[MIYAGI, JAPAN, 23 August 2011]
The Japan Committee for UNICEF (JCU) has continued emergency and reconstruction assistance activities for disaster victims while focusing on children since the 11 March disaster. On this occasion, JCU received a request from Onagawa Town, an area in the Oshika district of Miyagi Prefecture that faced particular difficulty in providing school lunches compared with other affected areas, and responded by assisting the refurbishing of school lunch facilities that had been rendered unusable by the disaster. School lunch facilities restarted operations on 22 August, the first day of school following the summer break, making it possible to provide lunches to all primary and junior high school students in Onagawa Town.
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| Students enjoy the return of school lunches at the start of their new semester. |
Onagawa Town suffered the loss of approximately 1,000 dead and missing persons in the earthquake and tsunami. Before the disaster, two school lunch preparation facilities had prepared school lunches for the three primary schools and two junior high schools in the town. However, one of these facilities was damaged in the disaster, and the facility that escaped damage was operating fulltime to make meals for evacuees staying in gymnasiums and other shelters. For that reason, despite the fact that primary and junior high schools in Onagawa Town were able to hold commencement ceremonies earlier than other schools in the affected coastal area of Miyagi Prefecture on 12 April, the children finished their semester without receiving a single hot school lunch.
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| Students from Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School smile as they eat their school lunches. |
Upon a request from the Onagawa Board of Education, JCU implemented assistance to refurbish the unusable school lunch facility. Starting 22 August, the first day back from summer vacation, the school lunch facility recommenced operations, allowing for the restart of school lunches for all primary and junior high schools in Onagawa Town.
At the opening ceremony held on 22 August, Onagawa Town Mayor Yoshitaka Azumi greeted everyone saying, “On this occasion we have received a great deal of help from the Japan Committee for UNICEF. I have donated to the Japan Committee for UNICEF and I hear that those donations have been used to save countless children in countries in Africa and other regions. But I never would have thought that our town would one day be on the receiving end of such assistance. I offer my sincerest gratitude on behalf of all the town’s citizens.”
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| JCU Field Manager Mr. Nakai joins hands with the Onagawa Town Mayor, Onagawa Board of Education Chairperson, Principal of Onagawa Daiichi and Daini Junior High Schools and a representative from Endo Kogyo at the opening ceremony. |
Representing JCU, Miyagi Field Manager Hiromasa Nakai greeted everyone, commenting, “Onagwa Town was able to restart school activities faster than other affected areas along Miyagi’s coast. I have done my humble part in helping, but the town was nearly damaged beyond repair, and it was the efforts for children made by locals that lived as evacuees at schools, in addition to school-related personnel, that made it possible to fully utilize the funds raised by not only people across Japan, but around the world, in such a meaningful way. It brings me great pleasure that we were able to provide this assistance. Thank you all very much.”
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| The community had been waiting for school lunches with vegetables. |
Third-year students in Class 1 at Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School smiled as they finished a lunch with five different foods, including hamburger steaks, tuna salad, and a bok choy soup. They told us, “The hot soup was great,” “The hamburger steak was awesome,” and “I was happy to be able to eat salad.”
Mr. Shungo Ouchi, principal of Onagawa Daiichi Junior High School, told us, “School lunches contribute to psychosocial care, and seeing smiles on the children’s faces makes me happier than anything.”
One reporter that was onsite to cover the event commented, “The smiles of children when they were eating their lunches were contagious!” Another reporter said, “Since the disaster, people were left to eat only bread and rice balls, so some students told me that they were very happy to be able to eat salads and other vegetables.”
Refurbishments made to the school lunch facility allowed for the restart of lunches for a total of 250 students from Onagawa Daichi Junior High School (212 students), Onagawa Daini Junior High School (13 students), and school teachers (25).
