一般財団法人　連帯　東北・西南　RENTAI　TOHOKU-SEINAN

(Ms. A, Age 59, Tokyo)

I talked with some local people while cleaning the beach.
As they could not even demolish or remove destroyed houses and buildings, cleaning-up of beaches was not the top priority for them. Still, those who were hoping to promote tourism to the area were anxious about the recovery of beaches as an important sightseeing resource to attract people for sea bathing and fishing.

Activity description: Making floaters for seaweed farms, beach clean-up
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(Mr. N, Age 32, Tokyo)

During the volunteer work, I talked with a number of local people. Sadly, many seemed to have lost hope for the future. On the other hand, though what I could do to help them recover from the damage was extremely limited, some said that they felt encouraged by my efforts and promised to keep on trying to reconstruct their lives.
Money and goods will certainly help to recover the material damage. However, the complete reconstruction of the devastated area will take a long time and I am sure there will be a moment people will lose heart over difficulties. It is necessary to let them know that we are always with them throughout the process and express our determination to provide help and unbroken hope for the recovery of Tohoku.

Activity description: Administrative work (telephone operation and preparation for sending information materials) at "Urato Umi-no-ko Recovery Project" Head Office
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(Ms. O, Age 29, Tokyo)

At "Urato Umi-no-ko Recovery Project" Head Office, the phone kept ringing and we received a lot of applications for "One Unit Sponsor System".
Most of the inquiries were from the applicants for the "One Unit Sponsor System". Many had paid for the subscription and wondered if the money was properly received. Some phoned to make sure if they were really of any help. Talking with the people at the Head Office, I created a database of the subscribers' information which previously had been hand-recorded in a notebook. Also I tried to streamline the usual workflow. I hope the new system will help to make the administration of Urato Umi-no-ko Recovery Project more efficiently done.

Activity description: Making floaters for seaweed farms, clean-up of the beach
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(Mr. T, Age 36, Tokyo)

I helped eight seaweed farmers with preparation of seaweed farms. We cut ropes to tie nets which will be submerged in the sea with the floats. While working, a member of the local fisheries cooperative talked about a plan proposed by Miyagi Prefecture to rebuild a seaweed processing plant. However, as the investment to be incurred by fishermen will be huge, the fisheries cooperative is struggling to reach consensus.  However, without this facility, it will be impossible to ensure production and maintain a stable supply of seaweed.

Activity description: Making floaters for seaweed farms, clean-up of the beach
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(Mr. N, Age 31, Tokyo)

I joined the volunteer work for 3 days from the 27th to 29th May.

Making floaters for seaweed farms
I helped to cut ropes at a certain length using a soldering iron and tie them in bundles to be used with  floaters. While working, I had a chat with 8 fishermen from the local fisheries cooperative about various things from the Earthquake to their private matters. Some had their houses completely destroyed by the Tsunami. And one said that his car was carried away some 300 m from Shiogama Marine Gate.

Beach cleaning
The beach was strewn with rubbish from the Tsunami, such as seaweeds, driftwood, broken glass, bottles, Styrofoam and so on. It took 3 hours for two of us volunteers to clear the area of 35m x 20m.
Before the Earthquake, the beach must have been a beautiful place where kids were running about barefoot on white sand, adults enjoying marine sports like water skiing. Hoping to have such a beach back as soon as possible, I picked up litters on the beach. As it was only Mr. T, another volunteer member, and I who cleaned the beach on that day, it would have been better if local people had joined us so that we could have talked with them personally.

This time, I learned the importance of communication through chitchat. Though I will do my best to help them through physical works, the crucial thing is to find out what is most needed for the future of Katsura Island.