From Uwajima to Noto - A week's worth of support activities (March 10-13, 2025 and March 14-16, 2025)
宇和島NPOセンター| Date | March 10th to 13th and March 14th to 16th, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Location | Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture |
| Organizer | Uwajima NPO Center / Disaster NPO Uwajima 7-7 |
| Activity details | Cooking meals, laying tarps, removing warehouses, maintaining fields, supporting children, etc. |
| cooperation | The Nippon Foundation |
Review of the week of Noto Support (overall impressions)
Thoughts from Uwajima: After Supporting Noto
The week began with a "take care" as we headed off to Oku-Noto, seeing each other off in the town of Uwajima.
At first, I was a bit worried - I would be coming into contact with the reality of the disaster area, working in the snow, and wondering whether I would really be able to help anyone there.
But the moment the local people greeted us with smiles and said, "Thank you for coming," everything changed.
On the first day of the soup distribution, some people said that the hot pork soup warmed their hearts.
When we handed out tofu hamburgers at a children's club, the children cheered, "I want to eat it again!" I will never forget the sight of an elderly woman holding a scarf and holding it close to her chest, saying, "This is a treasure."
The view of the town from a roof covered with a blue tarp.
The feeling of my palms clearing away the rubble,
The weight of the shovel when you put it in the field,
Every day, they taught me that all of these tasks are not just chores, but "steps toward restoring people's lives."
And we were able to successfully "deliver" the messages and gifts entrusted to us from Uwajima. These were not just supplies, but intangible, precious gifts that conveyed the message that "there is someone here who cares about you."
The week went by in a flash, but during these seven days we feel like we were able to experience with our own hands and hearts the meaning of the word "support."
With so many "thank yous" in my heart, I began to prepare in my mind to go again.
📅 March 11th (Tuesday) - First day of departure and support
・5 people leave for Wajima City / Cook 50 bento meals (shrimp shumai, fried chicken, etc.)
・Delivering scarves and bags from Uwajima to the Social Welfare Council
📅 March 12th (Wednesday) - Start of support for children's clubs and outdoor work
・Provided about 100 meals of curry rice and tofu hamburger to children's clubs. ・Message from Uwatsu Children's Cafeteria and homemade sweets were also distributed.
The men in the workforce worked with the disaster NGO Yui to remove the soil that had flowed into the fields.
📅 Thursday, March 13 Volunteers on their way home, pray for silence, and try roof work
・Three volunteers return home
- Re-covering blue tarps
・First attempt at roof work under the guidance of disaster relief team TEAM-B-DASH
・The view from the roof reveals the devastation caused by the earthquake
📅 March 14th (Fri) Soup distribution, second day of blue tarp distribution, volunteers join
・Soup for 100 meals
- Second house blue tarp installation / removal and reuse of roof tiles
・Volunteers from Uwajima City joined us at the Wajima City Hall parking lot.
📅 March 15th (Saturday) Suzu City and Wajima City teams depart to dismantle the warehouse
・Suzu City team: held salon activities ・Wajima City team: cooked 100 meals for the volunteer center ・Outdoor work team demolished the warehouse, separated belongings, stored building materials, organized the demolition site and prepared for removal ・Completed without any injuries, creating a sense of unity
📅 March 16th (Sunday) Last day
・Give thanks and report to the Wajima City Social Welfare Council ・Return to Uwajima
