Sept. 23 - Today's guest blogger is Richard Mei from the Embassy's Cultural Affairs Section.
Jim
Volunteers Still Needed Six Months after Tohoku Disasters
That's me (standing) working on some shelves.
Soon after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, I thought about the architect Shigeru Ban, who has helped displaced persons all over the world following natural disasters. His forte is using organic materials to build sturdy, temporary housing. In the case of the disasters that hit Tohoku, he and his architects have provided paper tubes and curtains to act as dividers so that displaced persons living in large, open indoor spaces could at least have some privacy.
A monetary contribution I sent was accompanied by a message offering to volunteer if there was ever an opportunity to help build homes. Ban's Voluntary Architects Network (VAN) contacted me in August about its plan to build new temporary homes.
We built 140 shelving units while I was there.
Arriving in Onagawa-cho in Miyagi Prefecture on September 4, my wife, son and I got a glimpse of the town's total devastation before joining 16 other volunteers, mostly university and graduate students, at the elementary school where they were staying alongside dozens of still displaced families.
The next morning, we headed off together to the work site - a baseball field, part of a sports complex on a hill that was spared from the town's destruction. A separate sports field already had about 100 temporary single-story temporary homes where people had been living for several months. In the huge gymnasium, another 100+ families still lived with just paper tubes and curtains separating their living areas.
Temporary housing units made by the volunteer network of architect Shigeru Ban
Because of the scarcity of flat land, the plan devised by VAN is to construct two- and three-story homes out of shipping containers to accommodate 189 families. While professional construction workers put in place the metal containers, plumbing and electricity, we went about building shelves that will eventually go into these homes.
Feedback from people living in temporary housing stressed the need for storage space to put away personal belongings that cluttered their already tight quarters. In our two days of work over the Labor Day weekend, we assembled and painted 140 shelving units.
The Onagawa-cho temporary housing project will continue at least into November, with the addition of a community center, library and market space. VAN welcomes new volunteers as its project continues, and my family and I intend to return in the fall. Why don’t you join us? (Contact me by e-mail here.)
Richard Mei
Comments Welcome!