一般財団法人　連帯　東北・西南　RENTAI　TOHOKU-SEINAN

On January 30^th (Sat), we organised "Tomodachi Curry ®" event at Kichijoji Temple, a temple of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism located in Kirikiri district, Otsuchi. We were hoping to cheer up the local people and the temple master, Mr Eigo Takahashi and his wife.

Thanks to its location on a hill, Kichijoji Temple was spared from the damage by the tsunami. Though it was not designated as a public shelter, the temple accepted people who suffered from the tsunami disaster immediately after the earthquake. The number of refugees they took in was nearly 250. The master Takahashi opened the temple to the public as a shelter and tried to keep people's morale high and maintain their physical strength. He encouraged them to follow a daily routine at the temple including clearing and laying futon mattresses and morning exercise.

Our event venue was the meeting room of the temple which was once occupied by the evacuees. Though there was still a lot of snow on the ground from the previous night, the weather recovered by the morning and we started the preparation with no problem.

Early in the morning, Madame Takahashi and neighbours helped us prepare curry using the kitchen in the meeting room. As usual, 20 litres of fresh milk for spiced tea served with "Tomodachi curry®" was generously donated by Mr Nobuaki Sudo from Senmaya, Ichinoseki. We should remember that it was Mr Ichiro Murakami, our great co-operator and buddy who went to fetch the milk in the heavy snow the night before.

We prepared the ingredients indoors and some younger staff members cooked curry in the pot put outside. We asked the group of neighbours to prepare spiced tea in the kitchen. Delighted by the fresh milk, Madam Takahashi used her favourite honey from Zao instead of ordinary sugar to give the tea special flavour. The spiced tea was even tastier with mild sweetness of the honey.

"Tomodachi Curry®" was ready just before lunch time. Usually we find it fun for guests to queue up with a plate and be served with curry from the unusually huge pot together with naan bread from the baker. However, as it was extremely cold and the ground was dangerously slippery, the staff carried food on plates to the warm meeting room where the guests were waiting.

After the opening speech of Master Takahashi, our board chairman spoke about the background and the purpose of the event. With a cue from Mr Touemon Azumaya, chairman of the Kichijoji parish council, the curry lunch started.

Both Mr Ikarigawa, mayor of Otsuchi Town, and Dr Hamato, a local neurologist, were also at the event. Dr Hamato was kind enough to bring us a hundred red bean pastries baked by a popular bakery in the area. The guests greatly enjoyed the yummy sweet pastries.

At the end of the party, the residents of Kirikiri district recited two pieces of "Goeika(※)", Buddhist doxology, for us.

※ "Goeika" is a buddhist doxology, which is a melodious chant with the words consisting of five lines and thirty one syllables based on Buddhist teaching. It is one of the religious traditional arts in Japanese Buddhism handed down from Heian era. Poems with five and seven alternating syllables and those with seven and five alternating syllables are both called "wasan" and often considered as "Goeika" even if they are not of religious nature.

Reference:
Wikipedia(http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%94%E8%A9%A0%E6%AD%8C)

Through our 4-year activities, we have deepened connection and friendship with people from local community. This Symposium is for such friends of ours to voice their thoughts and hopefully will cheer up not only Tohoku but also the whole country.

With an abundant time for panel discussions, the interactive symposium will provide all participants to present and share their own view

Please fill in the application form (Click here to download) and send it by FAX to the Symposium Organizer of Rentai Tohoku・Seinan.
FAX: 03-6682-4020

On November 15 (Sat), we held "Tomodachi Curry®" event at Ozashi Temporary Housing Complexes in Ishinomaki, Miyagi and had a great time with the residents.

Most of the people living there are fishery workers and work almost every day even on weekends. So, this time, we served "Tomodachi Curry®" from five o'clock in the evening.

We arrived at the event site just after lunch time and started preparation. It was a terribly windy day and the tent was knocked down causing some damage to the frame. Despite the accident, however, we managed to cook dinner as we planned. Once again, Mr Masayoshi Sugawara, the former mayor of Hiraizumi town, who never disappoints us, came all the way from Hiraizumi with his wife.

"Tomodachi Curry®" was ready at 4:30 pm and people started to gather at the event site, "Kodomo House" before five o'clock. It was a fun time with lively children. As it was very windy and freezing, everyone so much enjoyed the hot spiced tea after supper.

