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I spent most of Friday, April 15th, collecting all the needed items for the disaster-relief work. We bought food, work gloves and masks to protect against infection and potential radiation. We also had to buy a cheap tent and took a few thin sleeping bags from the Tokyo ashram, as that was all we had. We knew it would be colder in the disaster area, but never imagined exactly how cold it really was. There were three of us: Nath Hoshi, Santosh Miyazawa and myself. By the time we left the city, it was almost 9:00 p.m., and we had 450 km to drive. Our destination was Ishinomaki City, where ETW’s efforts had been focused until then.

It is said that Ishinomaki faced a tsunami of about 10 meters in height, which rushed 600 meters inland, destroying more than 500 houses in the coastal ports. The death toll here alone is recorded as more than 5,000 people, or about 19 percent of the total casualties.

As we approached Ishinomaki, it was about 2:00 a.m., and the low-fuel lamp flashed in our car. There had been no gas station for a long way, and we continued to search in vain. Even in the areas of the city unaffected by the disaster, all the gas stations were closed. As we were already running on reserve fuel, we had to stop in front of a gas station and wait for it to open in the morning. We parked across the street, in the parking lot of a convenience store. As I got out of the car, I smelled the strong salty odor of seawater. There also seemed to be a tinge of decaying marine life or something along with it.

We set up our tent right in the parking lot and were in our sleeping bags by 3:00 am. Though we were very tired, it was not easy to sleep, as the wailing of ambulances persisted for some time. Even in the middle of the night, people were walking past our tent, discussing their plans of where to go, what to do next, how to manage, and so on. Somehow, we fell asleep…

A few hours later, Santosh woke me up, saying that the gas station was now open. We packed up our tent, got in the car and started our day. Relieved that our tank was now full, we proceeded to the university campus, where Viveka had been based during his relief work with IVUSA (International Volunteer University Student Association). Upon our arrival, we were impressed to see thousands of volunteers milling about, registering for volunteer work, pitching more and more tents, etc. Ishinomaki is just one hour from Sendai city, which has a population of one million and is the capital of Miyagi prefecture. Due to the ease of access in reaching Ishinomaki, thousands of volunteers had been flocking there to help.

Seeing the level of organization and a seeming saturation of volunteers, we decided to travel farther north, to assess the situation in the next major residential area: Kesennuma. Due to the damaged roads, it took us two and a half hours to drive just 80 kilometers.

More than 2,000 people had died in Kesennuma, and there seemed to be the same amount of damage as in Ishinomaki, but far less volunteers to help. When we arrived, disaster-relief supplies were being distributed to a few thousand refugees, who were lined up for hundreds of meters. Some of them were wearing only sandals and old, worn-out socks. It was obvious that they had lost everything in the disaster.

Relief supplies were kept in neat rows, outside the gymnasium where the remainder was in storage. The refuges were divided into groups of 100 people, and allowed 10 minutes to collect the supplies they needed, and stuff them into a single garbage bag. Their eyes lit up as they sifted through boxes of socks, shoes, undergarments, sleeping bags and other items. For hours, a steady stream of people poured out of the school ground, each of them carrying a single garbage bag. Even the elderly and small children had to carry their own bags, heavily laden with supplies. They had no transportation to the refugee camps; they simply had to walk. It began to rain. The whole scene brought tears to my eyes.

We joined in the IVUSA again here, helping distribute relief supplies and serve a hot meal to the refugees. That night, we camped out with the students at a campground in the nearby hills. The temperature seemed to drop down to freezing. Fortunately, a few people shared some blankets with us, so we managed to sleep somehow.

The following morning, we joined the students for more mud-busting activity!

In the afternoon, we decided to travel even farther north, to survey the situation. Seeing the difference between Ishinomaki and Kesennuma, we figured that there would be even more help needed in the next town, 25 km to the north: Rikuzentakata. A 13-meter-high tsunami hit this sleepy coastal town of 23,000 people. About 10 percent of the population had died in the disaster, including about one-third of the city officials. At least 70 percent of the original population is now spread across 88 refugee centers, as their households were damaged or destroyed. Especially in the city center, the devastation is so complete that it numbs your mind.

