Will Moore, a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) in Nanto City, spent his spring vacation volunteering in the Tōhoku region to help those people.  Below are some of his pictures and words to describe the current situation in the heavily damaged area.

 
Picture 1

There have been a couple of misconceptions about going to Fukushima to volunteer, and I hope my simple account can help clear some stuff up. I set off to Iwaki City in Fukushima on April 28th, 2011 and spent four days volunteering with the Iwaki Nakoso Volunteer Center (いわき市勿来地区災害ボランティアセンター）. Step one is to do some research online and directly contact volunteer associations prior to heading to the area in order to register and to confirm the fact that you can be of help. It was a good experience, and even in the short time I was there, I did feel like I was able to be of use to the efforts for recovery.

Picture 2

I packed plenty of food, water, fuel, and other amenities and stationed myself at a parking area in Iwaki. I quickly found that outside of the tsunami-hit areas, life was proceeding as usual in that stores were fully stocked and the community was functioning as usual. The volunteer center was near the waterfront, and every morning the other volunteers and I would sign up at 8:30 AM and split into groups that would be assigned various tasks. There were about 20 staff members, and between 60 and 80 volunteers every day. Much of the staff were young and friendly, and most of them were able to speak at least a little English.

Picture 3

Every day involved a slightly different task, but it was primarily physical labor in the form of gathering trash and shoveling sand. The drainage gates that ran along the side of the road were completely full, so we shoveled the sand out of them and bagged it for easy transportation. My group was also tasked with created a temporary bridge over a section of road that had been washed out and clearing out roughage and garbage from the surrounding rice fields.

Picture 4

The volunteering involved a lot of heavy lifting, first by shoveling sand and then carrying the sand bags to other locations. It is very physically demanding work but we were all warned to work at very steady paces, take frequent breaks, and not to overexert ourselves. Though I had brought my own equipment, the volunteer center was very well equipped with goggles, masks, hard hats, shovels, and all sorts of other gear that we were encouraged to use.

Picture 5

The most impressive thing about the whole experience was the spirit and teamwork of the other volunteers, and the amount we were able to accomplish when we all worked together. If anyone has any questions or wants to know more about volunteering or how specifically to volunteer, hit me up anytime at ws.moore.sw@gmail.com.

I fully support any efforts that can be made to restore normalcy to the areas effected most deeply by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

This year, we supported the following organizations:

Room to Read

Japanese Red Cross Society

Asia Kodomo no Yume

 Takaoka City Komadori School

In case you missed the special event or would like to have a record of it forever, we will be selling the DVDs for ￥500. Proceeds go to charity.

Please e-mail smburt@gmail.com to reserve your copy!

ニュージーランド出身のALT シェリリー・カフイは今年のショーの監督です。彼女の演劇経験のことと、なぜ今年のショーは見逃せないのか聞きましょう。

11^th June

Rehearsal report

こんにちは。プロデューサーの廣瀬です。

さて今回はDance Royalの練習を取材してきました。

Dance Royalはジャンルで言うとミュージカル・コメディです。

ですので、演劇を中心としたダンスあり、歌あり、笑いありの特別なステージです。

もちろん脚本もオリジナル！皆さんをファンタジーの世界に引き込み、感動の渦が舞うこと間違いなし！

さて、台詞ですが安心してください！？95%が日本語です。

出演者の方々はほぼ日本語を母国語にしていない方々なので、覚えるだけでも一苦労。呪文を暗記しているかのようです。そんな彼らの努力の跡も見てあげてください。

なんと言っても見せ場はダンスシーンです。

大分動きが合ってきました。そんな彼らはほとんどがダンス初心者です。皆の個性溢れるDanceに注目してください！

最後に２人の素晴らしいダンサーを紹介します。

左からJazz & Hip Hop ダンサーのKumikoさん

Breakin’のUenoさんです。

彼らのキレのあるパフォーマンスにも注目です！

Yukihito Fukuzawa discusses the Toyama International Charity Show from Sheila Burt on Vimeo.

Actors in this year's Charity Show at a recent rehearsal.

Every year, the Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) and Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs) in Toyama prefecture organize an International Charity Show to raise money for charity both locally and internationally while also giving back to the community that has welcomed them so hospitably. The first Charity Show was held in 1990, and 2011 marks its 21st anniversary.

This year, in light of March’s devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, proceeds from the show will benefit Asia Kodomo no Yume and the Japanese Red Cross Society to support recovery efforts. We will also be donating to Room to Read, an organization that works to build schools and libraries in developing countries, and Komadori Takaoka City School, a special educational needs school aiding students in Toyama prefecture.

In past years, we have proudly supported Room to Read, Aiikuen, Second Harvest Japan and Heifer International. More than 900 people attend the Charity Show every year. Preparations for this year’s show, which will be held in early July, have already started, and those involved in the show have been rehearsing rigorously. We hope that you will join us for the performances, and we appreciate your support of our work to benefit the local and international community.

