Rebuilding Communities of Sanriku Coastal Areas

On June 25^th and 26^th, JISP held Nepalese cultural exchange events for people living in the Otate Temporary housing units of Ofunato and Tomioka Support Center in Iwate Prefecture. JISP staff, Bijay Gyawali, a psychologist and his wife who is a social worker explained Nepalese culture through arts crafts, traditional wear and presentations. Many of the participants had questions about Nepalese culture and talked also about the disaster that hit Nepal in 2015. During the presentation, Januka Gyawali made a traditional chicken dumpling dish “momo” with a special spiced sauce for the participants to taste and enjoy. The participants had an interactive dialogue with the two and pointed out how some points were similar to Japan. We hope that these events are a fun time for the many people who still remain in the temporary housing and are an opportunity for people to come out and get to know each other better. We hope to help rebuild lives of individuals and communities in the disaster hit areas. We are very grateful for your support for these activities and plan more in the future to prevent solitary deaths and loneliness in temporary housing units and new public housing estates.