一般財団法人　連帯　東北・西南　RENTAI　TOHOKU-SEINAN

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

On the 24th of December we assisted in a Christmas event at a Church in Okago, Fujisawa-cho, Ishinomaki City, Iwate Prefecture.

At the beginning of the Edo period more than 300 Christians were martyred in the Okago area. It has been the wish of our Chairperson to assist in vitalizing this area. Through the introduction of the Chief Priest of Fujisawa-cho, we were able to get to know Mr Hatakeyama, Director of the Okago Christian Resource Center.

Mr Hatakeyama participated in the dinner gatherings on the 30th of November in Okago and on the 1st of December in Senmaya-cho which provided the opportunity for exchange of opinions with our Chairperson. They concurred, and this lead to the current event being held.

●　Illuminations switching-on ceremony

The illuminations switching-on ceremony was held at the Okago Church at 17:30 on the 23rd of December, and while snow fell lightly around, we did a countdown together with all those who gathered, and the lights turned on. Tens of thousands of LED lamps lit up together and the colorful lights twinkling in the darkness created a wonderful atmosphere in the church.

The illuminations were something Mr Hatakeyama, Director of the Okago Christian Resource Center, had been imagining for many years. It was done in the memory of the Christians who were martyred in this area in the past, as well as those who unfortunately lost their lives during the earthquake disaster. Mr Hatakeyama himself overcame various difficulties during the preparation of the illuminations and even climbed onto the roof himself to install the lights. With the help of Mr Hatakeyama's friends, Mr and Mrs Miura, who knew about illuminations, the switching-on ceremony was a great success.

●　Meal gathering at farm guest house "Kanrakuro"

After the illuminations switching-on ceremony, a meal gathering was held at a farm guest house which was in a 130-year old building in Fujisawa-cho. Local residents and those who were affected by the disaster deepened their exchange while enjoying the meal prepared using locally grown vegetables and special "doburoku" (unrefined sake) brewed in a sake-making brewery of the guest house. The feelings of those people who lost their families in the great disaster is beyond our imagination, but through our discussions we were able to gather that they are all making progress one step at a time in the right direction. We are very much moved by the strength of the people when we see their courage in the face of such adverse circumstances.

●　Christmas Mass

On the 24th of December we requested Father Takahashi from Mizusawa Church to hold a Christmas Mass at the Okago Church. In a very spiritual atmosphere a Bible verse was read, hymns were sung, with prayers for the repose of the victims' souls and recovery from the disaster.

Although for many participants it was their first time to attend a mass, everyone who gathered prayed together as one.

●　Cake party

After the mass, everyone enjoyed chai made using fresh milk provided by a dairy farm in Senmaya-cho, along with homemade cake which was prepared by Mr Chiba who runs a yakiniku restaurant in Kawasaki-cho. On the cake it said 'Merry Christmas! Not defeated by the rain, nor by the wind' and the 30 people who gathered had a good time.

We would like to continue working in this area in the future.

The illumnations switching-on ceremony was reported in the Iwate Nichi-Nichi Shimbun, and the Christmas Mass was reported in the Iwate Nippo.

Article in the Iwate Nichi-Nichi Shimbun dated 24 December 2012

Article in the Iwate Nippo dated 25 December 2012

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

On Sunday the 2nd of December provided a free Chinese meal to help cheer up the residents of Kahoku Sandanbashiri temporary housing estate in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. Many of the residents at this housing estate came from the Okawa Primary School area where many children died in the tsunami. We became friendly with people in this area who had lost their families, which is how we came to hold this event.

Instead of the usual curry, we offered residents an authentic Chinese meal prepared by a chef and his assistant (our acquaintances). The chef had heard about our curry events and had also wanted to help, but due to the difficultly in taking days off work, he was not able to realize his wish until now. They finally had the chance to take part in this event.

On the evening prior to the event at Minami Exchange Center in Senmaya-cho, we asked the local people who always take part to gather together for a Chinese dinner. Chinese wives living in the area helped us to make authentic dumplings in soup.

To the dinner we also invited Mr T who lost his family in the Okawa area in Ishinomaki City, and we prepared and offered special meals to honor those who lost their lives. Apart from local people, some participants also joined from Okago, Fujisawa-cho, and in total about 30 people gathered. It was an exchange party that crossed country and district boundaries.

After that we began preparations for the following day, but because we had to work in a rather poorly equipped kitchen, the chef was hard at work until 2am. Next morning we left Minami Exchange Center at 7:30am and head for Ishinomaki-City via Okago. First we visited Okawa Primary School where we held a silent moment for the victims, and then we went into the temporary housing estate.

Since it was an authentic Chinese meal, the expectations of residents were quite high. In the middle of preparing the meal some residents came to see how we were doing and expressed their keenness to have the meal soon. However before anything else we prepared the meals in the community hall for those absent, and the chief priest who always helps us came and offered his prayers for the people who lost their lives. After that, everyone enjoyed the meal.

