Smile Together Ishinomaki

Overview

Since the official launching of Smile together Ishinomaki, IsraAID with the support of the Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund has conducted various activities in partnership with local authorities and local NPO's. These activities include: PTSD professional trainings, Stress relief activities for the affected communities, Life story interviews as part of Voices of Tohoku project and youth leadership training for local high school students. In addition, IsraAID staff built trust with local partners in order to create a sustainable support model for years to come.

Summary of activities:

- PTSD prevention training: Since May, 2013 IsraAID has conducted 5 PTSD workshops in partnership with Project YUI, Team Ohkan and Ishinomaki city hall. The workshops were guided by IsraAID therapists and participants included School teachers and counselors, Kindergarten teachers, City hall staff and NPO workers. All together 4 therapists and 35 participants attended.

- Stress relief activities: Since May, 2013 IsraAID has conducted 3 stress relief activities for temporary housing residents and for children affected by the tsunami. These activities included music, art and dance and provided the locals with an opportunity to express themselves non verbally. All together 25 locals participated in IsraAID stress relief activities since May 2013.

- Voices of Tohoku: IsraAID officially launched the Voices of Tohoku project in Ishinomaki. In this project IsraAID staff interview residents who were affected by the tsunami and build a community archive in partnership with Ishinomaki local museum and media companies. IsraAID team in Ishinomaki has already created a community book which is now in the process of printing (supported by HP), and interviewed the vice mayor of Ishinomaki as well as some of the local residents affected by the disaster.

-Youth leadership:  IsraAID partnered with Hilton Tokyo and Nippon foundation to support "Kagikakko", a community café lead by high school students. In this project IsraAID and its partners will provide 30 high school students from Ishinomaki with the opportunity to learn communication skills as well as receive hands on training in the field of Hospitality, cooking and the service industry from Hilton's professional trainers. IsraAID & Hilton have conducted 2 days of training in Ishinomaki, and 6 days of training in Hilton Tokyo. During these trainings the "Kagikakko” group received training in cooking, English, leadership and creative thinking. During the Hilton training the participants also received a special certificate signed by Hilton General Manager, Mr. Jamie Mead. Feedback from the participants were extremely positive mentioning these trainings provided them with practical tools and skills for their job in the community café as well as communication skills and motivation to become active in their community.

In addition, IsraAID participated in an event organized by Bennesse Corporation that was focused on creative thinking and presentation skills. The event took place in Sendai and 40 youth from all over Tohoku participated.   Bennesse has a program called Route H which provides scholarships for Japanese students to top American Universities (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, etc.). Among the group leaders were eight Route H students who were looking for a constructive way to help Tohoku youth gain leadership skills to benefit Tohoku communities. The participants rated the event 4.9 out of 5 with the most common feedback being more time was needed. Press coverage included a 2 minute NHK segment.

Links:

• Kagikakko Cafe Members at Tokyo Hilton Internship