On Dec 9th, 2011 I departed Tokyo for Minami-soma, Fukushima with four other volunteers. The mission was organized by Dimitri and Eiko of NGO group Fukushima Future who I have to thank for allowing me to join and document such a worthy cause. The Fukushima Future group is a small NGO which is funded by the generosity of the French people.
As Dimitri mentioned, “The first ever project FFJPA01 is the result of several months of work. With a budget of 1000 Euros we bought 620 items for the winter” and these items were distributed to the people and children of Minami-soma who were living in temporary shelters. Unfortunately, a lot of aid and NGO groups have been focused on the coastal Tohoku areas such as Iwate, Ishinomaki, Kesennuma which were hit hardest by the tsunamis so smaller communities such as Minami-soma have been left off the radar and isn’t receiving as much attention as other towns.
Our group led by Koba-san with Tomi, Masao and Kimiko rendezvoused at Otsuka station, Tokyo at around 1230 am and departed at around 130-ish. After 5-6 hours drive, stopping at several locations to measure radiation levels with a geiger-counter, we arrived in the early morning at Kashima station.
the crew from left to right: Kimiko, Tomi,Koba,Masao at around 6am
the beast!
we bumped into some other volunteer groups who were already unloading their goods onto trucks; nice friendly bunch.
after that, we were off to the coast of Minami-soma. Koba looks out into the sea from the top of the tsunami barriers
we measured the radiation of the area with a geiger counter
light breakfast for a quick energy boost. onegiri (rice balls) and tamagoyaki (sweet egg rolls). 美味しいそう！ yummy!
unloading and organising goods to be delivered. these include winter supplies such as gloves, scarves, ear mufflers, towels, santa hats, socks etc..
masao in his santa outfit. i find the striking contrast of festive santa outfit and devastated coastal environment a tad uncanny.
Koba takes pride in his Fukushima Future NGO sweater
Tomi is ready to rock
Kimiko with the two peace signs
the whole crew is ready to roll!
This is part 1 of 3.
Stay tuned for part 2 & 3…
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