On
February 5th, 2012, a handcraft class was held at Uchihibiki
temporary housing complex in Higashi-Matsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture, where
participants created dolls of dragons and jizo (stone statues) with old pieces
of fabric. What initiated the idea were the suspended Hina dolls that were displayed
inside a meeting room, which had been made by Ms. Kuniko NINOMIYA, a resident
of the temporary housing complex. Some of the residents there had wanted Ms.
NINOMIYA to teach them how to make dolls so that they can sell them and gain some
sort of income, but they had not been able to do so because they had no access
to necessary materials. However, a businessperson who happened to visit the
facility with AAR Japan staff members proposed to support their sales idea,
which prompted AAR Japan to provide materials such as scissors and old pieces
of fabric that had been donated by our supporters. This led to the realization
of the first handcraft class.
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| February 5th, 2012 – The suspended Hina dolls made by Ms. NINOMIYA. The variety of decorations such as goldfish and flowers look gorgeous. (Uchihibiki temporary housing, Higashi-Matsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture) |
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| February 5th, 2012 – People who took part in the doll-making. Pictured in the back row, third from the left is Ms. Kuniko NINOMIYA, who served as the teacher. (Pictured on the far right in the front row is Yumi KUSAKA of AAR Japan Sendai Office) |
An Opportunity to Interact with Residents
of Temporary Housing Complexes in Other Areas
It
is Ms. Kimie KATAOKA, the director of Naruse
Support Center of the social welfare council of Higashi-Matsushima City,
who supports the residents of Uchihibiki temporary housing complex. Ms. Hisae YAMASHITA,
a representative of Kitakami-Tonbodama
Club, had stood by Kitakami temporary housing complex in Ishinomaki City ever
since the earthquake. AAR Japan received her concern that although she had wanted
the residents in the Kitakami temporary housing complex to participate in
doll-making, unfortunately, they had no instructor to teach them. It takes
approximately an hour to get from one housing to the other, which isn't too
close. When we asked her about possibly holding a joint handcraft class, she willingly
replied, “There had not been interaction between the temporary housing
complexes, so this sounds like a brilliant idea!” Under such cooperation, a
class to make suspended Hina dolls was successfully held on March 8th.
The goal of this event was for each participant to complete a Daruma doll that
will be used as decoration for the suspended Hina dolls.
On the day of the event, the residents of the Uchihibiki temporary housing complex, led by Ms. NINOMIYA, had cut pieces of fabric, prepared patterns for the dolls, and made instructions beforehand, so each person succeeded in completing at least one Daruma doll, and some as many as three. In addition, the residents of the two housing complexes exchanged information on what kind of handcraft they make at their respective facilities, as those from the Kitakami temporary housing complex exhibited their decorations made of origami and friendship bracelets.
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| March 8th, 2012 – Ms. NINOMIYA (left) making Daruma dolls along with residents of the Kitakami temporary housing complex in Ishinomaki City. (Uchihibiki temporary housing, Higashi-Matsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture) |
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| The handmade friendship bracelets with Tonbodama, created at the Kitakami temporary housing complex. |
Residents
of both housing complexes seemed to have spent plenty of quality time together,
having been able to interact with people from other areas. The relation is
expected to deepen much more in the future. For example, one resident of Higashi-Matsushima
saw the friendship bracelet of a resident of Kitakami and said, “I would love
to make one of those too” which brought about a warm reply, “I hope you will
spare the time to come to our housing complex!”
Furthermore,
conversation like the following was also heard: as one resident said, “As for
me, my house and everything I owned were swept away by the tsunami. How about
you?” “Likewise, but aren't we lucky to have survived?” I believe that since they
are disaster victims themselves, they were able to share their sentiments and
have a deeper sense of empathy towards each other.
Many living in temporary housing had lost their families and friends in the earthquake. In order to alleviate their desolation and create an opportunity where they can interact, AAR Japan will continue to strive to support those affected by the disaster to fulfilling “what they want to do”.
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| March 8th, 2012 – Handcrafts that the residents of the Uchihibiki temporary housing complex made. (Uchihibiki temporary housing complex, Higashi-Matsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture) |
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| March 8th, 2012 – During lunchtime, people took a break and ate dishes that were warm-heartedly prepared by the residents of the Uchihibiki temporary housing complex. |
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| March 8th, 2012 – Ms. NINOMIYA, who served as the instructor, is pictured in front of the suspended Hina dolls that she made herself. (Photo credit: GlobalGiving) |
| Shot and edited by Global Giving |
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Yumi
KUSAKA, AAR Japan Sendai Office
She has worked at the Sendai Office since September
2011. After graduating from university, she worked for private companies but
later made a transition to AAR JAPAN, seeking s job that directly deals with
people. (from Miyagi Prefecture) |
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