Disaster Response Japan Project #7723

Response to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

by Mercy Corps

Response to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Project Report | Feb 15, 2012
Women Back to Work as Seaweed Harvesting Begins

By Sylvia Ross | Senior Communications Officer

Hiroko Mirura leads 400 women who have found jobs

The compassion of supporters like you has helped women get back to work in Japan - thank you.

Last week, I met Hiroko Mirura. In her early 60s, Ms. Mirura is a former scallop merchant, proud wife of a fisherman, and a strong female leader in the town of Minamisanriku. Hiroko's impressive life boasts many accomplishments, including being the only female board member of the town's powerful fishery association.

But last March, Hiroko's husband was swept away in the tsunami, and her house and business were decimated. Overcome with grief after losing her husband, she went into a deep depression for the next three months. She didn't eat. She didn't get out of bed.

Then one day, she decided that her drive to help her community was stronger than her grief. She wanted to do what little she could to mobilize the other grief-stricken women in Minamisanriku —and it turned out that 'a little' was a lot. She started hosting teas for the unemployed women in town, which led to a community candle-making venture, which led to the need for re-employment.

With a little help from Mercy Corps and Peace Winds Japan, and thanks to the generous support of donors like you and our corporate partners, she is transforming her community.

Today, Ms. Mirura is in charge of mobilizing the 400 women who have gained employment through Mercy Corps' wakame seaweed program.

Wakame seaweed is wildly popular food in Japan and around the world (I’ve already eaten it many times in only four days here). This northeastern coast of Japan is famous for its high quality wakame, but after the tsunami, cultivating, harvesting and processing of this valuable crop had all but ceased because the specialized equipment was washed away. Generously, Walmart donated 26 pieces of the wakame processing equipment, bringing the industry back to life.

I was lucky to arrive just in time for the beginning of the 12-week wakame harvesting season. Each morning at dawn, as the fishing boats return with harvested batches, a group of women gathers around a large metal tub ready to first boil the seaweed, then wring it, then dry it. It's a complicated and intricate process — and one that these women, and Ms. Mirura, are immensely proud of.

Mercy Corps programs are focused on recovery for hard-hit families and children. We thank you for your ongoing support.

New equipment stands ready for seaweed harvest

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Keep up to date on Mercy Corps work in Japan

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Nov 22, 2011
Thank You for Putting the "Giving" Back in Thanksgiving

By Neal Keny-Guyer | CEO

Oct 13, 2011
Japan: More than Six Months Later

By Carol Skowren | Senior Program Officer

Photo: Mao Sato/Peace Winds Japan

More than six months since the massive quake struck Japan, Mercy Corps, with help from Peace Winds, continues to bring relief to people in need while also continuing efforts that include economic recovery and trauma support. Our projects because of your donations have helped 148,000 people who live in the four towns where we are working: Ofunato, Rikuzentakata, Kesennuma and Minamisanriku.

We are helping families that our moving out of shelters into temporary housing provided by the Japanese government by providing bedding and kitchen items. Watch a video of Mercy Corp distributing supplies here. We have also helped more than 6,000 survivors by distributing vouchers that they can use to purchase supplies they need from local merchants. And since transportation remains a challenge we are helping merchants bring their goods to customers via mobile shops and we are providing people access to stores by running a bus program.

We are also working with fishing associations and chambers of commerce to help vital industries recover. For example, we helped a fish market in Ofunato resume operations by providing much needed equipment like a scales, forklifts, and fish tanks. The market now sells many types of fish including bonito a high demand fish in Japan. We are also helping fishing associations in Minamisanriku purchase essential equipment to restart the production of wakame, a seaweed staple of the Japanese diet. The processing of the seaweed will create jobs for local women who traditionally do this work.

Mercy Corps is also working to help children and adults deal with the emotional effects of the large disaster. Comfort for Kids is an innovative program that delivers training, books, and pamphlets to parents and teachers designed to help children recover from trauma. To see a copy of the Comfort for Kids workbook in Japanese click here.

Arts and Sports Caravan, a program led by a Japanese art therapist, helps Mercy Corps build and strengthen communities by providing children with fun, creative activities that allow them to express their feelings. It also gives parents an informal opportunity to talk over tea and cookies and speak with trained staff.

Moving Forward, a partnership with Peace Winds and Nike, uses sports to help young people recover physically and mentally from trauma that they have suffered.

Thank you so much for your continued support, without it none of these projects would be possible.

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To support more projects like this, we recommend that you donate on October 19th. Here is why:

Starting at 12:01 am EDT on October 19th/9:01 pm PDT on October 18th, GlobalGiving is matching all donations at 30% up to $1,000 per donor per project. GlobalGiving has $100,000 available in matching funds. Matching will last until funds run out or 11:59 pm EDT/ 8:59 pm PDT (whichever comes first). Get your donation in early, as funds are known to run out.

Donations made on www.globalgiving.co.uk or any GlobalGiving corporate sites (including Nike, Global Action Atlas, etc) are NOT eligible for matching. But often gifts made through the corporate sites are matched by the employer, so don’t feel left out – you can still donate!

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Photo: Christopher Cabatbat/Mercy Corps

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