 富山インターナショナルチャリティーショー実行委員会は地方及び全国チャリティー団体のために外国語指導助手、国際交流員と富山県民から成り立つ組織であり、地元や国際的な学校や慈善団体に寄付を行うことを目的に活動しています。 1990年から始まり今年2011年で２１回を迎えます。 活動を通じて集まった寄付金は今年３月の東北地方の地震や津波の被害に遭われた方々の支援や地域の復興のため日本赤十字社に寄付されます。また、アジアとアフリカ南部で学校と図書館の建設により貧困を救う国際チャリティー団体ルーム･トゥ・リード並びに、高岡市立こまどり養護学校に寄付されます。 以前にルーム・トゥ・リード、愛育園、セカンド・ハーベスト・ジャパン、ヘッファー・インターナショナル等に寄付した実績を持っています。 毎年900人以上の方々を動員している大きなイベントでもあり、来る７月に向けて我々は日々厳しい舞台の稽古を行っております。 当団体へのご理解並びにご協力のほど、何卒宜しくお願い申し上げます。皆様方のご来場を心よりお待ちしております。 ______________________________________________________

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

 July 1 & 2　 7月 1日　– 7 p.m. 7月2日– 2 & 7 p.m.

Wing Wing Building, Takaoka City ウイング　ウイング、高岡市

Children and students: ￥500 Adults: ￥1,500

Alison Bruni (first row, second from the left) in Kenya in the summer of 2010

Editor’s note: Prior to March 11′s devasting earthquake and tsunami, the Toyama International Charity Show Committee had planned on donating some proceeds of the show to the educational charity Students for Education, Empowerment and Development (SEED).  However, after witnessing the destruction of the earthquake and tsunami,  we decided to shift focus and contribute to charities helping with relief efforts in the Tohoku region.

But SEED is still a very worthwile organization in need of support.  In hopes of teaching others more about SEED’s mission, we asked Toyama ALT Alison Bruni to write a guest post about her experience in Kenya with the charity.  To learn more about the organization, including information on how to donate, please visit http://seedcan.net/.

Shock, joy, guilt, emptiness, fulfillment, awe, sadness, and hope: during my six weeks in Kenya this past summer, all of these feelings were engaged within me, in various combinations, and in very close succession. To be totally cliché, it was a roller coaster ride of emotions, thoughts and revelations. The shock of experiencing life in slums for the first time was closely followed by a feeling of intense guilt for all that we have in our privileged lives. However, these negative feelings quickly became ones of awe, as the locals that led us through our journey demonstrated qualities of thankfulness, determination, hope and positivity unlike anyone I have ever met before.

SEED (Students for Education, Empowerment and Development) is an NGO that was started by my sister and a few of her friends at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Though it is only a few years old, SEED has accomplished incredible feats. By providing educational scholarships to primary and secondary students (and now, a limited number of post-secondary students) in Kenya and Zambia, SEED’s primary goal is to empower youth through education. We believe that at a grassroots level, most issues in the developing world are linked to education: female empowerment and family planning, health, sustainable living, and of course, employment opportunities. Access to formal education provides young people with so much more than just a certificate: it gives them critical thinking skills, knowledge about the social issues that affect them, a meal to fill their stomachs each day, and most importantly, the ability to recognize their own potentials and the ways in which they can initiate change within their own lives and communities. Education fosters development at the most sustainable and grassroots level: with young, local individuals themselves.

What I love most about SEED is that it’s voluntarily run for students, by students. Canadians have recognized the quality of their own education, and through appreciation for this, have sought to increase access to education in parts of the world that need it most. As the organization is still developing, we are in a state of constant self-reflection and assessment, recognizing our limitations in development and working to improve our strengths. Breaking life down to the raw basics, as we did in Kenya, makes one realize what is truly essential and what isn’t. Though many there live in a constant struggle to survive, they do so with a positive outlook and an incredible sense of determination. Education can provide the means for young people to practically apply these attributes, improving lives and conditions from the bottom up.

If you want to learn more about SEED, visit the website at http://seedcan.net/, or contact me at alisonbruni@gmail.com with questions!

-Guest post written by Alison Bruni

April 23, 2011

Charity Show cast members are rehearsing rigorously as July 1 & 2, the performance days for this year’s show, approaches.  This is a picture of the cast members at a recent rehearsal.  Looks like they still know how to have fun!

I am dusting off this blog in hopes we update it more with information about this year’s Charity Show, Dance Royale.  In addition to supporting our long-term relationships with the educational non-profit Room to Read and the special-needs school Aiikuen, we will be donating proceeds from the show to the Japanese Red Cross Society to aid continual earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in the Tohoku region of Japan. 

This year’s show will definitely be great and the proceeds are going to three very worthwhile causes, so please read this blog for updated info about the show.  We will be posting funny videos, stories and information about how to help.

I also hope to share some information on other ways to support earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.  More than 150,000 are still homeless as a result of the disasters, so the need for donations is still great.

-Sheila Burt

Wine…

This will be a small, civilised and refined affair involving, as you might expect, drinking wine, to be accompanied by something that happens all too rarely in Japan, eating cheese.

Date: Friday 19th February

Time: 19:00 – 22:00

Place:

Cincuenta y Uno, Toyama City

Above ‘La Yuki’ (see map at Toyamajets.net – search for ‘Yuuki’)

Price: 4000円

3000円 pays for wine and cheese, 1000円 will be donated to Room to Read)

What: A chance to taste 6 wines (3 reds and 3 whites) and a selection of cheeses.  Tastings will be accompanied by an expert talk in English and Japanese.

RSVP: 15 spaces are available.  Please reply to toyama.for.charity(at)gmail(dot)com by Friday 12th February.