Looking to the Future in Japan

Working with CRASH on the ground Aramanda and Jean Pierre are visiting the base camps to make an assessment  for the next phase help of families and children in the most affected areas

Notes from Japan

Y'day, apparently there were two minor shakes, but we did not feel it. Before we met Paul Nethercott, he sent me an update (see below), we got some ideas that his groups are ready to establish themselves in different parts of disastrous hit area, to do clean up and to build base to reach out to the people.

Tokyo people try to be normal, every where you can see energy saving reminder, lights got dimmed, not a lot of traffic, if you talk to them, they may reveal deep down they are worry, after they discovered why we were here, they'd thank us for coming, shops have items to sell for disastrous use. Many people hovered around to see these products.

We were told maybe within a short time, the government could provide temp housing for the survivors. Yoshi, one of CRASH workers, told us, some very remote country side, people did not go to shelters, not everyone went, they stand by their "homes", no one could reach them (old folks, farmers) easily, these people are having a hard time, CRASH seems to have some small success.

We have established five base camps, we will be releasing a press release soon about details but these camps are the way we will reach into local communities to touch lives in both practical and intangible ways.   We will use them to base cleanup crews and people to work with children.  We are "paving the way" for long term involvement of the coming months and years.   To this point, we have spent your funding either on setting up these base camps or on distribution of goods we have been given or bought.   Sometime this week we will post on our site details on our base camps -- why they are there, why they are important to touching lives and helping people, etc.  

• Three weeks since the disaster struck
• More than 27,600 people dead or missing
  
  11,257 confirmed dead
  16,344 still missing
• 173,200 people remain in evacuation shelters with inadequate basic supplies.
• 190,00 homes remain without electricity
• 372,000 homes without access to water
• 330,000 homes without gas
• during an unusually harsh cold weather period where temperatures have hovered around 0 degrees Celsius for two weeks

Ishinomaki, Japan (pop. 160,000), has the highest casualty rate from the March 11 Tsunami which hit 45% of this city.Your prayers and partnership are the key to making a lasting impact to those who are in need.
call 0845 519 6025 or go online  @ www.feedthehungry.co.uk