When Hideko Sato felt the earthquake hit, she knew it was serious.  She grabbed her family members and neighbours and they ran for a nearby evacuation center, an elementary school that was a 10-minute drive away. 

They spent several days inside the center with many other evacuees.  When she finally emerged from the school, Hideko was shocked at the terrifying sight before her eyes.  Dead bodies lay on the beach. Cars hung on telephone poles.  Looters were stealing gasoline out of abandoned cars. 

During the first few weeks after the disaster, Hideko and her family stayed in the cold school gymnasium, crammed together with hundreds of others who had nowhere else to go.  They shared whatever they could in order to survive.  Later, they were moved to another school where they stayed for more than three months.   

It was there that Hideko heard about a storage facility run by CRWRC’s partner, Japan International Food for the Hungry (JIFH).  At the storage facility, essential emergency items like rice, vegetables, clothing and other daily necessities were offered to evacuees.  Hideko visited the center every day for supplies. 

“I was feeling a bit ashamed,” she admitted, “but volunteers and staff members always welcomed us with warm smiles.  I was almost in tears with joy.” 

Because of JIFH’s compassionate help, Hideko and her family were able to survive.  She has since chosen to volunteer at the storage facility to help others in need.

Since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, CRWRC has been working with JIFH and other partners in the Sendai region of Japan.  More than 20,000 people have benefited from the distribution of relief goods.  JIFH has directly delivered daily food and goods to evacuation centers and homes, and has distributed emergency supplies to more than 100 families daily at two storage facilities.  Hot meals have been served, and refillable first-aid kits have been distributed to more than 600 families living in temporary housing.  In addition, more than 800 volunteers and staff members from Japan and overseas have worked alongside those affected to help them repair and rebuild 240 damaged homes and churches. These groups have been organized in teams led by experienced carpenters.

Along with physical aid, JIFH has provided psycho-spiritual care and trauma counseling.  A series of pastoral seminars on grief counseling have been offered.  In addition, JIFH organized a series of four summer camps for Japanese children, to allow them to leave the challenges they face in their communities for a while, and be healed through fellowship with their peers.

Plans are under way to continue providing essential food and non-food items, particularly to families who will still be moving out of evacuation centers into temporary housing.  Additional churches and homes will be cleaned and repaired, and more first-aid kits will also be distributed.  Staff and volunteers will also be preparing for the winter months by distributing oil heaters and floor carpets to families who have limited income.

Thank you for your continued prayers for CRWRC’s disaster response program in Japan. Donations can also be made here:  Canada | US

– by Beth Terpstra, CRWRC