Searching for the local volunteer center, we decided to first try the city hall. Originally, there was a beautiful city hall, which looked like this:

When we reached the location, this was the sight that met our eyes:

After further investigation, we somehow reached the volunteer center and met the person in charge. Unbelievably, they are operating out of a small restaurant, which has been converted into an office. It seemed an impossible task to coordinate their urgent needs in such a minimal environment. Anyhow, the manager there encouraged us to bring a relief team back as soon as possible, providing us with all the needed information. With the clearly critical need and shortage of volunteers, we decided to make Rikuzentakata the destination of our next trip.

Tomorrow, 10 people will leave from Tokyo and Sendai, beginning work in Rikuzentakata on Tuesday. I pray for the success of their efforts…

For more than 10 years, the Japanese student volunteer organization IVUSA has been sending groups of students to India to participate in Embracing the World’s housing projects for the homeless and for disaster refugees. These students participated in ETW projects to build homes for tsunami refugees in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. And in 2010, after devastating floods in Karnataka, they helped ETW to build homes for people whose islands had been entirely submerged by floodwaters. Many of the volunteers have made several trips to India for this purpose.

Koichi Kanematsu is Embracing the World’s coordinator for these annual housing projects. After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Koichi flew to Japan to lend his considerable organizing capability and experience in disaster relief to help many of the same volunteers he has worked with in India to carry out relief work in the hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture. While supporting their work, Koichi was simultaneously working to identify the specific needs of the disaster refugees which Embracing the World can help to meet.

This is his first report.

Day One:
28 March 2011
Tokyo to Miyagi Prefecture

Leaving early this morning we drive for about 400 kilometers from Tokyo to Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. Ishinomaki was one the areas hardest hit by the tsunami. There are 16 members of us including 9 students going for the relief work. I know many of the group members from their trips to build houses in Amma’s projects in India. They are experienced disaster relief workers who I have worked with in Nagapattinam, the worst-hit area in India after the 2004 tsunami, as well as in Kerala, in Karnataka last year, and even as far back as 10 years ago in Gujarat after the 2001 earthquake there.

When we draw near to the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, we put on masks and close the windows tight. There is a sudden quiet in the van. The beautiful, snow-topped mountains are almost blindingly white. It is still so cold in this area. The road is filled mainly with Self-Defense Force (SDF) trucks, ambulances, fire trucks–all heading north. Most people are wearing masks.

We stop for gas. At least 30 cars are in the queue ahead of us when we pull in; there is barely space to get off the highway. Fuel is being rationed—each vehicle can get only 13 liters of fuel.

In many places, the road is bumpy; the earthquake has torn up the tarmac.

Day Two:
29 March 2011
Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture

Up early again. We split up into two groups. One group will work to clear rubble and help clean up damaged houses and public areas. The second group will cook food for people staying in a junior high school that has been converted into a shelter for about 900 refugees. People are also living in the neighboring houses; they need help, too.

Today I am with the cooking group. There is a place where the SDF provides drinking water from a giant tanker. We go down to get some water for cooking rice. The SDF people are there to help. While we are filling up our water jugs, two small children who are obviously brother and sister come to get some drinking water. In their arms are four empty bottles and a bucket. I ask them whether I can help to carry the heavier water vessels for them. With heartbreaking kindness and respect, they turn down my offer. To the SDF members, they bow deeply and say, “Thank you very much for your hard work and all your help.” Even after that, they press a candy into the hands of each soldier. As we drive away, they are waiting and waving to us with their little hands and shy smiles. I know these children have lost their houses and their stomachs are not full. But they are smiling at me and I can only smile back. I am hoping we see them later when we are distributing the food.

