One of the long term effects of the disaster is the mental stress that comes with losing loved ones, homes, jobs and community. This Ishinomaki based project provides support to help rebuild neighborhood comunities in Ishinomaki. .Big Up Ishinomaki in the Okaido neighborhood of Ishinomaki and Kodopany Community Space in the Watanoha neighborhood of Ishinomaki and Project Yui are partners in this project.
Ishinomaki Board of Education Superintendent Sakai explained in December, 2013 that 27,000 people will remain in temporary housing for another three years, six years after the disaster. They have lost their homes and their neighborhoods, if not loved ones and jobs. It will take many years to rebuild their lives and community. Students, teachers and parents have mental stress issues from this life changing disaster that affect their mental health.
Superintendent Sakai supports the expansion of our workshops for children and teachers in schools in the Ishinomaki city area. Training sessions will start as an official education department supported training program from the next Japanese educational year starting April, 2014. We plan to conduct another 120 Voice of Tohoku interviews (currently 40) and will launch the first community video archive in Ishinomaki Newsee. A youth summer leadership camp is planned.
The benefits of training teachers in mental stress relief activities will help with every day situations that arise. We plan to train 50 teachers this year. We also plan to have stress relief activities for 300 students. The Voices of Tohoku video archive provides stress relief to those interviewed as well as building community memory. The Kagikakko youth helped plan and hold a community BBQ for 2,000 temporary housing residents. They are helping to rebuild their community.
