UNITE FOR CHILDREN

Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Emergency Relief

Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Emergency Relief (67th report)
Iwate Otsuchi Preschool reopens after nearly 80 days

[OTSUCHI, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, 1 June 2011]

© Japan Committee for UNICEF

On the morning of 1 June, Otsuchi Preschool in Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture reopened its doors after nearly 80 days of being closed. From early morning, children led by the hands of their mothers and fathers appeared one after the other, making their way to the newly completed temporary building. All of the children looked happy to be back at school. The teachers, who had been making preparations to reopen the school and who were very excited to see the children again, appeared relieved to see the healthy children and delighted to once again meet the parents.

Chiharu Kondo, the Japan Committee for UNICEF (JCU) field manager in Iwate Prefecture, called early this morning to tell JCU about the reopening of the preschool. She reported, “I was so relieved to see the children coming to school again. I will never forget the expression of relief on the parents’ faces as they walked in with the children. It looked like they were overjoyed to reconnect with the school’s teachers. Some of the children cried at first, but they were playing energetically in no time.”

© Japan Committee for UNICEF
Children walking to school on the morning of 1 June.

A total of 46 children attended school today. The preschool says that from tomorrow they plan to receive an even larger number of students. After each of the 46 students was accounted for and the vice-principal was introduced, the preschool’s principal, Yumiko Yagisawa, greeted everyone by saying, “I have been looking forward to this day together with the teachers as we prepared for reopening the school. Due to the earthquake and tsunami, there are some of our friends from Otsuchi Preschool that are no longer with us. But know that they are always watching over us. I want you all to play a lot, be nice to your friends and listen to what the teachers tell you.”

 
© Japan Committee for UNICEF
Teachers worked busily from early morning making preparations to reopen the school. The teachers had decorated the windows with paper pictures and flowers.
 
© Japan Committee for UNICEF
Efforts were made to turn the prefabricated school building into a friendly space for children. You could hear the cheering of children from the blue-matted nursery room.

Cooperation from many

© Japan Committee for UNICEF/2011/K.Goto
The temporary building was constructed amidst a rich green environment about three kilometers inland from the tsunami-damaged school building.

The 80 some day road to reopening Otsuchi Preschool was by no means smooth. The original Otsuchi Preschool building luckily escaped total destruction; however, Ms. Yagisawa commented that, “You can still see the mark leftover by the tsunami 10 centimeters from the ceiling. Everything leftover in the building is covered in mud while many other things were washed away in the tsunami. Even the windows were smashed.”

There was apparently talk about repairing and reopening the old building, but a decision was made to search for a new location as the area of the old building could possibly be designated as a danger zone. Even after land had been secured, however, temporary housing construction had priority access to prefabricated building materials, and the preschool was asked to wait for three to six months. Nevertheless, a construction company from Iwate Prefecture worked extremely hard for the children that waited for the reopening of the preschool. The company prioritized acquiring materials that were difficult to come by and construction work for the preschool.

Otsuchi Preschool successfully reopened its doors thanks to the hard work of teachers and the participation of numerous volunteers. Principal Yagisawa commented, “The school’s new location is surrounded by green, and is a place where the children can play without fear. Thanks to UNICEF we were able to reopen the temporary building for the preschool on 1 June. I would like to extend a huge thank you to UNICEF and the many people that assisted the reopening of our school.”

 
© Japan Committee for UNICEF/2011/K.Goto
Preparations underway for the reopening of the preschool.

Current arrival status of relief supplies

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
   
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
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 28 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

-Number of UNICEF Children’s Mini Libraries distributed: Approximately 110,000 books to over 350 locations (as of 16 May 2011)
-Number of children that have participated in the UNICEF “Let’s Play! The Outdoors Playtime Project” in Fukushima Prefecture: Approximately 5,600 (as of 26 May)

*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 16 May 2011 (compiled by the Information and Public Affairs Division).