Our family is housing 17 refugees from Japan earthquake Iwate and Fukushima–help please.

Housing 17 refugees & Fund raising:

Call outs for these used things–my partner Yuji’s family in Fukushima are still fine, and Aizu-Wakamatsu is the only city in Fukushima with power. It’s snowing and freezing cold.
They are housing 17 refugees from Iwate earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima power plant danger zone. If you are in Japan, they need:

blankets,
towels,
memo (notebooks),
pretty pictures/posters to keep their cold spirits warm, calendars
funny manga, warm socks (mostly elderly refugees),
thermal underwear/tights, toothpaste/brush.

They don’t need money because they can’t buy anything anyways.

Time to de-clutter for a good cause! The Japan Postal Service is running through Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima–but takkyubin (courier service) is not.

Please send directly to:

Tokiko Kitano1-14 Nishisakaemachi, Aizu-wakamtsushi, Fukushima-ken, 965-0877Here is their website:  http://www.motoaki.biz/

Additional Fund raising: My goal is to raise $5000US for Second Harvest Japan and I’m campaigning  in US, UK, Hong Kong via my courses. Got a fab lead. So keep fingers crossed.

http://www.2hj.org/index.php/eng_home

Love,

Soness and Yuji

Tokiko Kitano

1-14 Nishisakaemachi, Aizu-wakamtsushi, Fukushima-ken, 965-0877

By |March 20th, 2011|Blog, Hooray Foundation|6 Comments
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Japan Earthquake 2011: return to normalicy in Tokyo? What?

Are things returning to normal in Tokyo just 24 hours later? Or what is this?

This afternoon we went in search of food and supplies. There had been warnings of Tokyo/Kanagawa earthquakes. I felt the Nagano earthquake here in Tokyo this morning. I imagined everyone would be apocalypse shopping for water and non-perishable goods. Nope.

Runners out for a jog, people at the hair salon, tea-time, and shopping. It was surreal. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. Damage unseen in the chic Tokyo town of Kichijoji.

I think it’s a de-stress thing. People having strained conversations that keep getting drawn back to friends or family up north in the severely affected areas. Even I try to relax. All I can feel is guilt at having tea. I talk with the drug store clerks asking how far they came to work (1hour by train) just to allow shoppers to potentially get supplies. I thank them profusely for coming in when I would want to stay with my family.

A few people bought instant ramen. I loaded up on pre-cooked, non-perishable rice and curry packets, Calorie-Mate bars, enough for 5 people in the house where I am staying plus gas cans for the stove. Oh, and deodorant. I haven’t washed in 2 days. Who knows when I will. There’s rumor of power cuts to send power to hospitals in danger zones.

Here’s a video of an older woman who feels, it’s all up to God when we go. Also views of shoppers, apartment hunters, and general atmosphere.

I am opening my home to […]

By |March 13th, 2011|Blog, The latest|3 Comments
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Japan earthquake 2011: Father tries to reach wife & 3 kids during after shocks

Just minutes after the huge quake, a father tries to reach his wife and 3 kids. We don’t know what is going on and information is limited. Cell phones have been cut off service. He is anxious, yet knows in his heart, they are fine. We don’t know what has happened up north at the time. He does finally reach his wife–they are fine. Relief.

What about those missing? What about those with families up north? My parents-in-love live in Fukushima. I couldn’t reach them for 10 hours. Neither could their son living in New Zealand. Finally service sketchily resumed, and they were sleeping outside. The tremors there were 3+. The drama continues as Nuclear Power Plants melt down. They agreed to leave Skype on so we could keep in contact.

Who is missing?
Please, if you are fine, or know the whereabouts of others, please enter the information on Google’s Friend Finder for Japan Earthquake 2011.
This is not a joke. Do not enter false information. I entered my information this morning. Then I searched for my roommate who was listed as dead. I contacted him immediately. His brother entered it as a “joke.” Not funny at all. This is a serious service. I immediately updated his information.

http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en

There are also FaceBook pages dedicated to this. If you can get internet, please update your FaceBook profiles, twitter, and Skype.

Do not try to call Japan as lines need to be available for Emergency Services. Please use Skype, Viber, Gmail, FaceBook, and Twitter to reach loved ones as they […]

By |March 13th, 2011|Blog, The latest|0 Comments
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