The situation and the work that YMCAs have done in each area are as follows.

Iwate
Morioka YMCA has sent staffs and volunteers to Miyako city, one of the most affected areas. It organized Miyako Volunteer Center in cooperation with Miyako Church of United Church of Christ in Japan. Yokohama YMCA sent directors to help them for one week, and the National Council of YMCAs of Japan sent special mountaineers too. Staffs and volunteers will be sent there from other YMCAs such as Yokohama YMCA, Kobe YMCA, the National Council of YMCAs of Japan and so on.


Miyako city is the seaside area in Iwate prefecture in the north, and the highest tsunami came there. It takes more than 10 hours from Tokyo to Miyako by car, and it’s far from Tokyo compared with Miyagi prefecture. Because of the ria coast, most roads were cut off by tsunami. Many senior people live in this area, and they worry about the lack of relief supplies and daily medicine for a long time. Houses were damaged and it’s hard to remove their furniture which is heavier than before because of its muddiness by themselves. Miyako city is the countryside where local tie is strong, and it is also hard to build trust between local people and supporters from outside. YMCA are trying to communicate with them spending much time. The Volunteer Center asks people’s needs and connects people to the local governments or the council of social welfare.


From April 5, a staff of Toyama YMCA and one of its volunteers, expert volunteers from Hokkaido and mountaineers are supporting the Center.


A newspaper article about the Volunteer Center from Iwate Nippo (Japanese only):
www.iwate-np.co.jp/hisaichi/h201104/h1104051.html

  According to the report by a staff of the National Council of YMCAs of Japan, the city is still covered with sludge and debris so the volunteers are cleaning the houses or the roads. Another big earthquake hit the same area around midnight on April 7. The earthquake killed at least 3 people and caused power failure in some prefectures.


Miyagi
Sendai YMCA started to offer place to stay and foods to help the victims right after the earthquake. We sent the staffs from Kyoto YMCA, Yokohama YMCA, Kobe YMCA and the National Council of YMCAs of Japan to explore the situation and victims’ needs. Tokyo YMCA and Y’s Men’s Clubs brought the relief supplies to the affected area.

Now, electricity and water system are recovered in the area where YMCA locates. Sendai YMCA’s Volunteer Center was set up on March 22, and they started to support three nearby areas on the coast damaged by tsunami. Local YMCA will send a team of coordinators and volunteers through the National Council of YMCAs of Japan for a week continuously.

This disaster damaged wide area and aftershock is still continuing. While search for missing people continues in many areas, sending volunteers to the affected area is controversial because of lack of the basic needs including gas for cars, and bad traffic. However, it is clear that many issues are not addressed properly by government, and expectancy to NGOs like YMCA which have experience and know-how is high.

A “field day” planned by Sendai YMCA was taken place at a refuge at a Junior High School in Higashi-matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture. About 30 kids who participated on April 6 are from Nobiru Elementary School which was totally damaged by tsunami.

Most of the children have gone outside of the city or the prefecture. Even though some of them are still in Higashi-matsushima, they are staying at different evacuation centers inside the city so they haven’t seen each other for a while. Also they haven’t done anything active.


Youth volunteers and the kids did some typical Japanese field day sports such as a tug of war and relay. They enjoyed running around and playing with other school mates. The staff says that children aren’t able to play outside due to their life with restrictions. The children said that it was happy for them to see their friends.


On April 11, another “field day” was held. It was supposed to be on April 8 but was cancelled due to another big earthquake on the day before. Volunteers had wanted to see the kids and vice versa. They played soccer, beach volleyball, dodge ball, baseball etc. Children are found to be much healthier and more cheerful with our “field day” programs. Sendai YMCA continues planning programs for kids.

An article about the program from Asahi Shimbun (Newspaper: Japanese only)
www.asahi.com/special/10005/TKY201104060433.html

Further information, visit the Volunteer Center website (Japanese only. Many photos) :
sites.google.com/a/sendai-ymca.org/volunteer_support/

Ibaraki
Ibaraki YMCA has helped refugees from Fukushima nuclear reactor threat area by offering child care and recreation programs in cooperation with social welfare council. Tokyo YMCA sent directors and staffs to help their work.

Displaced people stay in the gymnasium where there is no space for children to play, so many children and even adults feel stressed. Local government asked YMCA to offer outdoor programs such as dodge ball, jumping rope, football, catch, and tag. Over 60 volunteers from Ibaraki YMCA and Tokyo YMCA in total have supported this program.

Tochigi
Tochigi YMCA has offered elderly programs in eastern area of Utsunomiya and Haga area where many houses got damaged and they sent 30 volunteers in total to each houses where the elder live by themselves in the affected area to hear their needs. Now, Tochigi YMCA offers day service for the elderly at the evacuation center. In this disaster, the elderly is vulnerable in the affected area at home as well as the evacuation center. Tochigi YMCA is also planning to take care of the people evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Tochigi YMCA had some damages in its buildings and facilities.


Tokyo
Tokyo YMCA sent their staffs to the affected areas and helped them plan the rescue activities. They collaborated with Y’s Men’s Club to deliver emergency supplies. A priest who used to be a Tokyo YMCA director works at the church in Sendai, so there is a connection in this area. Tokyo YMCA is considering the possibility of support based on this church.

Kanagawa
Yokohama YMCA has sent their staffs to the affected areas to support especially Miyako city where Morioka YMCA is supporting.

YMCA International Youth Center Tozanso
YMCA international youth center Tozanso accepted 15 people who escaped from nuclear crisis, and they will consider accepting more people.

YMCAs in eastern part of Japan have worked hard to support the people in the affected area. Other YMCAs also started their action, and over 2,000 people in total joined the donation campaign on the street.

Kobe YMCA and other YMCAs in Kansai/Western area which experienced Great Hanshin earthquake before got many resources and support through their network.

The National Council of YMCAs of Japan is the main office to coordinate nation wide activities and overseas communication. We are working in good cooperation with other NGOs and organizations in national level and set up “Japan Civil Net”, a network of NGOs working for the people in the affected area.

We have collected all the information from the YMCA staffs who went to the affected areas, and asked fund raising from local YMCAs in the other areas and from overseas. All YMCAs in Japan have prepared to send staffs and volunteers to the affected areas when routes and places to stay are ready in the mid-long term.


YMCAs in Japan unite together to raise the fund and to overcome this tragedy.
We really appreciate all again and especially to the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs for all the coordination, and we appreciate continuous support and solidarity. We also really appreciate any other organization from abroad to support us strongly.

Shigeru Shimada
General Secretary
The National Council of YMCAs of Japan