On Thursday, April 22 a joint emergency relief team from A-PAD Japan(Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management Japan), Civic Force, and Peace Winds Japan delivered three truck-loads of donated undergarments to evacuees in small shelters located in hard-to-reach parts of Kumamoto. Three two-ton trucks loaded with underwear, socks, diapers and other supplies set off from the team’s home base in Mashiki township, the district most severely affected by the quakes that jolted Kumamoto and neighboring Oita prefectures on April 14 and 16.

 

“We came with nothing but the clothes on our back,” said one evacuee unable to hold back tears. “This will be the first time since the disaster that we will be able to get into clean clothes.”

Masumi Mizuta, director of a welfare center that she made available for use as a shelter said that with so many elderly people having fled to the center, everything was in very short supply. She thanked the team for the socks and undergarments adding that she was happy to have been able to pass on some of the supplies to people camping out in cars in the center’s parking lot.

In Saga, the prefecture to the north of Kumamoto, where APAD Japan maintains a local base, the joint emergency relief team has been able to rely on the assistance of corporate volunteers and the staff of two local NPOs, the Saga Future Design Fund and Saga Global Citizens.

Similarly, A-PAD’s relief efforts have benefitted from the presence in Japan of Park Sona, Project Coordinator at A-PAD Korea, and Jayanthi Somasekeram, Senior Program Coordinator at A-PAD Sri Lanka. Sona and Jayanthi arrived in Japan on April 11 for discussions on disaster management. Both were taking part in a meeting on disaster network strengthening at the Hiroshima headquarters of A-PAD’s sister organization Peace Winds Japan when the first of the devastating quakes struck Kumamoto. Sona and Jayanti are responsible for the development and expansion of disaster response platforms in their respective countries. Both headed for Kumamoto on April 20 to observe and assist in the affected areas.

Jayanti, who comes from a country where natural disasters are frequent brings with her much experience in emergency assistance. Jayanti said she was impressed by the sight of so many people connected with A-PAD, Civic Force and Peace Winds Japan doing their all to help disaster-stricken evacuee families. “I have seen a lot here that I would like to apply to disaster management in Sri Lanka,” said Jayanti.

As for Sona, it was the separate tents set up by the joint team for the benefit of women and families with pets that aroused her interest. Sona had helped in putting up the tents. “Providing facilities for different groups is an effective way to prevent the kind of friction that can arise in overcrowded conditions,” said Sona. “As evacuees may have to spend a long time in shelters, we need to think about social psychological issues.”

In the days that follow a disaster, conditions in affected areas can change rapidly. Therefore at A-PAD we seek ways to provide assistance quickly and effectively. We look forward to your continued interest in our work.

Contributions to A-PAD can be made through credit card or bank transfer.

1.Credit card: https://bokinchan2.com/civicforce/donation/bokin/

2.Bank transfer: We are grateful to everyone making a donation by bank transfer.

We would appreciate it if you could cover the fees of both sender and receiver. Thank you very much for your support.

(Bank account information)

Name: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corperation

Branch name and Number:Aoyama Branch, 258

Account number: 7027403 (JPY account)

Account name: Civic Force

Swift code: SMBCJPJT

Bank phone humber: +81-3-3404-2112