[FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN, 22 August 2011]
A “Students’ Reunion” was held in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture between 19-21 August, providing children of the same grade level an opportunity to reunite after being separated due to evacuations and other causes following the disaster. Organized by the Futaba Town Board of Education, the event was attended by primary and junior high schools students from the town who were able to reunite with their pupils for the first time in nearly five months. The Japan Committee for UNICEF (JCU) subsidized transportation costs to the venue so that children that had evacuated to different parts of Japan would be able to afford to reunite with their friends.
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| ©Japan Committee for UNICEF /2011/K.Goto | ©Japan Committee for UNICEF /2011/K.Goto | |
| The “Students’ Reunion” in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture. | ||
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| Singer Brenda Vaughn gathered letters from the United States and delivered them to Japan. |
On the last day of the Students’ Reunion, which was a two-night, three-day event, a special lecture was held by the Tegami Project. Approximately 170 first, second and third-year students from Futaba Junior High School filled the large venue. For this installment of the Tegami Project, vocalist Brenda Vaughn collected letters from the United States and brought them to Japan. Ms. Vaughn spoke about the children that wrote the letters in the United States, “I spoke with a friend of mine that is a school teacher in California about possibly doing something for the children in the Tohoku region. My friend’s students then wrote letters for Tohoku children. Some of the children didn’t know about Japan yet, but they were very excited about the chance of becoming friends with Japanese children by writing the letters.”
The letters were rich with individuality; some were long with lots of words, some had colorful drawings, some had pictures of the children and others included pictures drawn by younger children. Most of the letters were written by junior high school students around the same age as those from Futaba Junior High School, making the students feel as if they had a group of new classmates. At first, the children of Futaba Junior High School were unsure what to write. Nevertheless, the venue was filled with an upbeat aura of cheerfulness as the students began to answer the questions from their letters, write about what they liked and discussed with other students nearby about what to write. At first some of the students said that they were surprised that they received such long letters, but after writing time was finished each and every child had written a very long response to their new friends in the United States.
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| Futaba Junior High School children gather at the venue. | Students include a drawing with their message. | Students thought long and hard about their replies. |
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| Ms. Vaughn sings for the students. |
When the children finished writing their letters, Ms. Vaughn presented them with a selection of songs. She sang songs that told the children that even when things are hard, if you stay true to your heart, there is a hero in everyone. She sang about believing in one’s self. And she sang songs that said no matter what happens, where ever you may be, your home will always be a place where the friends you love and trust will be. At the end the children gathered to take photos by grade to commemorate the reunion, and then they put the letters they had written to their new friends in the United States in a special post box.
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| Children hold their letters in a commemorative photo. |
After the Tegami Project event, the closing ceremony for the Students’ Reunion was held. When Vice-Principal Horimoto requested students that were glad they attended the event to raise their hand, every hand in the building went straight up. In closing, the Vice-Principal delivered a message to the students to encourage them to keep in their thoughts the children that still suffer as a result of the disaster: “I hope that you will all think of this disaster as an opportunity to think deeply about what you can learn as well as the importance of family, friends and life. Don’t use the disaster as an excuse to hold yourself back in the future—work hard and live strong.”
The children then returned to their homes having made new memories with their classmates, having reunited with their teachers and with letters from their new friends in the United States.
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).
