About HARU

We provide assistance toward the reconstruction of Tohoku district, devastated by the quake and the following Tsunami on March 11, 2011.Many volunteer students of Tohoku University have joined us in this noble cause. Also, HARU have received official recognition from Tohoku University so that we are able to promote volunteer activities to meet community needs. In the future, we are switching our work to the long-term reconstruction with broad range of cooperation.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

After 8 months

Hi, this is Tsugawa, from public relation of HARU.
We are going to change how we disseminate our acts, as HARU changed its activity form.
Honestly speaking, we have escaped from a lot of things to protect us.
It was because we couldn't presume what would happen, and we were scared that those happenings might turn out to be serious problems.
In fact, we have faced numbers of failures and frustrations.
Also we have hesitated to disseminate our acts, for asking ourselves if we can do something we can really be proud of. We heard people say the word "self-satisfaction."

On this occasion we are re-examining the operations of HARU. We are feeling that we should confront to problems more authentically. We would like to share them here as well.


Through our past actions, we learned how difficult it is to act for others. We have to understand genuinely what they need, sometimes those are implicit or opposite from what they say.
Still more, we have to take the measure if we can handle them. We might trouble even more for not being able to manage ourselves for strong sense of mission and responsibility.
Another problem is whether our actions actually help them or not.
To go to the extreme, the actions might extinguish their opportunity of getting the strength, mind or idea of overcoming the problem, where we cannot help them for entire future.
However, we won't be able to do anything if we thought of such things.
I thought that there is no way other than do things what we can do with cordiality and receptivity.
For that matter we need true heart to sympathize with others.
We will keep acting with real motivation, understanding, and sincerity.



It's getting much cold these days in Miyagi as the daytime gets shorter.
Take care,
Y.Tsugawa

View from Tohoku University @Mt. Aoba


Saturday, November 5, 2011

Tohoku University Festival, Nov. 3rd – 5th


Hi, this is Otsuka, HARU Public Relations Section.

The weather has been nice recently, but during the night it’s already cold. I feel winter coming. Tohoku University held University Festival in this nice, good weather from 3rd to 5th of November.




              The theme of this year’s festival is “Link Tompei.” “Link” stands for how we work all together under such circumstance that Tohoku district has had a hard time because of the earthquake. “Tompei” stands for Tohoku University students, with message of bond to be put out. This year they made cute little “Pi-to kun” a mascot character.

              During the festival, a lot of people from the area around visited the university to enjoy. I felt grateful to see it that we could hold this festival after the earthquake.

              At the festival, earthquake-reconstruction-related volunteer teams reported their activities as well as other ordinal events and booths. Although HARU unfortunately couldn’t participate in that, it was pretty good to know other team’s activity. At an exhibition, I felt as much of how lurid the tsunami disaster was by displays of bicycles, tires, and clocks that were swept up.




              What I have learned watching and listening to what people say at those exhibitions, no matter how different the way they stood up or how they act, we have all the same passion “for people in affected area” and goal “Reconstruction of Tohoku.” We should keep on doing what we Tohoku University students can, for long term, changing its contents to fit to needs.

              Each projects of HARU are moving on day by day. We would like to share report of those projects as well on this blog later on.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

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 24th.


They had exhibition area for students in 2nd 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.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Restart of HARU

HARU had acted a role on functioning as volunteer center inside Tohoku University. It has taken a pause since mid June, for many of our teammates having difficulty on having it both ways volunteering and studying. During the pause, we have discussed about activity policy and form of the team.

From now on, we restart HARU as a simple volunteer team, relinquishing our previous role as volunteer center and the mailing list. We are going to cooperate with Tohoku University East Japan Earthquake Student Volunteer Support Division: http://www.tohoku.ac.jp/japanese/studentinfo/volunteer/01/volunteer0101/

We are going to work on 3 projects:
1. Education Support
2. Library Recovery
3. Field Mustard Project

For further information, visit:
https://sites.google.com/site/haruthuv/projects
(Japanese only)


All the members belong to either of the projects and take responsibility on it. We would like to increase the number of projects as possible with students and professors with new idea.

Since we are not going to use the mailing list anymore, we want those who are willing to work with us to join us as a member. We will let you know later on website or other tool.

We are very grateful that we could work with you all the registrants, for supporting Tohoku district reconstruction. We believe that our work was help to reconstruction.