All photo credits: © Japan Committee for UNICEF
| Receiving Prefecture |
Type of Emergency Supplies |
Arrival Date |
Quantity | Donating Company |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miyagi | Water | 19 Mar. | 12,288 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Fukushima | Water | 22 Mar. | 12,672 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Underwear for boys and girls | 22 Mar. | 200,000 | ||
| Iwate | Underwear for boys and girls | 23 Mar. | 30,000 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 23 Mar. | 4,680 bottles |
KIRIN MC DANONE WATERS Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Children’s shoes | 23 Mar. | 10,000 pairs |
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| Miyagi | Children’s diapers | 24 Mar. | 80 packs | P&G Japan | |
| Iwate | Children’s underwear | 24 Mar. | 9,700 | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 24 Mar. | 12,288 bottles |
VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Iwate | Shoes | 26 Mar. | 1,404 pairs | Achilles Corporation | |
| Iwate | Underwear for boys and girls | 27 Mar. | 28,266 | ||
| Iwate | Boots | 27 Mar. | 7,462 pairs | ||
| Iwate | Wipes | 28 Mar. | 1,200 | P&G Japan | For babies |
| Miyagi | Recreation kits Early Childhood Development kits |
2 Apr. | 50 of each | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Iwate | Recreation kits Early Childhood Development kits |
2 Apr. | 50 of each | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Miyagi | Book bags | 6 Apr. | 70 | Nihon New Bag Chain | |
| Iwate | Book bags | 6-7 Apr. | 340 | Seiban | |
| Miyagi | Schoolbags | 8 Apr. | 18,000 | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Iwate | Schoolbags | 8 Apr. | 18,000 | Procured from the UNICEF Supply Division | |
| Miyagi | Personal security buzzers (for crime prevention purposes) | 8 Apr. | 5,000 | ||
| Iwate | Personal security buzzers (for crime prevention purposes) | 8 Apr. | 5,000 | ||
| Miyagi | Minicar | 8 Apr. | 3 cars | ||
| Miyagi | Nutritional supplements | From early April | 4,000 bottles | ||
| Fukushima | Water | 11 Apr. | 1,536 bottles | VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Replenishments for recreation kits | 12 Apr. | 60 sets | ||
| Miyagi | Miniature toy cars | 12 Apr. | Approx. 1,200 | TAKARA TOMY | |
| Sagamihara* | Water | 12 Apr. | 12,288 bottles | VanaH Co., Ltd. | Two-liter plastic bottles |
| Miyagi | Play mats | 13 Apr. | Two types; 80 of each type | IKEA | |
| Miyagi | Drawing sets | 13 Apr. | 60 sets | IKEA | |
| Iwate | Preschool-size chairs, tables and low tables | 14 Apr. | 75 chairs; 11 tables; 9 low tables | Donated to preschools, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools in the disaster area as well as their new locations | |
| Miyagi | Mopeds | 15 Apr. | 5 | ||
| Iwate | Notebooks and stationery sets for primary and junior high school students | 15. Apr. | 16,700 sets | ||
| Fukushima | Notebooks and stationery sets | 16 Apr. | 390 sets | ||
| Miyagi | 183 computers; 57 copiers and fax machines; 61 printers | 18-21 Apr. | Distributed to preschools, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools in the disaster area as well as their new locations | ||
| Fukushima | Movable blackboards | 21 Apr. | 10 | ||
| Fukushima | Temporary toilets | 22 Apr. | 20 | ||
| Iwate | Geiger counters | 28 Apr. | 14 | For schools in Soma City | |
| Iwate | Dressing room/ breastfeeding partition system | 29 Apr. | 21 sets | ||
| Saitama* | Milk | From late April | Shelter in Futabamachi, Kazo City | ||
| Saitama* | Yogurt | From early May | Danone Japan | Shelter in Futabamachi, Kazo City | |
| Iwate | Color pencils (120 sets) and paint (240 sets) | 13 May | |||
| Iwate | Student lamps | 14 May | 15 | ||
| Iwate | Stationery sets | 16 May | 840 sets | ||
| Fukushima | Lockers | 16 May | 22 sets | For the Board of Education of Minamisoma City | |
| Fukushima | Computers | 16 May | 1 | Ishikawa Town Board of Education | |
| Miyagi | 2 copiers; 2 computers; 2 printers | May | For Higashi-Matsushima Day-Care Center and Watari Day-Care Center | ||
| Iwate | Water receiving tank, water purifier tank, water supply tank | May construction | |||
| Miyagi | Solar-powered vaccine refrigerator | 18 May | |||
| Fukushima | Fans | 30 May | 112 | Minamisoma City Board of Education | |
| Fukushima | Masks | 30 May | 100,000 | Minamisoma City Board of Education | |
| Iwate | 1 copy machine | 2 June | Preschool | ||
| Miyagi | Rain coats | 4 June | 1,000 | ||
| Saitama* | Shoes | 15 June | 460 pairs | Converse Footwear Co., Ltd. | |
| Fukushima | Fans | 21 June | 21 | Minamisoma City Board of Education | |
| Miyagi | Jerseys for teachers and windbreakers for students (various sizes) | June | Akashi Hifuku Kogyo Co., Ltd | Junior high schools in Kesennuma City (6 schools) | |
| Miyagi | Used digital piano | June | 1 | ||
| Miyagi | Digital scale | 6 July | 200 | Ishinomaki City Offices | |
| Miyagi | Fans | 6 July | 5 | ||
| Miyagi | Child-size tables and chairs; toys | 22 July | IKEA | ||
| Iwate | Candles for events | 23 July | |||
| Iwate | Wall-hanging fans | 1 August | 200 | ||
| Iwate | Recreation kit replenishments | Regular | |||
| Fukushima | Fans | 2 August | 95 | Minamisoma City Board of Education | |
| Miyagi | Hand sterilizer | 3 August | 4,680 | Lion Corporation | Preschools, etc. |
| Miyagi | Antibacterial freshener | 3 August | 3,600 | Magnet Corporation; Antimicrobial Technology Co., Ltd.; Jutech Corporation; Clean Techno Co., Ltd.; Mitani Valve Co., Ltd.; HY Corporation | Preschools, etc. |
-Number of UNICEF Children’s Mini Libraries distributed: Approximately 240,000 books to over 1,900 locations (as of 4 August 2011).
-Number of children that have participated in the UNICEF “Let’s Play! The Outdoors Playtime Project” in Fukushima Prefecture (including planned numbers): More than 31,000 (as of 4 August).
*Areas receiving disaster victims.
*In certain cases some supplies may be taken from prefectural supply storage warehouses and distributed to shelters and disaster sites in other prefectures.
As of 9:00 a.m. on 4 August 2011 (compiled by the Information and Public Affairs Division).