We brought the meal in to the community center and the residents ate while listening to piano background music as well as singing. The music was performed voluntarily by Mr Koga, a music restaurant owner and Ms Yamazaki, a soprano singer. It was their first time to perform alongside a Chinese meal.

At the end of the event, at our Chairperson's request, we had several participants read aloud Kenji Miyazawa's poem "Not defeated by the rain" in the local Tohoku dialect, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The apples lined up on the table were brought in by Mr C (whom we became acquainted with in Okago, Fujisawa-cho) and were distributed to the participants to take home with them, and they were very gratefully received.

The Okawa area had great damage during the tsunami with 400 homes completely destroyed, and we would like to provide whatever assistance possible in memory of those who lost their lives. We would like to continue our work in this area, while treasuring our friendship with Mr T.

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

At the request of the Kesennuma Social Services Committee, we assisted in the Recovery Festival which was held on the 25th of November at Oshima, Kessennuma City.

Oshima is an island situated about 25 minutes by ferry from Kessennuma. This festival was for residents from three temporary housing estates: Oshima Junior High School Ground, Oshima Holiday Village (recreation ground) and Shinodaira Ground. It was very lively.

At this festival, we, together with friends who came from Nagoya, provided hot chai to the participants.

In July this year we held tea gatherings at the community hall of each of these three housing estates in order to help solve the problem of lack of communication among residents. In addition, at these gatherings, the residents enjoyed folding origami that was provided by members of the social services committee. As a result of these previous events, we felt the participants were in a very relaxed mood in general.

Although we didn't offer any curry at this event, we had a very fruitful day, and left feeling that we had contributed something.

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

We held a curry event on Saturday the 27th of October in the No. 2 Okubo temporary housing estate in Hirota-cho, Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture. The event was held in collaboration with Ms Keiko Hirano who visited to give a voluntary talk as part of the support for disaster recovery.

Before lunch Ms Hirano gave a small talk in a community hall, and while everyone was busy listening to her we began made preparations for the curry.

This was the second time for us to hold an event at this temporary housing estate, the first one being held on the 7th of July. Mr K (not one of our staff but one of the residents of the housing estate) who was in charge of the cooking at the previous event also took part from the morning this time, and preparations went very smoothly. Since the talk was being held in the community hall, we had to do our preparation work outdoors. We had a lively time thanks to the many active children around us.

The chief priest in Fujisawa-cho who always takes an active part in our events, brought three friends and his sister and they were a great help. He took the initiative to help us wash the large cooking pot which is always a difficult job for us.

The talk ended at 12:45 and it was time to begin lunch. Since the weather was nice, those who couldn't fit inside the community hall sat down at the table provided outside and enjoyed a picnic atmosphere. Since some participants mentioned at the previous event that they were expecting a spicier experience, this time we made a curry with a more authentic spice level and everyone liked it.

We were very honored that we were able to hold this event with the help of many people, especially the Chairman of the Residents Association. I feel that everyone's smiles gave us a lot of positive energy.

Rentai Tohoku Seinan Staff, Tahir here.

On Sunday 21^st of October, we held a curry event at the Goemongahara Baseball field housing estate in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.

The baseball field housing estate, tennis court housing estate and athletic field housing estate together make the largest temporary housing area in Kesennuma. At the request of the Kesennuma Social Service Committee, we provided support to revitalize communication between the residents. The photograph above (left) shows the scenery of Kesennuma from the summit of Mt Murone, which is 895m above sea level.

Having received tomatoes, green peppers and fresh pumpkins from the farmers of Senmaya who always regard us as one of them, we had a go at making pumpkin soup for the first time along with the usual curry. Since it was such a nice day we carried out our preparations outdoors, with the help of the Coordinator of the Temporary Housing Association. All pariticpants were very energetic and though Tahir was nearly overwhelmed, they were very efficient and the preparations were completed in no time.

In addition to the pumpkins we were given fresh milk from the dairy farmers and we used a large amount of this milk in the pumpkin soup. This gave the soup a very rich taste and it was very popular with mothers in the housing estate.

We planned how to distribute the food together with the social services committee and a representative from our Foundation. At 12:00 we began serving the pumpkin soup and curry. We set up two eating areas, both inside and outside the community hall so people were able to enjoy their food in either place.

Since the weather was fine, some residents joined us early in the day and they enjoyed themselves by conversing with each other or watching our preparations and talking to us while waiting for the meal to be ready. Some people came outside as early as 10:00 but they were willing to wait nearly two hours for the food to be prepared.

Our main aim is not simply to have residents eat curry, but to help them come out and interact with each other and enjoy themselves. We therefore felt very privileged to have been able to assist in this way. Because we wanted everyone to be able to enjoy the curry we kept it mild, however some residents told us that they expected a much spicier curry and were surprised at its mildness. We are therefore planning for our next event, to raise the spice level closer to the real thing!

We have already begun preparing for cold weather by fitting the car with snow tyres before winter arrives. We would like to continue our activities without being deterred by the cold weather.