Regards,
HARU Head Quarter Members

Friday, June 24, 2011

Announcement on Reorganization of HARU

It has been 3 month since HARU was found by some volunteer students on 24th of March, after the Great East Japan Earthquake. We have made a collective effort by doing anything we can to help, and accepted many requests. We have always groped what we can do, and what we ought to do.

It is said that 3 months lets it move on to the next reconstruction phase in many affected area. On this occasion we are discussing about our future activity and reorganizing the system. Under this circumstance, we are not capable of doing any advocacy work right now.

Though there are so many of works left that are needed in affected areas, we are going through an indispensible reorganization. It takes a while, but we are willing to turn over new leaf. So please wait until then.

Monday, June 20, 2011

“Ishinomaki Wonder Yokochou”

“Ishinomaki Wonder Yokochou” project is planned by a group of artists such as Ichiro Endo and some other artists, belonging to “Island Japan”, and several members of HARU took part in this activity.


Tachimachi Shopping Street in Ishinomaki was seriously affected by the Tsunami. Right after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the streets were covered with mud, so very few people were walking on them. The whole town looked “grey”. Even in this situation, we found an open flower shop. “Sakko-chan”, an artist of the Island Japan, who had stayed in the shopping street and had been engaged in the volunteer activity, was shaken by a picture hung in the shop. It all started from this episode, she then decided to start an activity of drawing pictures on the shutters of shops on the shopping street. She hopes that these pictures will cheer up shop owners so that they will be able to start their daily operation again.

Until now, we had drawn pictures on 3 shops’ shutters and name boards. Many artists gathered from all over the country, from Tokyo to Oita, and they even try to get the passers by or citizens to be involved in drawing pictures on shutters.

They also recruit volunteers for drawing pictures with them on an as-needed basis. No special skills are required. Let’s draw pictures together!!


In addition, near the shops with painted shutters at Ishinomaki Wonder Yokochou, an exhibition of art works of high school students is being held now. Name plates used for temporary housings, which are made by an art club students from Ishinomaki Nishi High School and Ishinomaki Koubunkan High School using wood scrap are on display. Since most of the students come from serious affected areas, they put special feelings in these name plates.

The shopping street and the exhibition site, was seriously affected by the Tsunami, so most of shops could not open again. Despite of such situation, the exhibition was held without charge as a favor of owner.

“Name plate exhibition for everyone”

Date: June 18th ~26th (11:00~18:00)

Place: “Boys Gallery” 2-6-25 Tachimachi, Ishinomaki City


After the exhibition, the name plates will be given to the temporary housing residents. During the exhibition period, also visitors can make their own name plates. Materials are ready. Everyone is welcome. We hope that many people visit the exhibition..

Contact information:

Chie Kajiwara

Ishinomaki Wonder Yokochou

08033243338

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Received Letter of Appreciation from University Library

Hello, I’m Tatsurou Kuboki, a member of publication section.

I am pleased to inform you that University Library gave us a letter of appreciation for the volunteer activities of HARU.

From April to the beginning of June, HARU had been engaged in volunteer activities on recovery of University Library. The University Library has more than 4 million books and is one of the major libraries in Japan. However, due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, more than one million books fell off the shelves or were damaged.

In order to bring about recovery as soon as possible, HARU carried out an volunteer project. Consequently the library could reopen before the long vacation in May. At present, the library is operated on regular basis as before.

June 14th, 2011 was the 100th anniversary of University Library. On this day, anniversary ceremony was taken place. At the start of the ceremony, Keiichi Noge, an Library Director, gave a speech in which he said that “Earthquake disaster occurred on this 100th anniversary year, and we were suffered by the earthquake. However, thanks to student volunteer members, we could recover early. Now, let’s encourage ourselves for revitalization of this library together toward the next 100th anniversary.”

After that, we were given a letter of appreciation from Library Director Noge.

The content of the letter of appreciation is as follows:

Certificate of Appreciation

To "HARU" -Reconstruction Team of TOHOKU University-

You contributed on recovery of the University Library, which was suffered seriously by the Great East Japan Earthquake, with a lot of volunteer members.

To admire your achievement and express our appreciation, on this day of the 100th anniversary, I am very pleased to send you this letter of appreciation.

June 14, 2011

Tohoku University Library Director

Keiichi Noge