Outside the school/shelter, two dogs are tied up. No one knows who they belonged to before the tsunami—now they belong to everyone at the shelter. Every time children pass by the dogs, they call them by their new names, Shiro (white) and Chibi (small one), and pat their heads with affection. The dogs are also very excited to be rubbed by the children—they stick their tongues out and shake their tails happily. Both dogs and in some cases the children too have been recently orphaned—I can see that in these small interactions, they are helping each other to heal.

We set up our kitchen tent, and then cook hot soup and make Japanese onigiri rice balls. Some women who are staying in the temporary shelter come out to help us prepare the onigiri. Another group of women also joins us. They have come from further north—a place called Niigata which was hit by a serious earthquake in 2004. So many volunteers came to help Niigata then, and now they are here to return the favor. They have brought fresh vegetables—daikon, mushroom, negi, carrots and more—and they have spent the last two days chopping them. They say they are happy to be able to do something for the people here, after all that was done for them in their time of need. They have also come with a message for the people here, which they are eager to share: “With help, we overcame terrible difficulties, and we know that you can also do it for sure!”

When we bring the food to the shelter, we are met with lots of spontaneous smiles. In the cold weather, the refugees are happy to have some warm comfort food. They keep bowing and saying “thank you thank you” as we serve them. We are likewise happy to see smiles break across their faces which have clearly seen so much hardship in the past days. They tell us that in the first days after the tsunami, they got only one small rice ball to share among three people, and that only after waiting in a long queue. They say they didn’t know how to divide it among three people it is because it is so small. But they were happy to share with each other. Sometimes they did not get anything to eat and they just drank water to fill the stomach.

Some people come out to the tent to help us clean up, serve and even load the truck back up when we are done. In the end, almost all of them come out to say thank you to us. Everybody is shaking our hands.

I am struck that we came here to help them, but they have given us so much happiness. Everyone’s—ours and theirs—eyes are filled with tears. These people here lost everything—their houses are washed away, many of them lost family members. But they are not beaten—they joke with us as we work, and I see even older people working hard, cleaning toilets and rooms. The young people go out and help to clear away rubble and clean up the damaged houses. One man tells me, “I have lost everything. My house is gone, and I don’t know what to do.” As he speaks, he is looking up the sky with a gentle smile. Then he looks back at me and says, “Still I try to keep a positive attitude and do my best…” I find myself wondering if I could keep up the same positive spirit if I was in his circumstances. It is impossible not to have a deep respect and admiration for these people.

Later we go to the SDF base to pick up some underwear, shampoo, coffee, etc. to bring back to people in the temporary shelter. I was surprised to see the huge stock of all kinds of supplies at the base. They are distributing to the temporary shelters and the NGO organizations like us can pick up whatever we think we can distribute, after completing the necessary paperwork. We are told that this is the central distribution point in Ishinomaki City for all the supplies from all around Japan and what has been shipped in from different countries are. The base is open 24 hours, both for receiving supplies and for distribution. It is a very good start—and they are doing a good job at getting the supplies to the temporary shelters. It is more difficult to reach the people who are still staying in their homes or the homes of relatives. They are also in great need but so far it hasn’t been possible to reach them. There are other obstacles as well—for example, the distribution point has received lots of instant noodle packages, but there are no facilities at the shelters to heat water, so it is very difficult to prepare them.

Today also we had a couple of long and big earthquakes.

Every night there are meetings on the campus of the local university, where a kind of volunteer headquarters has been established. Representatives of all the volunteer organizations here exchange ideas and information about the location of temporary shelters, the best places to cook food, which areas need help with clean-up, medical information… there are even veterinary doctors sharing information on how to protect animals. The main thing that is clear is that more people are needed to clean up the houses and public spaces… so much devastation. Also another thing that comes up is that it is really important to check with the refugees what they really need, and not just come up with our own ideas and bring them what we think they need. Here also, small groups partner with each other in order to be more effective. So many groups coming and going. On our next trip, we plan to stay in a tent in on the campus lawn here—the whole lawn is dotted with the tents of volunteers.

