Volunteer Seminar Journal -special issue of introduction to volunteer-

Hi, I'm Y. Tsugawa from HARU Public Relations.

Recently, "Volunteer Seminar Journal -special issue of introduction to volunteer-" was published by Volunteer Assistance Division in Tohoku University. The journal introduces the volunteer groups associated with Tohoku University. New undergraduates were given the journal at an entrance ceremony.

We helped to edit the journal, especially to lay out and design, in order to make use of our past experience of HARU's paper. When editing the journal, we received many e-mails such as "I don't like the blank space.", "Balance will be good if..." and "You should add or change this like..." from the stuffs of Volunteer Assistance Division. The words sometimes inspired us, sometimes made us lose heart..., and we've finally finished up this!

We're very grateful for all the help of collaborators!

If you are interested in the journal, please contact us.

Best regards.

The 1st Volunteer Seminar

    Hello, I am Otsuka, HARU Public Relations.

    On 20th of this month, the 1st Volunteer Seminar organized by Tohoku University Student Volunteer Support Center. The purpose of this seminar is to make chance for undergraduate students, especially  1st and 2nd year students to participate in supporting affected area.

    Presentations were given by teams doing activities in Tohoku University, about affected area and introduction of their activities. Also they had light discussion having light meal.HARU had chance to participate in this seminar, as well as L&D Sendsi and Tohoku Law Net(TLN).

    First half was 40 minutes session and last half 40 minutes individual session after break. At the first half, representatives of each teams introduced their activities as panelists, and at the last half, each teams formed islands to talk about their activities. More than 30 students were participated to understand further about how volunteers are needed.

    A student who participated as representative of HARU said:"It has made a big step to spread this action to junior fellows, corroborating university and students. I want to see many junior fellows. It was great that I could find 2 students who wanted to do something but couldn't take a step!" 

    We would be happy if we could encourage students who participated in this seminar. Of course HARU our selves welcome those who are willing to act with us, in order to keep on working on support activities.

    This volunteer seminar will be held again. If you are willing to act but can't take a step, don't know what to do, or interested in volunteering, then you should come to the next seminar for sure.

Bonus article:

    Now Sendai Illumination Festival is held along Jozenji street.

    As a matter of fact, this festival was said to be difficult to be held this year, because a part of illumination was flown away by the tsunami. Fortunately, Tokyo Omotesando Illumination provided help so that it could be held this year.

    This indeed is light of "bond" as its Chinese character was chosen to this year's character. Though it's freezing in Sendai, I get warm looking at this light.

Few more days we have left for this year.

Don't loose hope! Merry Christmas, and have a happy new year:)

M. Otsuka

Conference by Students of Affected Area in Kagawa prefecture

    This is Fukumoto, HARU Public Relations.

    I would like to share this time about Conference by Students of Affected Area in Kagawa prefecture.

    This conference was organized by Team Kagawa Students, which is consist of voluntary students of medical school of Kagawa University. In this conference, 7. Students who are students of Tohoku University, Fukushima University and Fukushima Prefecture Medical College, and  were involved in volunteer activities on reconstruction from the earthquake gave presentation on their activities and their future works. From Tohoku University, 4 students who did activities in HARU right after the earthquake participated.

Conference room in Kagawa University Medical School

    At the conference, each students gave presentation about how it was and how  they did after affection, about the fact of volunteer activity and what problems the have, and so on. Though they were all students, they all had different situations such that one who stayed at university hospital to help out back-stage medical care, one who drove around evacuation centers to help transporting supplies, one who went along with university hospital doctors to help on-site medical care, one who organized events for children at makeshift houses.

    By exchanging opinions and having relations to each other in this atmosphere, I think we can find new point of view. As one who do activities on site, I thought we have to think about how it is now and how we should do in longer period of time.

    I have another thing to think; I want to tell especially to whom were not affected, as one who know the affected area of that time.

    What if you are hit by unexpected and unparalleled disaster tomorrow? If you are not prepared for that, you'll be too surprised to make right decisions. (in fact, I couldn't.)

Imagine if that happened to you town.

    What dangerous would happen? Disasters form several shapes other than this tsunami. Collapsing on buildings, landslides, derails of trains, traffic jam because of black out, not being able to go home because of traffic jam and so on. The first thing you need to do is to save yourself.

    Afterwards what should you do?Do you know where to evacuate? How do you contact your family and friends? What if lifelines were cut off? Have you prepared evacuation bag? Do you have enough stock of daily essentials?

    You don't have to think of it all the time, but think and know about it at least once. Even if you don't go to the place nor do volunteer activities, it should be helpful to you sometimes. It would make much difference that you HAVE heard or thought when you face it. I would be happy if informations from us would help someone at someplace.

    It was such a good opportunity to be able to have contact with Shikoku, where such a far district from Tohoku, in such meaning. In the end I expect more people to think of what if I were involved in disasters.

Y.Fukumoto

After the conference,

(Students of medical school of Kagawa University  Team Kagawa Students, Tohoku University, Fukushima University, Fukushima Prefecture Medical College, Ehime University, and Tokushima University)

UN-Day 2011, Sendai

This is Kaisumi, a member of Public Relations Section of HARU. I participated in UN-Day conference held at Tohoku University, on October 24^th.

They had exhibition area for students in 2^nd floor of the building, thus we displayed our posters. The conference started at 10:30, with full of people inside the main hall.

   During lunch time, some others and I were helping out spinning participants to UN exhibition area, which was located at one of the innermost parts of the building. They had many displays from UN related organizations for example WFP and UNICEF. They displayed about their activities and those related to the East Coast Earthquake reconstruction supports. One of them which exhibited about children who cannot go schools because of helping out their house works reminded me of the days we had right after the earthquake, when we didn’t have power supply nor water. Fortunately my house weren’t quite affected by either earthquake or tsunami, so we stayed there. My family branched up doing living stuff, carrying heavy water and making meals which took so long.

We spent whole day just to “live.”

Comparing to situation of those who cannot go to schools, ours is nothing. But after that I can understand a bit more of it with reality.

        After lunch time, I could see panel discussion. Topic of the first half was “Work Through with Partnership.” They discussed that the first act is very important on emergency, that each professionals with emergency experience are quite helpful, and that people need to actually go to the place and find out what they need to be helped. Now winter is coming to the affected area, which make people there need more volunteers. They put out message that you cannot hesitate to go volunteering just because it has already been a while.

      The second topic was “To Youth Declaration from ‘Disaster and Volunteering.’”  In the beginning they discussed about role of NPOs and support system between local governments in emergency support. Later on students from Kobe University, from Bukkyo University and from Tohoku University who were from HARU, participated as panelists. In this session they discussed about role of student volunteers. They said that for people in affected area get encouraged to see volunteers coming, because they feel not being left alone.

I understood that individuals may be able to do little, but with whole bunch of individuals sum up together and make progress on reconstruction.

      At the end of the conference, students made “Youth Declaration:”

1. We would like to think about living with nature.

2. We learned we can do something as youth. We want to pass this act on reconstruction to next generation.

3. We are willing to continue on volunteering thinking of the needs of people in affected area.

4. We felt that the whole world have focused on this. We want to keep speaking out of how Tohoku (Japan) is being reborn.