By Jon Ehrenfeld | Project Officer
In March 2016, Peace Winds America will join our many partners, relief organizations, governments, and the people of Tohoku to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. We honor the struggles and progress since the disaster. We look back at our involvement in Japan and also forward toward the future.
Even before the tsunami, PWA was laying the groundwork. PWA preparedness seminars and workshops drew together the relief communities of Japan and their close allies. PWA training built communication and collaboration networks, and forged relationships that were to prove vital.
Immediately after 3/11 PWA was on the ground, building partnerships and initiating relief. Within one month we reached 28,000 people with over 160 tons of desperately needed goods: food, water, shelter, communications equipment, household kits, medicine, cookware, and more. We focused heavily on displaced residents in temporary houses, providing mobile markets, household kits, heaters and fuel to over 8,000 families.
We partnered with Global Giving to encourage people worldwide to support the Tohoku recovery. The PWA--Global Giving reports have covered a huge range of recovery projects, from small business grants to restore coffee roasting and marine repair stores to purchased laboratory and sport supplies for the maritime high school. The reports demonstrated PWA’s deep partnership with the fishing cooperatives, helping these vital engines of recovery return abalone, sea urchin, wakame seaweed, and salmon fishing families to their livelihoods. They have documented four phases of fishing shed construction, providing hope and assistance to every district of Minamisanriku.
On this fifth anniversary, we deeply thank our many donors, Global Giving, and all our partners.
We resolve to keep working. We aim to run programs that boost the disaster preparedness of Japan and maintain a focus on the coastal communities of Tohoku. Even as the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami recede further into the past, our commitment remains strong.
Beginning March 10 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, Global Giving will be matching all Tohoku program donations at 50%. This is a great opportunity to keep supporting Japan recovery on the fifth anniversary.
Thank you for all your support! Arigato Gozaimashita!
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