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[TOKYO, Japan, 11 July 2011]
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On 7 July (Thursday), four children from Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School visited the UNICEF House in Tokyo to take a tour. Onagawa Town, located in Miyagi Prefecture, suffered catastrophic damage as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake. On this occasion, 66 students visited Tokyo on a two-night, three-day school trip, where they were split into groups and participated in occupational training and visited educational facilities. The students’ leader, Ms. Yoko Utsuumi, who was also victim to the disaster, told us that the houses of the four students that visited the UNICEF House on this occasion were badly damaged in the disaster. She said, “I was born and raised in Watanoha. My house was flooded up to 30 centimeters about floor level, but compared to everyone else the amount of damage was minor. This school trip was made possible by the coordinating efforts of the students’ parents and assistance from numerous people. We not only received goods and supplies, we received love. And now we intend to return the favor to everyone with our love.”
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| Children thanking Ms. Fukuhara. |
The Japan Committee for UNICEF (JCU) provided schools in the Miyagi Prefecture disaster areas with school supplies, bags and book bags, and also assisted the commencement and entrance ceremonies of Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School. Last month, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake even paid a visit to the school. Ms. Miho Fukuhara, who was dispatched from UNICEF Headquarters and has been on the frontline of assistance activities in Miyagi Prefecture, recently completed her mission in the disaster area. Ms. Fukuhara also came to the UNICEF House on this day. Upon seeing her, the four children showed expressions of relief and thanked Ms. Fukuhara for everything that she has done. Ms. Fukuhara was living at the school in order to complete preparations for the April entrance and commencement ceremonies. Ms. Fukuhara looked at each of the children and said, “You will always, always have my support.”
The UNICEF House was not originally in the four children’s school trip schedule, but they decided to include the visit in order to convey their gratitude to people across Japan that have supported them. The four students thoroughly went over their speeches until right before it was time to present so that they would represent Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School well in extending their thank you messages.
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| Children from Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School extending thank you messages in front of a group of volunteers and JCU staff. |
The children’s messages are as follows:
“On 11 March 2011 the Great East Japan Earthquake caused extensive damage to Onagawa. Many people were killed and many more are missing. There are even many people that are forced to live in shelters with their families. At such a time, we received a lot of school supplies, aprons, and even assistance for school lunch centers, particularly from UNICEF. We thank you so much. All of our school supplies were washed away and we were left with nothing, so this assistance was an enormous help. We will definitely use what you have given us with great care. Our houses were also destroyed in the tsunami, but we will continue to work hard and never forget the heartfelt care that everyone has given us.”
“Because of the earthquake, our second year classes were interrupted and as third year students we had to study second year material. Also, due to safety reasons we can’t use the music room or cooking room, so we conduct classes in the classrooms and library. We also have a full school chorus that all students take part in. Ultimately, we hope that this full school chorus will visit shelters and other areas and sing for people. We practice hard every day in the little amount of time that we have.”
“What made me the happiest was the restart of our school clubs. I was worried about the school clubs because clubs usually meet indoors but the gym was destroyed. Now, we are able to conduct activities outside until 5:30 p.m. All of the school clubs meet in the same schoolyard and practice next to each other. We just finished the preliminary competitions and now everyone is devoting their time to preparing for the finals.”
What we can do as junior high school students is, first, be grateful to all of the people that supported us. Specifically, we can write letters of thanks to those that assisted us, and, once Onagawa Town is rebuilt, have them come to the town to visit. It was thanks to the support of UNICEF that we were able to spend such a rich and fulfilling three months like this. Thank you so much. We will never forget this, and once we are adults I hope that we have the chance to help others that are in need. Finally, we give every effort to supporting the reconstruction of Onagawa Town.”
“Thank you very much. Delivered on 7 July 2011 by Ryohei Kitaoka, Takumi Kubo, Yuto Hiratsuka, and Kodai Yamamoto of Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School.”
The four students were very polite during the guided tour of the UNICEF House, rarely saying too much, but on the questionnaire they filled out after the tour they wrote their thoughts about the experience: “In everyday life I want to stay continuously aware of the many children that still suffer from various problems throughout the world,” “Things are still tough for us here now, but if I can do anything in the future for others, then I want to do it,” and “The world map that compares Japan with the rest of the world was very interesting.” The Japan Committee for UNICEF will continue to implement assistance activities for the children of the disaster areas including support for kindergartens and preschools.
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All photo credits: © Japan Committee for UNICEF
| 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 | |
| Miyagi | 2 copiers; 2 computers; 2 printers | May | For Higashi-Matsushima Day-Care Center and Watari Day-Care Center | ||
| Iwate | Water receiving tank, water purifier tank, water supply tank | May construction | May construction | ||
| Miyagi | Solar-powered vaccine refrigerator | 18 May | |||
| Fukushima | Fans | 30 May | 112 | Minamisoma City Board of Education | |
| Fukushima | Masks | 30 May | 100,000 | Minamisoma City Board of Education | |
| Iwate | 1 copy machine | 2 June | |||
| Saitama* | Shoes | 15 June | 460 pairs | Converse Footwear Co., Ltd. |
-Number of UNICEF Children’s Mini Libraries distributed: Approximately 150,000 books to over 900 locations (as of 20 June 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 17 June 2011 (compiled by the Information and Public Affairs Division).
