一般財団法人　連帯　東北・西南　RENTAI　TOHOKU-SEINAN

Details of activity：Uminoko Restoration Project' Office - handling phone calls and preparing information for posting

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（Ms. Ｎ・Age:24・Female　Tokyo resident)

At the fishery union office, I handled phone calls from people interested in the 'One Unit Sponsor' system, and prepared information for posting to them. The impact on the media was so great that the telephone wouldn't stop ringing and there was hardly any time to rest. Island resident Mr. S has been handling this office work practically alone and therefore had not been able to take a day off for a while. Through being responsible for incoming calls I was able to hear warm words of encouragement from people all over the country. The people who called sent everyone their kind words, and part-way through I had to fight back my tears whilst corresponding. I was touched by the kind feelings of the Japanese people trying to help each other. I felt pride in being Japanese and received a lot of strength myself.

Although I experienced such shock that I could not speak when I saw the damage caused by the tsunami, I was strongly impressed by strength of the people who strive to begin living alongside nature once again.

Details of activity：Cleaning up the land in preparation for temporary housing construction

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（Mr.Ｔ・Age46・Male　Tokyo resident）

I heard from someone in the evacuation centre that during the immediate aftermath of the disaster, relief supplies couldn't get through, so island residents themselves brought food and petrol, and divided the provisions among themselves to support each other. In addition, elderly women who no longer routinely helped with fishing started to assist in attaching seed oysters once again. Irrespective of age and gender, the effort that people are making to become independent is very tangible. The island residents have such willingness to cooperate, and when they spoke words of appreciation, and chatted with us, we felt encouraged and inspired to work hard.

Details of activity：Cleaning up the land in preparation for temporary housing construction

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（Mr. Ｋ ・Age:45・ Male　 Tokyo resident）

Katsurajima is a small island with an area of 6ha, circumference of about 2km, and approximately 240 residents,

When we spoke to the Mayor, Mr Ustumi, he told us that many of the island's residents are elderly citizens who are living off pensions, and of those, a tenth are cultivating oysters and/or seaweed.
The sight of Mr Ustumi actively taking part as the island's organizer despite having experienced the horrors of this natural disaster, was inspiring.

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