Tohoku

Project period: October 2019－

Area: Miyagi prefecture

Partnership with Sendai Kodomo Shokudo

From May 1^st, JEN has formed a partnership with Sendai Kodomo Shokudo, an organization that provides “Children’s Dining Halls” within the Miyagi prefecture, and has supported the delivery of groceries to 50 single parent households, and a letter exchange project for children who had participated in the Children’s Dining Hall in the Miyagi Prefecture. Additionally, JEN has been providing support for the strengthening of the organizational foundations of Sendai Kodomo Shokudo, as it directly leads to a deeper understanding of what kind of support is needed in the area, a greater distribution of support, and the construction of a system that ensures sufficient circulation of support.

Introduction of Partner

Sendai Kodomo Shokudo

Sendai Kodomo Shokudo’s support efforts have reached not only the temples, farms, companies, individuals, and children within the Miyagi Prefecture, but also those outside of the prefecture through partnerships with Children’s Dining Halls, companies, and poverty support organizations all throughout Japan. Connections like these play a crucial role in creating and expanding efforts that help children foster a sense of belonging in their respective communities, and also provide support for single parents and their households.

Sendai Kodomo Shokudo Facebook

Support activities in Marumori Town, Miyagi Prefecture(October 2019- March 2021)

In October 18, 2019, JEN started support activities in Marumori Town, Miyagi Prefecture, where Typhoon Hagibis in the first year of Reiwa caused severe damage. In the first phase, we provided operational support for the Marumori Town Disaster Volunteer Center (Marumori Town Disaster VC) in order to quickly support cleaning of the damaged houses from typhoon. In the second phase from April 2020, we held study sessions on disaster prevention or measures against Covid-19, and provided support for consultation with residents' organizations and government agencies so that Marumori Town could be better prepared for future disasters.

Typhoon Hagibis Emergency Support: Initial Response Period: Marumori-machi Disaster Recovery Support Project: October 2019-April 2020

Typhoon Hagibis caused tremendous damage to Marumori-machi, Miyagi Prefecture, and more than 1,000 households suffered flood damage above and below the floor. Under such circumstances, in order for the residents to return to their daily lives, they needed volunteers to help remove mud out of houses and clean the houses. Therefore, Jen supported the establishment and operation of Marumori-machi Disaster Volunteer Center (Disaster VC) with Marumori-machi Council of Social Welfare and other support organizations.
JEN assigned a staff member to the center, and was in charge of coordinating and conducting field surveys to dispatch volunteers to households in response to requests from the affected people for mud removal and cleaning.
The center closed on April 30, 2020. JEN staff contributed to improving the living environment of about 900 requests. In consideration of the effects of global warming, it is important to prepare for future sediment and water damage. Therefore training on disaster prevention and reduction and environmental protection was conducted in cooperation with local residents, Marumori Town Hall and self-government organizations.
198 people (123 men, 73 women) participated in the training by April 30.

Support activities in Marumori-machi, Miyagi Prefecture

Typhoon Hagibis Emergency Support：Reconstruction period：Marumori-machi Disaster Recovery Support Project：May 2020 to present

Marumori-machi still has more than 900 household evacuees at home and more than 270 household evacuees in temporary housing, but many of the residents are worried about reconstructing houses and stressed due to refraining from going out in COVID-19.
They are also anxious about complex disaster of coronavirus and typhoon, since flood season is coming soon.
In order to eliminate such anxiety of the residents, it is important to support them so that they can work together and solve life problems. Therefore, JEN carries out training on complex disaster countermeasures to gain knowledge about coronavirus and disaster prevention. In addition, JEN also supports the capacity building of community groups for activities to help each other among residents, such as food delivery to evacuees at home and forest protection activities for disaster reduction.

Activity record
October 16 to October 31 2019	● Two initial survey members dispatched to Marumori-machi ● Marumori-machi Disaster Volunteer Center (Disaster VC) setup and management support
November 2019	● “Livelihood Reconstruction Support Project for the affected people in Marumori-machi” centered on disaster VC management and disaster prevention and reduction/environmental protection training with the aim of improving resilience to disasters in Marumori-machi.
December 2019	● Continuing disaster VC operation support ● Conducting hearings for disaster prevention and reduction/environmental protection training planning ● Cooperating with Yomoyama Company to provide counseling support on the lives of the affected people
January 2020	● Support for "Fukumaneki Tour" to contribute to the local economy of Marumori-machi ● Implementation of "Koya district disaster prevention review meeting" aiming at improvement of disaster prevention system in Koya district, Marumori-machi
February 2020	● Implementation of a "Genki seed sowing study group" that contributes to the reconstruction of the Ouchi district, Marumori-machi ● Implementation of "Typhoon Hagidis disaster review meeting" in Tateyama and other areas, Marumori-machi ● Implementation of a "Review meeting on disaster prevention and reconstruction process" by women in Marumori-machi
March 2020	● Operation support of disaster VC and coordination support of cleaning activities by residents ● Consultation support of project operation management and survey methodologies for residents’ organization
April 2020	● Three online learning sessions for residents in the entire Marumori-machi 1. Learning session by a social worker related to care of the affected people (listening and case management) 2. Learning session by a doctor on coronavirus infection and mental and physical care 3. Disaster prevention learning session about evacuation behavior under coronavirus infectious disease epidemic
May 2020	● Online learning session on complex disasters and disaster prevention
June 2020	● Workshop on evacuation under Covid-19 pandemic ：4 times (For residents, staff of government offices and self-governing bodies)
July 2020	● Workshop on evacuation under Covid-19 pandemic ：5 times (For residents, staff of government offices and self-governing bodies) ● Donation of sanitary supplies (non-contact thermometer, etc.) to prepare for complex disasters
August 2020	● Workshop on evacuation under Covid-19 pandemic ：2 times (For residents, staff of government offices and self-governing bodies)
September 2020	● Workshop on evacuation under Covid-19 pandemic ：2 times (For residents, staff of government offices and self-governing bodies, and nursery schools) ● Donation of sanitary equipment (Cardboard bed etc.) to prepare for complex disasters ● Creation and distribution of disaster prevention pamphlets in foreign languages (English, Vietnamese, Indonesian) and Japanese
October 2020	● Workshop on evacuation under Covid-19 pandemic ：3 times (For residents, staff of government offices and self-governing bodies, and nursery schools) ● Conducting a questionnaire survey of evaluation of beneficiaries in Marumori town for life reconstruction support project
November to December 2020	● Advice on disaster prevention plans for nursery schools and guidelines for Covid-19 countermeasures ● Hearing activities from people with special needs and their families
January to March 2021	● Discussions with government agencies and residents' organization on evacuation of people with special needs ● Parent-child workshop on disaster prevention ● Donation of teaching materials