Taylor Anderson Reading Corner Dedication – Ishinomaki
Posted: September 15, 2011 Filed under: Ishinomaki, Tohoku Relief 2 Comments
September 6, 2011 – Mangokuura Elementary School – Such an amazing reception and dedication ceremony for Taylor Anderson and her Reading Corners. A BIG THANKS to the Anderson Family for inviting me to be a part of it. Today, the first reading corner was given to Mangokuura E.S. (one of Taylor’s schools). The dedication ceremony was packed full of friends, family, students, ALTs, news cameras, and city employees. There were many heart felt speeches, and even a couple of Taylor’s elementary school kids got up and made some speeches to honor Taylor in English! It was a really cool moment in the ceremony.
The reading corners are amazing, and Endo-san (the builder) is truly an amazing human being. Having lost his own children in the tsunami, it was so inspirational to hear him speak, and see how important it was for him to work with the Andersons in building Taylor’s Reading Corners. Definitely a soft spoken man with a heart of gold. I was so glad to meet him, and was amazed with his wood working ability.
All and all, an awesome day. From spending time with the Andersons to meeting all these amazing people who are doing great things in the relief efforts right now. It almost felt like a reunion of sorts. Many of the guests were people I had already met through e-mail exchanges, so it was nice to finally put faces to the names. Also got to catch up with my buddy Michael Maher King which is always a pleasure (and we are going to miss him so much). Another BIG THANKS to the Andersons and Kat Sheu for making the past 2 days so awesome. We look forward to continuing working with the Anderson Family, and will continue to support and spread the word on Taylor’s Fund. They are really doing amazing things in Tohoku right now, and it has been such an inspiration getting to know them/working with them.
– Paul
The Fruit Tree Project w/ The Andersons! – Ishinomaki, Day 21/22
Posted: September 13, 2011 Filed under: Ishinomaki, The Fruit Tree Project, Tohoku Relief Leave a comment
September 5, 2011 – A long but awesome day down in Ishinomaki with the Anderson family! It was so nice to finally meet them in person, and we are so glad they could come around with us today to see what The Fruit Tree Project is all about. We started loading fruit at about 9a.m. from Moriya Fruits, then started making our rounds to the shelters in the Ishinomaki area.
The shelter numbers have dropped significantly since we were last down there, but there are still so many people who haven’t made it out yet. As we approach the 6 month mark since the disaster, it really hits you hard to see the many people still living in shelters and uncertain about their future. We just really hope people in Japan and all over the world don’t forget about these people, and continue to help them get back on their feet.
It was definitely a long/busy day, but it felt so great to be back out in Ishinomaki, especially with the Andersons and Kat. We got to chat with so many people along the way, and also got to play with some kids in the afternoon, which is always fun! In total we delivered ~1,233 items of fruit to 16 shelters! Another BIG THANKS to the Andersons for everything they are doing for Japan right now, and for all the love and support they have given us! Also to the lovely Kat Sheu for everything she has done in the relief efforts, as well as volunteerAKITA. We will definitely miss her and wish her the best in the future!
All in all, it was a great day! We accomplished so much, and we definitely reached out to a lot of people, which is what’s most important.
September 6, 2011 – Yesterday was a bit hectic, so we were not able to deliver to Hirobuchi ES (a small shelter outside of central Ishinomaki). After an amazing reception/ceremony for Taylor’s Reading Corners, I stopped by Hirobuchi on the way back to Akita with enough fruit to last them through the week (2 huge watermelons, 150 mikans, and 48 pears!) The folks there are the sweetest people ever, and are always very grateful for our visits. We hope to get back there soon.
– Paul & Minami
The Fruit Tree Project – Ishinomaki, Day 19/20
Posted: August 16, 2011 Filed under: From the Front Lines, Ishinomaki, The Fruit Tree Project, Tohoku Relief Leave a comment
Kat Shooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
July 23, 2011 – A big thanks to our awesome friend Kat down in Ishinomaki who has been helping us out HUGE and made a delivery to a smaller shelter near her apt. Kat delivered 50 peaches and 74 bananas to a shelter located outside of central Ishinomaki that has not been getting as much relief help as other shelters. We are glad to provide them with some fruit and appreciate Kat giving us a heads up on their situation out there. We look forward to getting back there soon and hope to continue helping them out as much as we can.
