To Diary
| Activity Report Director of the Child Rescue Center, Yuko Kusama March, 2005 |
| With the help of many supporters and contributors, we were able to complete our activities to help the areas in India affected by the Tsunami disaster. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved. The Diary and expense report are listed on different pages, but here, I would like to give a summary of our activities. |
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2 months after the tsunami hit the local site, shelters were built and it seemed that preparation for the restoration of the area was progressing. Water tanks were set up and .effectively used, and the basics such as securing essential utilities for everyday life were looked after. But the major buildings such as schools and churches essential for the community, were damaged and destroyed, and its damages are still left. It seems that restoring the infrastructure will still take some time.
I would like to report the achievements and characteristics of our activities.
(1) Geography
At first, we only planned to conduct our activities at Kerala state, but after arriving, it became clear that the disaster in Kanyakumari located in Tamil Nadu, a state just beside Kerala, was equally serious. Therefore we decided to conduct our activities in Kerala for the first half of our stay, and then in Tamil Nadu for the second half. We traveled over 1500km in India using foot, car, and boat, and directly met in person over 1800 children. We believe we succeeded in passing on everyone’s warm contribution to as many places as possible in a limited time period.
(2) Places visited
We visited various places such as shelters, an orphanage, a church, an SOS center, City hall, and an elementary school. We believe it was a miracle that the two of us, who were not part of a governmental organization, could move so smoothly at a place we visited for the first time. This was only possible because of the support of people who understood our purpose and accepted us with their heart, and I am very grateful for this. We visited various places with different needs, and therefore our activities were diversified.
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UNICEF Water Tank
Shelters
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(3) Products
This time, we contributed by giving out candy (some from Japan and the rest bought locally), chocolate (from Japan), stationary (bought locally), and donating money.
We regarded local procurement as a means of supporting the local economy. If the local economy is running well and the parents’ financial basis are stable, then this will lead to the stable lifestyles of the children. Therefore we believe that the revitalization of the local economy from procurement using local currency has an important meaning. |
At a local store
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Citizens lined up to petition
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Minimum basic food, clothing and shelter was provided by the government and local organizations, but our visit offered “sweets” which bring enrichment in lives, and we were very happy to have seen children’s smiles shine even brighter, when they received their sweets.
At the same time, for the children we could not meet directly, we made monetary donations to five places, to pass on our intentions to help.
At the city hall where the people were lined up under the hot sun to petition for help, the city had promised us and even issued us a written statement that the monetary donation will be spent solely on “Milk for the infants of the disaster”, and “Medical expenses for children wounded by the Tsunami disaster”. Restoration activities need money for things we cannot see. In this situation, it is very regretful that an important something is cut because of a “shortage of funds”. We truly hope that the money we donated as a contribution will be put to use as a way to help some of the overwhelming needs. |
(4) Time
Restoration has various steps, and there are different levels such as support right after the disaster, mid term support, and long term support. The situation right after the disaster catches the attention of the media, and it is easier to gain support, but after time passes and the area recovers a bit, another problem arises, such as a need to make huge investments such as infrastructures. After emergency support is been conducted, and measures to provide the right things to the right place have started, I truly hope that our donations will be put to good use then.
At Kanyakumari, I had the opportunity to talk to a man who lost two of his children. In India, where the philosophy regarding the cycle of rebirth is tradition, this man said “The children I had received from god for the time being, had returned to god”, and has accepted the situation. I believe the sorrow of a parent to lose its children is deep and bottomless, but at the same time, I felt the strength of one that understands that people only live in space provided by Mother nature
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In Japan, whenever a disaster occurs, a “disaster headquarters” is set up and measures to counter nature are taken, and everything is conducted by the manual. But maybe we are at a time where we must think about restoration of the heart under the theme of “coexistence of people and nature”. The disaster situation in India was very severe, but I felt that I was given some energy of life from the people who were living strongly and boldly there.
Our first charity activity was a success, blessed with good weather and good people. There were no big problems, and we were able to achieve more than what we had planned. We truly believe that this was because we were protected by everyone’s kind intentions. I truly thank everyone from my heart for supporting this charity activity. We plan to conduct our second event when the time comes, and we kindly ask for your continued support.
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