Community Revitalization Project in Kumamoto

On behalf of the local residents of Nishihara Village who were benefiting from the support of GlobalGiving donors, I wish to extend my deepest gratitude.

From January to March, a total of 85 volunteers were mobilized who helped the 32 local families in harvesting and post-harvesting of sweet potatoes as well as harvesting of taro, Chinese Cabbage, and yuzu fruits. Compared with last year, the number of requests from the locals has declined. As they are gradually working towards self-reliance, the locals knew that they cannot depend from the volunteers forever.

Meanwhile, other than helping in the agricultural farms, we are also helping the locals in the maintenance of their common and public lands. Grass cutting and grass mowing at the public/common land are crucial in the prevention of wild fires which could damage the houses of the villagers, their farms, and their communal forests.

The volunteers have found a second home at the village and promised to help the locals every year. The “fans” of Nishihara Village developed great social bonds with the local villagers after helping them in their agricultural farms. They are aware of how their presence is motivating the locals to start living again.

On behalf of the local residents of Nishihara Village who were benefiting from the support of GlobalGiving donors, I wish to extend my gratitude. Our beneficiaries, who are mostly living at temporary housings are now gradually regaining their pace. This we attributed to the mobilized volunteers who were present and made the villagers feel more alive as they helped them in their agricultural farm activities, as well as assisting them in marketing their agricultural products.

With your support, from October to November, we have mobilized a total of 168 volunteers and assisted 79 local farmers and their families. The volunteers helped the local survivors in planting cabbage, maintenance of the carrot farms, harvesting of squash, taro, sweet potatoes and peanuts, and post-harvesting of garlic and sweet potatoes.

The couple, Mr. Hideyuki (69) and Ms. Chieko (68) is one of the families who has been receiving volunteer assistance since the start of the project. It began when the earthquake delayed the schedule time of planting of their sweet potatoes. Now that Ms. Chieko is constantly suffering from swollen feet, Mr. Hideyuki is seeking our help for

The need for reconstruction triggered the influx of volunteers into the village. The actual reconstruction process may be coming to an end, but we felt that there is still a need for outside volunteers to help solve the dwindling population of the village. Other than farming, the presence of volunteers opens various possibilities such as marriage, expansion of sales channels, and maintenance of the village`s population.