July 30, 2011 – With the summer months being so busy here in Akita, we have been doing our best to keep fruit moving into the communities. We are happy to be able to provide fruit for the LOVE KOGANEHAMA event which takes place every Saturday, and hope to continue supporting and providing fruit for them on a regular basis. This weekend, we supplied them with 962 bananas and 665 oranges. The event provides food and other relief supplies to about 300 people, and we definitely look forward to working with them in the future.
– Paul
The Fruit Tree Project – Ishinomaki, Day 18
Posted: July 20, 2011 Filed under: From the Front Lines, Ishinomaki, The Fruit Tree Project, Tohoku Relief Leave a comment
Looking down along the coast
July 15, 2011 – Today I was off work, so I headed down to Ishinomaki to deliver some fruit. It was just a quick little day trip, but I’m so glad I made it down. Right now the weather in Japan is insanely hot and humid. It was really heartbreaking to see everyone still living in the shelters under these conditions. All of the shelters had many fans running, but it was still just pushing around the hot/humid air. Today I visited 5 shelters. 4 of them we have delivered to before, but the 5th shelter was new. Everyone knew we were coming and many remembered my name and our organization “volunteerAKITA”, so that was nice. The first 4 deliveries were quick and easy. As always, they were extremely grateful, and said they really appreciate fruit because they only get it on occasion.
Mr.Moriya (the nicest guy in the world)
I headed back to Moriya fruits to pick up more fruit for the last shelter located west of Ishinomaki. It’s actually right along the road I take to get back to Akita so it was really convenient. Since the shelter is located outside of central Ishinomaki, they haven’t been getting as much relief as other shelters. Kat Sheu, an ALT in Ishinomaki lives near the shelter and tipped us off on their situation and asked us to get them some fruit. The folks there were such AMAZING people. They were so kind and grateful for the fruit. The shelter houses about 46 people, so I bought enough for each to have an apple and an orange. I also got to chat with them for awhile, and talk to them about some other needs they have. Before I left, they brought me 4 bags of food! I obviously could not take it from them, but they forced it on me! In the bags were tons of bread loafs and onigiris. This was the stuff they ate every day for their meals, and you could tell that people were sick of eating it. I thanked them for the food and told them I would be in touch. Our plan is to get Kat some money so she can run more fruit to them next week.
The situation right now in Ishinomaki hasn’t changed much. No one has even heard of a potential move in date to the temporary housing, and people have said that the city has fallen behind in building the temporary housing. Right now I’m just hoping for the best for these folks stuck in the shelters, and hope we can continue to help as many people as possible, especially through this intense summer weather.
– Paul
Apples packed in cooler boxes!!! Niiiiiiiiiice.
The Fruit Tree Project – Ishinomaki, Day 16/17
Posted: July 15, 2011 Filed under: From the Front Lines, Ishinomaki, The Fruit Tree Project, Tohoku Relief Leave a commentJuly 7, 2011 and July 11, 2011 – First off a BIG OTSUKARE to Jane Suh, our awesome new friend down in Ishinomaki. Jane is also teaching English through the JET program, and we got connected to her through Andy Anderson. Jane has been a huge help to us along with another ALT, Kat, and they have both been super active with the relief efforts going on right now! (They are amazing!) Earlier in the week I transfered some money to Jane so she could get some smaller deliveries out during the week. First she took 144 peaches to 2 shelters in the Ishinomaki area. Peaches are GREAT, and everyone is always excited to receive them!
Next, Jane delivered 5 cases of bananas (~370 bananas) to her Junior High School. Since the tsunami, school lunches haven’t been the same, especially in the Ishinomaki area, so it was nice that she was able to bring fruit in for all the students, and we were definitely excited to hear about it. This delivery is only the second time our fruit has made it into the schools. Some schools don’t allow it due to the strict regulations on student lunches, so we were glad to hear that Jane could provide fruit for them!
Thanks again Jane! You ROCK!
– Paul
volunteerAKITA 