It has been three years and ten months since the great earthquake. Compared to the beginning, the number of support groups has declined dramatically. The main reason is that, with the passage of time, the funding for activities has decreased.

 

In the case of the BHN Association, we initially received donations from our members in addition to the financial support from Japan Platform (JPF). However, since April, 2014, we have had to rely on contracts from Iitate Village, as well as donations from Docomo users through Docomo Premium Club Points. When this was not enough, we have used our organization’s own funds to continue our activities.

 

Meanwhile, we sent out many applications in order to get support from new sources, and we recently learned that we will be receiving some funding for our activities from “Red Feather Community Trust Fund’s” “Disaster Volunteers and NPO Activities Support Funds” (abbreviation: Volunteer Support).

 

The funding period is from August, 2014 until March, 2015. By adding this to the money from the village, we will have a solid foundation for this year’s activities.

As a measure to strengthen the foundation of our activities further, last autumn, we put a lot of effort into visiting organizations that we worked with in order to reaffirm and strengthen our partnerships with them. Our partners, including members from Iitate Village, Iitate Social Welfare Council, Humanitarian Medical Assistance (HuMA), and NTT Docomo CS Tohoku branch, pledged their continuing support and assistance for our organization’s activities.

 

　

The villagers of Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture still must follow evacuation orders because of the nuclear power plant accident. They are still unable to plan for the future, and are forced to live precarious and restricted lives in temporary and leased housing.

 

　

We are resolutely continuing our activities in the region to support the Iitate Village Patrol teams, as well as the evacuees living in the leased housing. Since the beginning, there have been a total of 772 people participating in 44 health consultation sessions (88 days), and 756 people participating in 86 massage sessions. Additionally, there are currently 603 people in the region using pedometers presented by BHN.

 

Our organization will continue closely supporting Iitate Village and its villagers with all the organizations that are supporting and collaborating with us.

Iitate Village Evacuee Support Project’s Project Manager
Yoshihiro Yoshioka (Counselor)

 

English translation by Mariah Gomes