一般財団法人　連帯　東北・西南　RENTAI　TOHOKU-SEINAN

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

We held a curry event on Saturday the 27th of October in the No. 2 Okubo temporary housing estate in Hirota-cho, Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture. The event was held in collaboration with Ms Keiko Hirano who visited to give a voluntary talk as part of the support for disaster recovery.

Before lunch Ms Hirano gave a small talk in a community hall, and while everyone was busy listening to her we began made preparations for the curry.

This was the second time for us to hold an event at this temporary housing estate, the first one being held on the 7th of July. Mr K (not one of our staff but one of the residents of the housing estate) who was in charge of the cooking at the previous event also took part from the morning this time, and preparations went very smoothly. Since the talk was being held in the community hall, we had to do our preparation work outdoors. We had a lively time thanks to the many active children around us.

The chief priest in Fujisawa-cho who always takes an active part in our events, brought three friends and his sister and they were a great help. He took the initiative to help us wash the large cooking pot which is always a difficult job for us.

The talk ended at 12:45 and it was time to begin lunch. Since the weather was nice, those who couldn't fit inside the community hall sat down at the table provided outside and enjoyed a picnic atmosphere. Since some participants mentioned at the previous event that they were expecting a spicier experience, this time we made a curry with a more authentic spice level and everyone liked it.

We were very honored that we were able to hold this event with the help of many people, especially the Chairman of the Residents Association. I feel that everyone's smiles gave us a lot of positive energy.

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

On Sunday 21^st of October, we held a curry event at the Goemongahara Baseball field housing estate in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.

The baseball field housing estate, tennis court housing estate and athletic field housing estate together make the largest temporary housing area in Kesennuma. At the request of the Kesennuma Social Service Committee, we provided support to revitalize communication between the residents. The photograph above (left) shows the scenery of Kesennuma from the summit of Mt Murone, which is 895m above sea level.

Having received tomatoes, green peppers and fresh pumpkins from the farmers of Senmaya who always regard us as one of them, we had a go at making pumpkin soup for the first time along with the usual curry. Since it was such a nice day we carried out our preparations outdoors, with the help of the Coordinator of the Temporary Housing Association. All pariticpants were very energetic and though Tahir was nearly overwhelmed, they were very efficient and the preparations were completed in no time.

In addition to the pumpkins we were given fresh milk from the dairy farmers and we used a large amount of this milk in the pumpkin soup. This gave the soup a very rich taste and it was very popular with mothers in the housing estate.

We planned how to distribute the food together with the social services committee and a representative from our Foundation. At 12:00 we began serving the pumpkin soup and curry. We set up two eating areas, both inside and outside the community hall so people were able to enjoy their food in either place.

Since the weather was fine, some residents joined us early in the day and they enjoyed themselves by conversing with each other or watching our preparations and talking to us while waiting for the meal to be ready. Some people came outside as early as 10:00 but they were willing to wait nearly two hours for the food to be prepared.

Our main aim is not simply to have residents eat curry, but to help them come out and interact with each other and enjoy themselves. We therefore felt very privileged to have been able to assist in this way. Because we wanted everyone to be able to enjoy the curry we kept it mild, however some residents told us that they expected a much spicier curry and were surprised at its mildness. We are therefore planning for our next event, to raise the spice level closer to the real thing!

We have already begun preparing for cold weather by fitting the car with snow tyres before winter arrives. We would like to continue our activities without being deterred by the cold weather.

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

On Sunday the 23^rd of September we held a curry event together with three volunteers from Nagasaki and Sendai at the temporary housing estate at the old site of Shinjo Primary School in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.

As usual, residents participated in preparing the curry (children were a great help too) and we spent an enjoyable time both within and outside the community hall eating curry and listing to the helpers from Nagasaki and Sendai.

The milk that we used to make chai was fresh milk we got from the farmers in Senmayacho, where we called in on the way to the venue. Everyone enjoyed the chai very much.

