[MIYAGI, Japan, 21 April 2011]
Today the Japanese Committee for UNCIEF (JCU) worked together with the Major Baseball League (MLB) to deliver sets of baseball goods to children at Yuriage Primary and Junior High School. This initiative was carried out in response to a communication received from the Natori City Educational Board in Miyagi Prefecture reporting that the baseball goods of children member to sports clubs at Yuriage Primary School and Yuriage Junior High School, which scheduled to hold their opening ceremonies on 21 April at Fujigaoka Primary School, had all been washed away in the tsunami.
The schoolyards of Yuriage Primary and Junior High School in Natori City were devastated by the tsunami. Therefore, on 21 April the opening ceremonies of the two schools were held in the gymnasium of Fujigaoka Primary School, which is situated on a hill in Natori City. For the immediate future the children of Yuriage Primary and Junior High School are using the classrooms of Fujigaoka Primary School to hold class.
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF |
The opening ceremony for the junior high school was held first. After that, a teacher announced that presents had arrived from the MLB. The doors of the gymnasium then opened to reveal MLB and JCU staff with their arms full of baseball goods. When they entered the gymnasium the children and teachers all began to cheer.
On behalf of the MLB, MLB Asia Vice President Jim Small greeted the children and teachers by saying, “Japan and the United States are separated by an ocean, but the wonderful sport of baseball brings us together. I also played baseball as a child in the United States. One good thing about baseball is that even if the country is different, the rules are the same. We all play the same baseball. But to play good baseball, you need patience, teamwork, and the spirit to help the others on your team. I think that applies to this situation as well. Never give up, Tohoku!”
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF |
At the presentation ceremony, the captain of the baseball club had planned to receive the goods on behalf of the children and students. However, once the teachers saw the baseball goods lined up in front of the children, one yelled, “All baseball club students to the front!” The baseball club (new second and third year students) all stood up and made a line at the front. The children were wearing their normal clothes, as their uniforms had all washed away in the tsunami.
Mr. Small asked each of the students what their position was and presented them with a ball cap. The junior high school students gave a shy smile, staring happily at their new hat and glove.
One of the other children looked on and said, “I wish I was in the baseball club, too.” But after a JCU staff member told him that the MLB had brought enough for everyone, the boy jumped up and joyously threw his hands into the air.
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF |
| Yuriage Junior High School baseball club captain Junki Ohashi giving words of thanks. |
Junki Ohashi, captain of the junior high school’s baseball team, thanked Mr. Small on behalf of the students. At first Junki was so shy that the words would not come out, and as he gripped the microphone he even dropped the glove that he was holding in his left hand. But after he picked up the glove he looked up and began to speak with confidence.
“All of our gloves and other gear were washed away in the tsunami, so we are very happy to receive these today. I plan to restart practice right after we find a place to play. We will continue to play hard and never forget how thankful we are for this.” After his comments a teacher said, “Say thank you in English, Junki!” and the gym filled with laughter, making a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
After the opening ceremony the children and teachers repeatedly expressed their thanks in Japanese and English, and Principal Sumio Takahashi of Yuriage Junior High School personally thanked Mr. Small for his effort. “You have made the children very happy. Thank you very much.”
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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF |
| Vice President of MLB Asia Jim Small distributing hats to children at Yuriage Primary School. |
Next, the opening ceremony for Yuriage Primary School was held. This school has their own little league team, the Yuriage Yankees. After his opening greeting, Mr. Small presented Yankees hats to the team’s captain. The children gave a big smile after Mr. Small said, “The Yuriage Yankees are just as strong of a team as the New York Yankees!”
The children put on their new hats and gloves and jumped around shouting, “It smells like a new glove!” running around the gymnasium excitedly. Kazunori Hirayama, the principal of Yuriage Primary School, started to cry as he thanked JCU staff for what they had done, “This has made the children so happy. Thank you so much.”
JCU is implementing assistance via the Back to School campaign so that children can return to environments suited to their needs as soon as possible. As part of those efforts, on 16 April, longtime JCU partner the Miyagi Co-op distributed school supplies for 3,459 children at 41 schools in Kessennuma, Ishinomaki, Shichigahama and Natori City. On the same day the necessary supplies were delivered to Fujigaoka Primary School in Natori City in order to transfer school operations there from Yuriage Primary and Junior High School, which had been totally destroyed by the tsunami.
On 28 March 2011, MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBA) (New York, United States), agreed to donate USD$500,000 to JCU as a major assistance measure in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake. At the same time, they agreed to encourage the cooperation of baseball fans via fundraising and other activities at baseball stadiums starting during opening week of the 2011 season. MLB Japan, which is based in Tokyo, also decided to cooperate with JCU to donate baseball goods to children in the disaster area. MLB and JCU are using sports to provide assistance in order to give hope to the dreams of children in the disaster area.
| 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 | RChildren’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 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 | ||
| 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 | Chairs (for 3-5 year olds) | 14 Apr. | 75 | ||
| Iwate | Tables (for 6 people) | 14 Apr. | 11 | ||
| Iwate | Low tables | 14 Apr. | 9 | ||
| Iwate | Notebooks and stationery sets for primary and junior high school students | 15. Apr. | 16,700 sets | ||
| Miyagi | 183 computers | 18-21 Apr. | 3 computers at 61 locations | Distributed to kindergartens, primary, junior high and high schools affected by the disaster as well as their new locations | |
| Miyagi | Copier/fax machines | 18-21 Apr. | 57 | Distributed to kindergartens, primary, junior high and high schools affected by the disaster as well as their new locations | |
| Miyagi | Printers | 18-21 Apr. | 61 | Distributed to kindergartens, primary, junior high and high schools affected by the disaster as well as their new locations |
*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 20 April 2011 (compiled by the Information and Public Affairs Division).