi | 183 computers; 57 copiers and fax machines; 61 printers | 18-21 Apr. | Distributed to preschools, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools in the disaster area as well as their new locations | ||
| Fukushima | Movable blackboards | 21 Apr. | 10 | ||
| Fukushima | Temporary toilets | 22 Apr. | 20 | ||
| Iwate | Geiger counters | 28 Apr. | 14 | For schools in Soma City | |
| Iwate | Dressing room/ breastfeeding partition system | 28 Apr. | 21 sets | ||
| Saitama* | Milk | From late April | Shelter in Futabamachi, Kazo City | ||
| Saitama* | Yogurt | From early May | Danone Japan | Shelter in Futabamachi, Kazo City | |
| Iwate | Color pencils (120 sets) and paint (240 sets) | 13 May | |||
| Iwate | Student lamps | 14 May | 15 | ||
| Iwate | Stationery sets | 16 May | 840 sets | ||
| Fukushima | Lockers | 16 May | 22 sets | For the Board of Education of Minamisoma City | |
| Fukushima | Computers | 16 May | 1 | Ishikawa Town Board of Education |
-Number of UNICEF Children’s Mini Libraries distributed: Approximately 110,000 books to over 350 locations (as of 16 May 2011)
-Number of children that have participated in the UNICEF “Let’s Play! The Outdoors Playtime Project” in Fukushima Prefecture: Approximately 5,600 (as of 26 May)
*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 16 May 2011 (compiled by the Information and Public Affairs Division).