Most people—both refugees as well as volunteers—haven’t been able to take a bath for more than 10 days, since in many places there has been neither running water nor electricity. Finally the electricity is fixed and water is slowly reaching the area. Even then, it’s too cold here to take a cold bath. The SDF has arranged hot baths for some people. They told me that was bliss. I haven’t had a bath since leaving Tokyo. We haven’t eaten much—we didn’t want to eat the food we prepared for the refugees, as that would have been taking food from their mouths, and we know they need it so much worse than we do. Most of us are just eating a cup of instant noodles in the morning before we go out and again at night before we sleep. I don’t give it much thought—I know the tiny hardship we are undergoing is nothing compared to those we serve. Mostly I am filled with gratitude for this precious opportunity to serve people here. Cold outside but the overall feeling is one of unforgettable warmth.

Day Three:

30 March 2011
Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture

Today we all go to the peninsula where lots of villages were washed away by the tsunami. The area near the port has a very strong smell, like something rotten. We stop by a small shelter for about 80 refugees. We give them boxes of long sleeve shirts, pants, some medicines, toilet kits, and snacks, and we ask them what else they need.

They say they want notebooks and pens; they want to make to-do lists for what they need to do to get back to normal life. They need footwear—both sandals, as well as long rain boots to wear when they do heavy-duty work cleaning up the damaged areas. And they need underwear, and brassieres as well. They said there is not much need for women’s hygiene products—most of the people in these villages are elderly, and the women have already reached menopause.

They said the SDF brings rice, drinking water and another organization brings them bring rice balls every day. They received some wood stoves from a group in Hokkaido. These have been very useful as they don’t have to depend on gas or fuel. The stoves have given them a measure of independence; when we arrive, women are busily preparing breakfast with these stoves. They are friendly and welcome us with big smile. Even though they lost everything and their hearts are clearly filled with pain, they are still so cheerful in their interactions with us. I don’t know why but I am reminded of the sweet smiles on the faces of the people in Karnataka who lost their homes in the 2009 floods, when our team went to build houses for them. Why is it that the nicest people are the ones who have lost everything? Maybe once we let everything go, we can become what we are supposed to be.

I spend some time with the leader of this shelter. I ask him to please take care of his health, as it is still so cold. He assures me, “I have already reached the bottom. All I can do is walk up.”

Later we return with the promised supplies. All the elderly ladies are so excited to choose nice underwear from the big box, it is so nice to see their joyful happy smiles. The old men are jockeying around the box, too, calling out to their wives, “Hey, Kaachan (Mom), what do you think??” Everyone is laughing.

Day Four:
31 March 2011

Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture

The final day. Again we split up into two teams: clean-up and cooking. Outside its windy, raining and so cold.

The cooking team sets up our kitchen tent in front of the supermarket near the residential area where many people stay in the upstairs level of houses. We have been told that no other group has cooked for these people yet.

So we cook as much as we can—soup with lots of vegetables for 1,500 people. While the rest of the team cooks, five of us go door to door and visit each and every house to let people know that we are cooking food for them. I see an older couple, backs bent, as they work to clean up their house. It is painful to watch; it is really too much for them. But they are quietly and patiently doing the work at their own pace.

We walk through an area where the road is completely blocked with overturned cars. The houses here are badly damaged. We keep shouting, “Hello! Anybody home?” and tell them that we have hot soup, and they should please bring their pots. The news is received happily. Usually all the food and necessities are given to the temporary shelters, since their numbers are clear. However the people who have stayed in their homes feel like they have been forgotten. I cannot blame anyone, as going house to house seems an almost insurmountable task, and the volunteer groups are barely able to attend to the people in the shelters. More help is needed.

