Flood & Landslide Relief in Japan. We Need You.

With your help, Civic Force has been supporting the victims of the West Japan floods since the disaster struck in early July. One area of need we identified was helping children return their lives to a semblance of normalcy. Tenno Megumi, a kindergarten located in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, needed our help to re-open its doors for young students to return. On August 8, we delivered 183 books to the kindergarten that Oheso, a nursery school in Saga, had collected.

"We wanted to do something for the schools and children's playrooms that were heavily damaged by the floods in July," said the principal of Oheso. In collaboration with other teachers and Civic Force, Oheso was able to collect an additional 322 books that were delivered later on August 30.

Civic Force also installed air conditioners at Tenno Megumi. This summer was particularly hot in Japan with an unprecedented heatwave killing at least 65. The school needed air conditioners to give the students a safe space throughout the day. During disaster recovery, returning children to their normal lives is critical to their mental health and helps their families rebuild their lives.

In late August, Civic Force delivered water containers from Dow Chemical to victims in Sawara, Hiroshima. Many disaster-affected areas did not have access to clean water for weeks, forcing victims to collect water from distribution centers. These water containers allowed victims to bring clean water back to their homes.

Since July, Civic Force has been working through our NGO partnership network to respond efficiently to the varied needs of disaster victims around the Okayama, Hiroshima, and Ehime Prefectures. This allowed for the quick allocation of resources, both human and financial, to reach those in need. One such partnership, the Disaster Area NGO Partnership Center, helped provide shuttle buses for volunteers from four different sites reach disaster-affected areas.

Another partnership was with the Hikuchi Volunteer Center in Ehime. We helped to continuously update needs assessments, organize and coordinate volunteer dispatch, and provide construction tools to volunteers and victims.

It has been a busy summer for Japan. Disaster after disaster struck, sometimes one right after the other, leaving emergency responders scrambling. Civic Force would like to thank all those who donated to relief efforts in Japan and for keeping us in your thoughts. Please continue to support us and the many volunteers invested in West Japan.