Shigeru Shimada

General Secretary 

The National Council of YMCAs of Japan

Two and a half months have passed since the disaster. Thank you very much for your continued support from both inside and outside Japan. Our staff members and volunteers are highly recognized as coordinators of volunteers and organizations in many fields of relief and recovery supporting activities. It is appreciated our being always cheerful and our drawing out the peoples' strength, our flexibility and our way of services to affected people.

YMCAs have cultivated the technique of group work; that is to raise each other in small group activities by organizing camps and various programs. YMCAs' activities are based on the love and spirit of service as exemplified by Jesus Christ. We pray for others and each of us is voluntary and responsible. That is how we have fostered leadership to build democratic local communities.

Many staff members and former staff members from YMCAs in Hokkaido, Yokohama, Toyama, Osaka and the National Council were sent to Miyako to do activities with mountaineers staying at Miyako Church. Also we are working together with students at Iwate University. We help to be back to their daily life so we do things to make the victims feel happy.

These days we are asked to get rid of mud in the gutters. It is a manual labor that needs a lot of people to do various kinds of things such as taking the covers, removing mud and controlling traffic.

We completed an activity to support children at Nobiru Elementary School, in Higashi-matsushima on April 21 when school started. We need to take care of the kids because they still live at evacuation centers. 

We are planning to do recreation and food services at Isatomae Elementary School, Minami-sanriku on May 22. It is offered by Principal of Isatomae Elementary School where Natari Elementary School is temporally renting classrooms because of loss of the building. Isatomae Elementary School was not fully damaged but the first floor was under water and balls and mats for P.E. classes are not able to be used again.

The volunteer centers in Miyagino-ku and Wakabayashi-ku in Sendai were planned to be closed at the end of April, but it is still in operation in May because of a lot of requests. The staff members and volunteers are highly recognized and they are welcome to continue their work. Staffs were sent from Kobe, Kyoto, Tochigi, Wakayama, Nara, Osaka, Shiga, Nagoya, Kita-kyushu etc. to help the volunteer centers.

Also, about 20 staff members and leaders were sent from Yokohama YMCA to help cleaning inside greenhouses where strawberries were planted in Yamamoto, Miyagi. The work was done from April 29 to May 1. From May 3 to 5, 30 people were sent to Minami-sanriku to tidying the houses and carrying furniture. There were 74 people altogether with staff members and volunteers from Yamanashi YMCA and Sendai YMCA. Y's Men's Clubs in Sendai offered packed lunch for the staffs and volunteers.