As the people come to receive the soup we prepared, I explain that these vegetables have been chopped by the women from Niigata, who themselves stayed in temporary shelters four years ago after the earthquake there, and that they have come to help the people here after having received so much assistance in their time of need, and being helped to overcome their own tragedy. As we fill their pots with soup, I remind them that so many people are with them, and that people all around the world are praying for Japan. They smile with watery eyes.

We also deliver soup to a school which has been converted into a shelter for another 80 or so refugees. Inside, I see a man giving haircuts to the other refugees. He tells me, “I am staying here with my wife. She is a teacher here. I am a hair stylist so I am trying to help with what I know…” With the help of the SDF the people here have just had their first bath yesterday after 14 days with no water.

In the afternoon, I join the clean-up team. There is a rule in place that even if people abandon their house, it is their responsibility to remove everything from the house. We come across a family with relatives in Sendai City; they are moving the day after tomorrow. We stop and help them with the heavy work of removing everything from their house. Even though the area is filled with rubble and devastation, the people evacuating their houses are taking pains to do so in a neat and orderly fashion, with the garbage on the street very well arranged in order, everything in plastic bags and neatly placed in line—very Japanese discipline. I am reminded of a ritual from my own family—every New Year’s Eve we used to clean the whole house. But before throwing anything away, even old furniture, a refrigerator or a desk, we would clean it meticulously first.

Everything we remove from the house is still soaking wet. The desk drawers are full of stinking water. The floor mat is heavy with water.

One member of our group participated in an ETW housing project in India almost 13 years ago. As we we work, he suddenly starts to sing some of Amma’s bhajans, or devotional songs (Amba Bhavani, Amma Amma Taye). He looks at me and says, “I still remember these bhajans even after 13 years!!” After that we all start to sing together as we work. Many of our group members have been to India and met Amma, and we often talk about Amma during quieter moments.

It is obvious that so many houses need help. We make a plan to return April 4th with a larger group of about 50 student volunteers, to help clean up more houses and cook more food as well.

Last reflections:

The refugees’ persistently positive attitude here reminds me of the attitude of the people in Gujarat, which they shared with Amma when she visited them after the 2001 earthquake: “God gave us everything. Now he has taken it back. It never belonged to us in the first place, so we are not sad that it is gone.” Moved by their plight, Amma helped to rebuild three entire villages for those people.

The local university has made a new rule that the students get credit if they participate in relief work. I believe it is good for students to see these situations and to interact with people here; it is good for people in the temporary shelter as well. Here we can learn so many things which one can never learn in textbooks. This is a chance to learn the most precious things which we might otherwise forget: compassion, patience, sharing, simiplicity, thankfulness for everything we have and which we take it for granted ….life, death, coexistence. I wish everyone could have this precious experience to serve people who are so in need of help. I am sure this will change one’s perspective forever—true transformation is bound to happen.

-Koichi Kanematsu

5 April 2011, Kenya

The Vice-President of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency Kalonzo Musyoka opened the new children’s home built by Mata Amritanandamayi Math Charitable Trust – Kenya, in Amma’s presence. In a public function organized here at Athi River, in addition to the Vice-President, several other dignitaries including the Deputy Minister for Sports and Culture, Mrs Wavinya Ndeti, several MPs, the district collector and the famous Kenyan singer Eric Wainaina were present. Initially, the children’s home will accommodate 108 children.

In addition to the children’s home, two other projects were inaugurated on this day — the Amrita Vocational Training Center and the Amrita Drinking Water Distribution Project.

The Amrita Vocational Training Center equipped with 35 computers, aims to serve the population of the nearby slum settlement Jam City. In the Centre’s first course, 50 people received training in basic computing.

The Amrita Drinking Water Distribution Project will deliver clean drinking water daily to members of the Masai tribal community in the area surrounding the Care Home, who have been severely affected by drought.

For more Information, visit http://www.embracingtheworld.org

Images from the benefit event by Amma’s Kitchen volunteers at the San Francisco Green Festival which was conducted on April 9-10 at the San Francisco Concourse and Exhibiton Center.

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