Childcare Support at Disaster-Stricken Tohoku

New Year days are known for bargaining sales in shopping arcades, where many people gather for shopping in Japan. On January 16, the temporary shop arcade where Kirarin Kids (KK) operates was really quiet, though it had New Year decorations. Cold weather of that day might have influenced the gathering of people. The business of temporary shops is highly vulnerable to changes of weather, partly because they tend to be located in isolated places (Picture 1: Snow Scene; Picture 2: Empty Archade with New Year Decorations).

However, during events organized in November and December, a large number of children and parents gathered and filled event rooms with sounds from talking, laughing and crying. For example, Rikuzen Takata City has one 23-year-old puppet group, which lost everything during the disaster, but thanks to donations from many people, they came back to perform in front of children. KK invited the group, and parents and children enjoyed a puppet show. On the Christmas Day. KK organized a Christmas Concert for the first time in its history. It borrowed one music hall, possible to have 300 audiences, Naturally, the area does not have the enough number of children to fill the hall. Fifty pairs of parents and children listened to gospel music and even participated in singing songs.

This event had a special pre-concert arrangement, so that children can enjoy the event. KK invited a lecturer to have children learn and enjoy the rhythm of gospel songs at the Arcade, and then organized the concert. The concert is also expected to become an opportunity for parents to relax from tough child-rearing days by letting out loud voices. Because of togetherness in signing, participants felt close relationships among themselves.

Thus, KK has been organizing many events, but each event has been carefully crafted in a way that participating mothers express their appreciating, saying that we really felt happy in the concert.

Such mothers’ expressions were really encouraging to staffs, who share works among themselves so that they can sustainably work, rather than overburdening themselves. So, the encouraging words of mothers and feeling of staffs come together viry nicely, raising work motivations and generating trust in the community owing to the long-term commitment of staffs. Although such work sharing has been the focus of attention and discussed in the urban area for many years, not many organizations have been successful. KK seems to be, in a very small way, succeeding in developing this environment among staffs. Such effectiveness of work sharing also enables KK to raise hourly wage, starting from April 2017.  

The capability building of staffs is also a serious concern. Instead of inviting lecturers on music, KK decided to have a training session so that they themselves can teach the joy of music to children.

Despite six years will soon pass since the disaster, the town is still busy in rebuilding the city. Undeniably, it is a painful long process to rebuild the destroyed and disappeared city.

In this painful process of rebuilding, a plan for rebuilding the City Office started moving. They have been operating in spaces constructed from pre-fabricated thin-wall panels. But a question is where it is going to be built, sine the location makes an enormous influence on the development of the city. With newly built houses, community centers, and a disaster-prevention center on the mountain side, a new community is coming into existence. Some people want to have the city office in that community, while others do to build in the old portion of the city where land level is presently raised. A public hearing is schedule to make a good choice, fitting to the interests of local people.

KK is also planning to have a “meeting with the mayor” to discuss about the location of the city office. This will be a good opportunity for the city to hear the opinions of young people and understand their interests. This is actually an amazing event, since there is hardly any city which hears opinions from young mothers and people. This fact suggests that KK is taking a new role of bridging young people and the city based on their participation.

For the past six year, KK has been thinking with staffs about what child rearing is. By organizing diverse events, it came to recognize that it is not to support, but to nurture the growth of individuals. Although the future of KK and the temporary shopping arcade is unknown, KK will continue to worry, think together with parents, and observe parents and children expressing their happiness through diverse events KK organizes. 

Links:

• Kirarin Kids Homepage