Typhoon Hagibis relief fund for Soma children

Typhoon Hagibis hit a wide range of the east Japan in October 2019 and also caused a great damage to Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture where we are delivering daily support. The city was hit by heavy flooding and water reached above the floor level. On November 23, about one month after the typhoon passed, the concert of Soma Children Orchestra was held in Iwate Miyagi Fukushima Festa, a festival featuring the Tohoku region (All Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima belong to the Tohoku region) at MEGA WEB Tokyo.

A grade 8 student Risa a cellist of the orchestra found her instrument had been damaged by the muddy water after the flood. Despite the difficult situation as she said “I was speechless when I saw my instrument,” she started to practice by using another cello which was donated by the supporters. Fortunately she had her beloved cello repaired by the day she finally got on the stage.

In the concert, the orchestra performed six pieces including a local folk music Soma Bon Uta, Mozart's famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi's Four Seasons and L'estro Armonico and received a round of applause from the audience. After the performance, Risa said “I played with the gratitude to everyone who helped us while the typhoon disaster. I am proud of our performance.”

Mr. Kenji Goto, a Soma based luthier who diligently works for our program, said “I hope that energy of music heals children who experienced the terrible earthquake and typhoon.” In fact, the recovery of the city and orchestra from the disaster is still on the way. We also highly appreciate continuous support given by our GlobalGiving partners — thank you!