Villagers’ needs
April
Map: Sannohama, Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture
On April 18, the Team 4 Mission visited Tsurugaura where relatives of a wakame seaweed farmer we had visited in Iwaizaki were living. We met a ninety-two-year-old grandmother and two other women. Since they weren’t able to go shopping without a car, the groceries, warm underwear and other things we had brought were much appreciated. We also gave them their relatives’ mobile phone number. They were very thankful to have it, since they had only had the number for their relatives’ now in-operable home-phone and hadn’t been able to reach them yet. The woman next door popped in to see us. She wanted boots, but unfortunately we didn’t have her size. Nonetheless, we were able to give her some groceries and some other necessities.
We visited the Tsurugaura Life Culture Center, an evacuation center where there were about thirty evacuees. The centre has also been providing food for villagers who are not staying there. We gave them supplies that they requested including cooking oils, soy sauce, miso (fermented soybean paste for cooking and soups), kombu (kelp), and umeboshi (pickled plums). We also gave them green tea from Kyoto and a special little snack for a fifth-grade girl. When we asked what they needed, they told us they needed clothes that would fit them.
One woman told us what the village was like at the time the tsunami hit. As oil leaked into the sea and started burning, the village turned into a blazing inferno for about two nights. She was very scared by the terrific sounds caused by exploding propane gas cylinders; she recalled that it sounded like bombs. As we held her hands and encouraged her to keep spirits up, tears welled up in her eyes.
May
On May 7, we revisited the old grandmother’s house in Tsurugaura. Another three families in the neighborhood also came over and we gave them groceries like oils and sauces, breathing masks, women’s boots that they could wear in the field for working and gardening, and so on. We stayed for lunch and had ramen (noodle soup) and stewed food. The stewed food was especially delicious. Since the earthquake and the tsunami, they hadn’t been able to watch cable TV at all. Despite the fact that there were some houses around that could still get good reception, this house is located between the valleys, so cut off. We felt the weakness of cable TV network operations in the disaster conditions.
As none of the families present had a car, it was still really hard for them to go shopping. One woman used to go shopping by motorbike, but now the road was so full of bumps and potholes that she was too scared to go by herself.
Grandmother was very happy to receive a photo that the Team 4 Mission had taken last time. She talked a lot about the old times and the tsunami. We were very happy to converse with her for a while. Holding our hands, she sent us on by saying, “You are like my grandchildren. Please come back again.” We realised that there were many different ways and means to support affected people.
On the same day, we also revisited the Tsurugaura Life Culture Center. We had talked with them on the phone a couple of days before coming, and confirmed their needs. We brought a new refrigerator in to prepare for the up-coming summer, and put it into place. We told two women present to turn on the power after an hour.
In the evacuation center, we found three travelling dentists from a Hyogo Prefecture dental association who had come to work around the Kesennuma area. A physician also arrived in the afternoon.
When we asked what their needs were, they would only ask for a few basic things. On this blog, Villagers’ needs are only listed in Japanese, as these lists are constantly changing and high-maintenance to update bilingually. If you are able to assist by sending goods to the village, please contact us here at Team Sake directly to double-check which goods are still required. Also, please write a short note to the villagers to accompany the donation (simple English and pictures are okay), and then, once posted, contact us here at Team Sake directly to inform us that they’ve been sent.
A fifth-grade girl was reading a manga comic lying on the floor of the evacuation center. One of the dentists was talking to her, but she didn’t react much. There were no other children in the center that she didn’t have anybody to play with. If there were some toys or activities, we thought she might have been able to keep her spirits up a bit better.
