一般財団法人　連帯　東北・西南　RENTAI　TOHOKU-SEINAN

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.

Rentai Touhoku • Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

● 22^nd July: Helping with the 'Pal Pal Exchange Programme' at Minami Exchange Center in Senmaya-cho

At the request of Senmaya Rotary Club, we provided Pakistani curry for the children in order to assist with the Pal Pal Exchange Programme.

The Pal Pal Exchange Programme is a project set up in 1985 to nurture healthy young people in the Konashi district of Senmayacho, Ichinoseki City and the Taishidou district of Setagaya, Tokyo. Since then, more than 2000 children have participated in training camps in the spring and summer.

Last years training camp had to be cancelled due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, but this year 30 children came to Senmaya-cho from 22nd to 28 July from Setagaya. The children from Setagaya stayed in the campsite until the 28th of July and participated in various events and took part in an exchange programme with the local children. Since our Pakistani curry was the opening event to welcome the children we tried very hard to make delicious curry for the children to enjoy.

We were invited by people of Senmaya, who always consider us as their family, so we tried to live up to their expectations, and we were honored that we were able to help with this event.

● 25^th July: Curry Event in Minamisanriku

On the 25^th of July we carried out a curry event in the Minato district temporary housing estate in Minamisanriku. Although it was the first time for us to plan an event in this area, we were able to do this with the help of Mr Takahashi who owns a café restaurant in the Okago area of Fujisawa-cho.

Mr Takashi's parents reside in the Minato district temporary housing estate, and they supported us in making Pakistani curry. This event was held to provide the opportunity to vitalize communications between residents of the temporary housing estate and we provided curry as an evening meal. The meal being dinner, rather than lunch, everyone had more time to talk and the event was a success.

I don't need to mention that the delicious coffee and cake the Mr Takahashi provided after the meal played a large part in enabling everyone to relax and have a good time. The fifteen children who were present lit fireworks following the meal and enjoyed the summer evening fully.

● 28^th July: At Oshima

At the request of the Fukushi Social Service Committee of Kesennuma, on the 28^th of July we visited three temporary housing estates in Oshima and helped vitalize communications among residents.

Oshima is an island located about 25 minutes by ferry from Kesennuma and has three temporary housing estates: Oshima Middle School Ground, Oshima Citizen's Holiday Facility, and Shin-Ohei Ground.

Due to the high proportion of elderly residents, these areas are lacking in communcation, often resulting in isolation. We don't think we can do enough just by visiting once, but we went this time with the hope that we could contribute even a little.

Residents gathered in their respective halls and we provided chai, and the Social Service Committee provided origami paper creating a place for conversation. We had a full-on schedule going round the three temporary housing estates from the morning, however the residents enjoyed our visit.

As this was not a curry event, we had more time than usual to talk to everyone and it was a fulfilling day.