Information Gathering and Assistance Start in Turkey, Pakistan and Japan (updated on March 26h)

In Turkey where AAR Japan has been active with a Syrian refugees assistance program, COVID-19 infection cases reached 3,629 (Source: Turkish Ministry of Health, as of March 26th) and the government has issued a request for people to stay home. In response to this situation, AAR Japan started to provide information for refugees by phone or via social media about disease prevention and what to do in cases of suspected infection. We also plan to launch support measures for refugees including the provision of masks and sanitizers, and helping with rent payments.
COVID-19 is also spreading in Pakistan where 1,235 people have been reported as infected (Source: Government of Pakistan, as of March 27th). AAR Japan has started to gather information from local schools where they run hygiene improvement programs on toilet facilities and wells, so as to provide effective support to those schools by launching sanitation awareness campaigns such as teaching pupils how to wash hands, and helping with the supply of soaps, sanitizers and other hygiene products.

In Japan, AAR Japan is arranging for the provision of sanitation goods to people with disabilities and to those for whom it is extremely difficult to obtain these necessities. Disability support organizations have expressed concerns about the lack of access to disability-friendly computer devices at home as more people are being encouraged to work from home, which impedes communication and collaboration with their members or with other organizations. Some have also pointed out limited access to information on infection prevention and related policy measures, as information and policies from the government are not available on media that are accessible to people with different types of disabilities. AAR Japan, in cooperation with disability support organizations, is exploring possible ways to address these problems through such efforts as helping to organize suitable home working environments.


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Tajikistan: Inclusive Education Project (3rd Phase) in Hissar City begins

In Tajikistan, the conventional view that “children with disabilities should receive their education at specially established boarding schools” is deeply rooted.  Coupled with existing discrimination and prejudice against disabilities, many children with disabilities have no choice but to stay home, deprived of opportunities to go to even a school for special needs.

In response, since 2014, AAR Japan’s Tajikistan Office has been pursuing the inclusive education project (Note) which aims to improve the learning environment for children with disabilities by establishing schools that meet the various needs of children, including those with disabilities. For the first three years, the project was conducted in the capital city of Dushanbe. Since 2017 it has been implemented in the city of Hissar, 25 kilometres west of the capital, where it is said that there is a higher concentration of children with disabilities than in surrounding areas. 

Note:  Inclusive education is education accessible to all children regardless of disabilities (with or without), race and language, carried out through appropriate classrooms, learning facilities and educational frameworks.

School teachers participating in a group activity at the teacher training seminar.

Bangladesh: Offering a Comfortable Space for Women and Children

As of September, 2019, more than 910,000 refugees from Rakhine State, in the western part of Myanmar, live in Cox’s Bazar Province, which is located in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. Since the mass human exodus in August 2017, the most vulnerable people, particularly women and children, are living a perilous life that is fraught with fear. For example, some people report that they can never feel secure, not even in their temporary accommodation, because they cannot expect to have their privacy protected when the refugee camp is so overcrowded with shelters. To make matters worse, traffickers of women and children, who try to lure them into taking up a “well-paid” job outside the camp or abroad, are rampant in refugee camps. Moreover, in refugee communities, where men play a dominant role under the patriarchal norms, domestic violence and abuse are seldom taken seriously, and as a result, gender-based violence never ceases to exist.

In collaboration with our local partner “NGO Forum for Public Health”, since November 2018, AAR Japan has been running four facilities to allow women and children to live in peace – two facilities for CFS (Children Friendly Space) and two facilities for WFS (Women Friendly Space).

A play featuring human trafficking performed on Universal Children’s Day (November 20th, 2019) at CFS, in the Alikhali camp

Support for victims of Typhoon Hagibis (2019): Steady progress for reconstruction

Vehicle handover ceremony at the social welfare corporation “Work Center Mugi” in Sukagawa, Fukushima prefecture on December 12, 2019. Ms.Matsuo from IMC(right) and Mr.Shigemasa Aoki from “Gospel Association”.

AAR Japan [Association for Aid and Relief, Japan] currently supports 11 social welfare facilities in Miyagi, Fukushima, Nagano and Tochigi prefectures where affected by the Super Typhoon Hagibis that hit main island of Japan on October 12, 2019. We provide furniture, fixtures, and equipment for restarting operations, and support building repairs as well.

Sudan: Partnering with Locals to find Sanitation Solutions in Sudan

From February 2016 to March 2019, AAR Japan worked to install water supply equipment in the Reefi Aroma locality of Kassala State, 500km east of the capital Khartoum, in Sudan. The aim was to increase the use of toilets, and enact waste management countermeasures. Akemi KITA, who oversees activities in Sudan, sent this report from the Tokyo office on the actions taken and their results.

Dramatically reducing time needed to fetch water

In 2014, only 13.1% of the Kassala state population had access to safe water; this was strikingly low compared to 68.1% for all of Sudan. Within this state, in the Reefi Aroma locality, AAR Japan installed water supply equipment; including water tanks, pipes, and water stations in seven locations across six villages.

Water supply equipment built by AAR Japan was handed over to the local government at a Handover Ceremony. (July 2017)

Turkey: Diversified Aid to Support the Lives of Refugees in the City

Nine years have passed since the Syrian conflict started in March 2011. The number of Syrian refugees who have fled to Turkey (the neighboring country) and who are unclear if and when they will be able to return home has exceeded 3.6 million people (as of August 2019) and continues to rise. Since the capacity of refugee camps run by the Turkish government is limited, about 95% of the refugees live in cities or villages.

Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, attracts the largest number of Syrian refugees in the nation as refugees seek better jobs and quality of life. There are over half a million registered refugees in Istanbul. AAR Japan is active in the Esenyurt District, which is a district with one of the lowest rents amongst the cities and attracts many refugees. At the Esenyurt District, there are many people who face difficulties in terms of illness, disability, employment, children's education, and the economy. Sawako Sakagami from the AAR Japan’s Tokyo office reports on AAR Japan’s activities in the Esenyurt District.

We enjoyed face painting at the picnic (August 2018)

Uganda：Staying close to every landmine survivor and supporting each other within the community

The support project that AAR Japan conducts in the East African country of Uganda helps landmine survivors wear their prosthetic legs. This support plan makes a difference for those people whose lives were changed when they lost their limbs due to landmines.

What more did AAR Japan do to support landmine survivors in the community? Aya FUJITA, AAR Japan staff member in Uganda, reports.

A new life starts today

Ms. Jetress Biira, feeling nervous, but showing us a smile at the moment when she puts on her prosthetic leg for the first time (March, 21, 2019 in Kasese District, Uganda)