About 50 people participated in this event and we were able to get to know them. We would like to continue activities to help revitalize the people of this region.

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

On Sunday the 26^th of August we helped hold a Kishimen Noodle Party, which was organized by teachers from the primary school attached to the Sugiyama Jogakuen University in Nagoya.

This housing estate is located on the border of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures and is in a very inconvenient location. We previously held a curry event here to help revitalize communication among residents, however, this time the teachers of the primary school attached to the Sugiyama Jogakuen University organized the Kishimen Noodle Party and we helped them. The teachers asked their students to organize fundraising in order to provide the kishimen, uirou and chai. During past fundraising events carried out in this primary school, students had just put money into a designated box and nobody knew how these donations were being used. This time, we heard that they improved their procedures and made it clear how the funds were being used and what kind of support was given.

1. The money to be donated should not simply come from parents but children themselves should donate money that they would have otherwise used for themselves (for example juice money).
2. Children should write a message to go with their donation.
3. Teachers should tell the children about the lunches that were provided as a result of their donations.

This time we were preparing kishimen, not Pakistani curry, so preparations were completed in a short time. Residents, teachers from Nagoya, and Rentai Tohoku Seinan Staff really enjoyed the kishimen while chatting together like one big family. For dessert we had the Nagoya specialty "uirou" and Tahir made his famous chai. We heard some people saying that it was a bit too sweet, however this provided a very good opportunity to talk about the cultures and customs of different areas and countries.

As a response to the messages the residents received from the primary school children, the residents also prepared their messages for the teachers to take back to their students. This was a first trial of this type for the primary school and they expressed a wish to continue similar activities in the future and we would like to continue providing support.

Rentai Touhoku•Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

● 7^th August: Rikuzentakata Moving Tanabata Festival

At the request of Co-op Aichi, we prepared Pakistani Curry at the Moving Tanabata Festival in Rikuzentakata. We prepared 200 meals for the people of Kawara-cho, which was completely destroyed by the tsunami. We had great pleasure being part of the Tanabata the festival with these people.

In the Kesen district of Iwate prefecture Obon is normally celebrated between the 13^th to the 16^th of August, however those families celebrating their first Obon, do so on the 7^th of August. In order to honor the spirits, the Moving Tanabata Festival was started, and according to tradition, takes place on this day.

Most of the floats were washed away in last year's tsunami except for three. This year, with support from all over Japan, the number of floats increased to nine, and at 10:30 in the morning, people gathered and the parade started from the old city center. The festival was very impressive, people enjoyed themselves and we were very honored to be able to help.

● 9^th August: Iwate Safari Park

We invited about 20 children who live in temporary housing in Rikuzentakata and took them to Iwate Safari Park. This tour was realized with the kind support of many people such as Mr Murakami and Mr Suzuki of Senmayacho and the Manager of Iwate Safari Park.

This park, with its extensive fields, is home to about 700 animals and birds belonging to 70 species. We were able to have a typical safari park experience, watching the animals and their behaviour from the car.

We had close-up encounters with wild animals, and in the herbivorous animals section we could even hear the breath of giraffes and camels when they approached. It was a safari park where we really felt close to the animals.

The children of Rikuzentakata live near the coast and the sea is therefore very familiar to them, but a safari park in the mountains full of animals is an unknown world for them. The bus from Rikuzentakata to the safari park was full of excitement with voices of anticipation and anxiety.

We felt like teachers taking children on a school trip. With the consideration of the manager at the safari park, a special tour was prepared for these children, and it was a great day out. Everyone brought their own delicious-looking packed lunches and we staff had enjoyed our lunches feeling like children again. We hope this would be a nice memory of the summer for the children who participated.

We thought the children who had been so excited since the morning would be tired and fall asleep on the return journey. However, they were even more energetic than the in the morning. Even Tahir, who usually has a lot of stamina, was slightly running out of steam by the end of the day. We are very grateful to the mothers who accompanied the children and ourselves, and to the people who helped organize this event.