The apples Mr and Mrs Sugawara donated for the event were great for dessert after hot and spicy curry.

Through this event, we hope that we were able to help strengthen the bond among disaster victims even a little.

On October 26 (Sun), 2014, we cooked and served "Tomodachi Curry®" and spent some friendly time with the residents of Kaisei Temporary Housing Complexes, Ishinomaki, Miyagi.

On August 24^th, we held a curry event for 206 households living in the 9^th, 10^th and 13^th Kaisei Temporary Housing Complexes with co-operation of Mr Hiroaki Endo, the chairperson of the residents' association of these three housing complexes.

The event site was an open space in front of the meeting room of the 12th Housing Complex. Though it was foggy in the morning, while we were busy preparing food, the sky cleared up nicely.

Just like the previous event, all the preparation started early in the morning in the meeting room of the Complex where the event was held. We also asked the residents to come and help. As usual, the purpose was to boost the mood among the participants by exchanging friendly conversation during preparation. We did not serve our usual naan bread this time but cooked rice together with the residents so that they could feel more like part of the event team. As always, Mr Keishi Onodera of the Rotary Club of Iwate Senmaya kindly donated 24kg of chicken. We appreciate everyone's support.

Actual cooking was the job for young and powerful staff members of our Foundation.

As the spicy aroma of curry wafted, people came to see the pot. We started to serve "Tomodachi Curry®" at noon.

We had many plates of rice ready first, and put curry on top of rice before handing out a plate to the queued people. Mr Masayoshi Sugawara, the former town mayor of Hiraizumi and a wonderful supporter of the Foundation, came from Hiraizumi and gave us a hand. He put rice on all those plates and, his wife passed them to the curry pot keepers. The pair worked in perfect liaison and everything went nice and smooth.

Though the meeting room was considerably large, it was unfortunate that there were not enough tables for everyone to sit and eat at the same time. "Tomodachi Curry®" itself was very popular and some children even asked for another helping.

We enjoyed every moment with people living at Kaisei Temporary Housing Complexes from preparation early in the morning to clearing up after the meal. Through our "Tomodachi Curry®", we continue to interact with those who are forced to live in temporary houses. Mr Koyama is working hard as a facilitator for the 12th Housing Complex as they have no chairperson of the residents' association. The 12^th Housing Complex had had no community events so far, and he was very pleased with the success of the event. After tidying up, he offered tea to all the staff of the Foundation.

As ever, we wish the best of health and happiness for people at Kaisei Temporary Housing Complexes.

On October 24^th (Fri), 2014, we organised the 4^th Symposium on Self-Supporting Efforts with Ms. Mieko Osanai as a guest speaker. Taking advantage of the opportunity to meet the famous scriptwriter in person, we also held a breakfast gathering for people currently living at Former Senmaya Junior High School Emergency Temporary Housing Complex on the following day (October 25^th, Sat).

Though our volunteer activities are based in Senmaya district, Ichinoseki, we had never had a chance to organise an event at this Emergency Temporary Housing Complex so far. This time, however, we gained an acquaintance with Ms. Yuri Nagasawa, president of Senmaya Community Revitalisation Confederation, and with her kind cooperation, we were able to make one happen.

We served sandwiches and fruits for breakfast which Sakaiya Confectionary and Konkin Glossary shops of the local Senmaya shopping street kindly offered at specially reduced prices for the gathering. They sympathised with our efforts and helped us cheer those who are living at temporary houses. We are grateful for their co-operation.

Due to limitations of time on the part of Ms. Osanai, the breakfast gathering was rather short. However, many participants came to the venue earlier than the planned opening time and appeared to enjoy conversation in a relaxed atmosphere. We were pleased to have a lovely time and great conversation with everyone.

Though the Housing Complex is in Senmaya, it belongs to Kesennuma-City, Miyagi and the residents are also from Kesennuma. According to the participants, there are other temporary housings in the area where people from Kesennuma are living. However, personal exchanges seem to be non-existent.

Therefore, hoping to help them a little boost their self-support efforts, we are now planning "Tomodachi Curry®" event on December 6^th, to offer an opportunity for the residents of these temporary housings to interact with each other.

We wish the best of health and luck for the people at Former Senmaya Junior High School Emergency Temporary Housing Complexes.