BHN Association

BHN's telecommunication support protects safety and security

"BHN" stands for "Ｂasic Ｈuman Ｎeeds",that is, fundamental requirements to be satisfied for people to live a decent life. We believe that “information” (such as data, news, knowledge, and communication) is also one of these Basic Human Needs. So, we have adopted BHN as the name of our organization. We are working to provide support to all people in remote villages, disaster-stricken areas, and evacuee camps to access the information they need.

BHN's Vision

We aim for everyone in the world, regardless of their environment or situation, to have access to necessary information and want to create a society that provides safety and security for all people.

BHN's Mission

By utilizing ICT, we aim to provide safety, security, and relief for people in developing countries and disaster areas, improve their living environment, and help solve social issues.

Three Core Pillars of Activity

The Story of BHN's Support

Come back: Iitate Village, “the hometown where peach trees blossom”

Before assistance arrived

Iitate Village is a mountain village with a population of about 6,300 people. Through years of hard work, Iitate Village was able to nurture a vibrant, abundant community, producing not only rice but also special products such as Iitate beef and Texas bluebells.
Immediately after the nuclear accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the whole village joined forces to care for refugees from the area near the nuclear reactors. However, it was later discovered that Iitate itself had exceedingly high radiation levels, and one month later an evacuation order was given for the entire village.
How our assistance began

Before the disaster, three or four generations were living together. After the disaster, along with families, neighbors became separated and the close community collapsed. Without any fields to cultivate or cows to raise, a lack of exercise caused no small number of people to lose their health in cramped shelters.
Decontamination is progressing rapidly in the village, but it will take a little longer for the evacuation order to be lifted. Close to five years of evacuation takes a toll on even the tenacious people of the Tohoku region, somehow encouraging themselves when they felt they were about to break down.
The content of our assistance

Grasping the evacuation situation and receiving a request from the village, we connected town halls and evacuation shelters (27 and 29, respectively) via the Internet and video-conferencing. They were used to disseminate evacuation information from the village and to collect information on residents. To assist people not well-versed in computers and information technology and to help local residents’ associations operate, we provided continuous support for the creation of more than 10 personal computer and mobile phone workshops, as well as websites for 100 local residents’ associations.
Since fiscal year 2012, we have also been conducting “health consultation meetings”,”walking activities” and “massage gatherings” to assist with health maintenance and improvement.
- An activity report on the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster relief project is available here (To the current activity report)