Disaster Response Japan Project #62523

Emergency Response to Noto Peninsula Earthquake

by Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR Japan)

Project Report | Feb 2, 2024
Meals that warms you body and soul

By Chiaki Furukawa | Senior Managing Director

A chef cooks a soup kitchen meal in Wajima City

One month after the Noto Peninsula earthquake, approximately 14,000 people are still living in evacuation shelters in Ishikawa Prefecture, and AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan) emergency support team started a soup kitchen with a partner organization immediately after the earthquake. Since February, we support a group of local volunteers, including a chef from a restaurant in Wajima City, in their own efforts to provide food to the displaced people.

The “L’Atelier Takidashi” group of volunteers in Wajima City, led by Chef Shunya Ikehata of the French restaurant “L’Atelier de NOTO,” serves approximately 1,500 to 1,600 meals daily to evacuees living at home in the neighborhood and those sheltered in evacuation centers. The meals include Chinese rice bowls, curry, stew, and other dishes that are rich in vegetables, low in salt, and nutritionally balanced to consider the health of everyone, including the elderly.

Twenty-five people, including disaster victims, are registered as members of the soup kitchen. Mr. Ikehata himself is living in a camper after his restaurant and home collapsed. Mr. Ikehata said, “There are many people who have been evacuated from their homes or are still staying in their cars, so we would like to deliver hot meals not only to the evacuation centers but also to these people. We have no choice now but to pull together and get through this. He added, “I don’t know when it will be, but when people who had no choice but to evacuate outside of Wajima or outside of the prefecture come back, I want to warmly welcome them so that they will not feel sorry for having left Wajima, and together we will rebuild a good town.

A female member of the group said, “Immediately after the earthquake, my family evacuated to higher ground, and after the tsunami warning was switched to advisory, I stayed in my car near my home. While I was helping with a soup kitchen at a local shrine, I was invited by an acquaintance to join the L’Atelier soup kitchen. My house was partially damaged and things are scattered all over the place. My junior high school daughter and I just have a hard time staying at home, but participating in this activity makes me smile.”

A nearby resident who received the meal smiled and said, “It was very cold again today, so I am very grateful to receive a warm meal with lots of vegetables.” The dishes prepared by the survivors themselves, who actively worked together to prepare them, are filling and warming both body and soul.

The L’Atelier soup kitchen was initially supported by an overseas organization, but since the support will end at the end of January, AAR will take over the program at their request and provide support for personnel expenses necessary for its operation from February onward.

AAR will continue support activities in cooperation with the people in the affected areas and other organizations. We would like to ask for your cooperation in AAR’s emergency support for the Noto Peninsula earthquake.

Members preparing for the soup kitchen

Survivors participate in the soup kitchen

The menu for the day was Chinese rice bowls

Links:

AAR English website

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Feb 1, 2024
Our hearts are with the victims of the disaster

By Chiaki Furukawa | Senior Managing Director

Famous Asaichi Street in Wajima City was ruined

One month has passed since the Noto Peninsula earthquake occurred at the beginning of this year, and one year has passed since the earthquake in Turkey February 6 last year. In the two distant disaster areas, many victims who lost their homes continue to live in inconvenient evacuation shelters in the same severe coldness. Once again, we would like to express our heartfelt sympathy to all those who have been affected by the disaster.

AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan) has been working in both disaster-stricken areas, dispatching emergency support teams immediately after the earthquakes. In Ishikawa Prefecture, in addition to providing food at evacuation centers, AAR Japan has been delivering relief supplies mainly to welfare facilities for the people with disabilities, foreign residents, and communities in need of support in more difficult circumstances. In the affected areas in southeastern Turkey, we continue to provide support to residents still living in temporary tents and containers.

The needs of disaster-affected areas change over time. What is common to both Noto and Turkey is that there is still a lack of support, and that there are still many survivors for whom support is difficult to reach, or many of them have few access for support. On the other hand, they also have in common that people are supporting each other and helping each other in the community to regain a “normal life”, patiently facing the reality of the harsh situation in which they have lost their precious homes and jobs.

In the areas affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake, AAR has been conducting support activities with the generous cooperation of many companies, organizations, and individuals. We are still receiving donations along with messages of support for the victims of the Turkey earthquake. We would like to thank everyone again for your understanding and cooperation.

Amidst the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and elsewhere, there has been a series of large-scale disasters in Japan and abroad. We are the only people living in the same era who can reach out to those affected by conflicts and disasters. We would like to ask for your continued support for AAR’s efforts to provide assistance to victims and humanitarian aid in Japan and abroad.

A woman still affected by the earthquake in Turkey

AAR staff listens to a woman at a shelter in Noto

Links:

AAR English website

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Jan 31, 2024
Please Relax with a Massage, Specialist Dispatched

By Chiaki Furukawa | Senior Managing Director

A physical therapist massages a victim at Wajima

It has been almost a month since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake struck, and more than 10,000 people are still living as evacuees in Ishikawa Prefecture. In addition to the prolonged water outage and the bitter cold of winter, lack of exercise and stress are becoming serious problems for the evacuees, and AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief, Japan) has started to provide expert massages to help them relax even a little.

On January 27, AAR’s emergency support team, together with partner acupuncture and moxibustion massage therapists and physical therapists, visited a meeting place in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, where nearby residents gather. Located far from the city center, the meeting place has become a place where survivors who have been evacuated from their homes can receive relief supplies.

“The massages felt really good and warmed me up,” said one of the participants. “I have been so tense for the past month that my body has become stiff. After the massage, my blood flow improved and my body felt lighter.” There are many elderly people in this district, and the two specialists gave shoulder and back massages to about 20 people, which were very well received. During the careful massages, AAR staff members prepared coffee for the gathering, and the aroma of the coffee made everyone feel relaxed.

In addition to the massages, a tea party with coffee and sweets was also held, providing an opportunity to hear about the evacuees’ lives and the support they need, to exchange information with other residents, and to get together and relax.

AAR has been involved in soup kitchens, provision of relief supplies, and support for foreign residents in Japan since immediately after the earthquake. As the evacuation period continues to lengthen, we will continue to support the victims while taking care of their health and well-being.

An acupuncture and moxibustion massage treatment

People relaxing with coffee and sweets

Links:

AAR English website

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