Jonet Menu

What is Miyagi-Jonet?

MIYAGI JO-NET (Miyagi Women’s Support Network) is a non-profit organisation supporting women in the Tohoku area that was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. We aim to connect the women in the affected areas with women and supporters from around Japan and the world. To this end, we are cooperating with various other women’s and relief organisations. Our many projects are designed to help women individually in reconstructing their lives and livelihoods. We thereby hope to brighten their everyday a little bit. We also collect relief/support goods and other donations to distribute them among the women and families affected by the disaster. Through regular meetings, our ‘salons,’ and consultations, we gain insight into women’s needs and concerns, and propose adequate measures to local and regional administrations.

Many of Miyagi Jonet’s members are women affected themselves by the disaster.


日本語 JAPANESE

29 Nov 2011

Kesennuma’s here and now


We delivered clothes and underwear, etc., to areas that have not yet received aid supplies, and on the way home I gave a tour of Kesennuma.

Kesennuma Station

 
 
A corner of someone’s home
 
The fish market with flags fluttering
 

 

Sunken land. The border between land and sea has become indiscernible.

The painstaking volunteer operation to clean up debris

  
Near temporary housing

 
The state of the area in which temporary housing residents live

 
Work on the line is making headway.

 
All that remains is this vault.

 

A vehicle trapped right under a ship

 

 
“Oikawa Jeans” is doing their bit!
This photo was taken from inside the car, but it is easier to see so I have changed the previous image for this.






Rotary of compassion


We received some handmade Christmas decorations from GAS SMR of Garbagnate Milanese in Milan, Italy who have been active in providing aid for employment and corporate reconstruction via Jonet.
For me, Christmas = a cake topped with Santa + a turkey for Dad to carve.
However, as we laid out each of the decorations packed into the envelope, we all - men and women alike – were reminded of the spirit of a European Christmas full of wishes for happiness.
 

    

 

At the Knitting Grannies Project, we received these thoughtful footwarmers for new mothers to prevent their feet from getting cold, from another old lady.

Seeing this kind of interaction gives me the impression that Jonet forms a rotary connecting both survivors of the disaster and the people who support them.
It makes me so happy.
Thank you!!

 
We received an aid delivery of fabrics and the parcel was covered in various German stamps.
Dividing up the supplies that everyone sends us, preparing for salon events, crushing empty cans...
The colourful stamps momentarily transported us from our work to another world.


27 Nov 2011

The Neighbourhood Salon

 
Christmas decorations made from cork. Once we got started making these, so many ideas began to flow that we thought we might never finish.

 
The main event at the salon was facials. We learned about make-up removal, face-washing, and how to apply foundation.

 
During the Q&A session, we learned simple ways to relieve various concerns, such as swollen calves and stiff shoulders.

 
These accessory cases embroidered with flowery designs were kindly made and sent to us by the ladies of the ‘handmade support team.’
Everyone was surprised to discover inside an array of gifts, including kale juice, offered as a means to make up for a lack of vegetable intake, hair-care sets, basic make-up kits, face wash, and so on.

Half of the participants today have been unable to receive official aid since the immediate aftermath of the disaster, because they moved into civilian housing after their own homes were damaged or destroyed in the tsunami.
Many a time, we have spoken directly to people in the area and thought that we would certainly like to open a Jonet salon here, but since there was no other option but to use one of the extremely small, private rooms, we let the idea pass.
This time, we grabbed the chance to open a salon in a private home, and at the last minute, we were able to rent out the assembly hall of the temporary housing.
The other half of the participants saw the residents of civilian housing as having things somewhat easier, and tended to put a distance between their two groups.
In the middle of our preparations for the salon, aid goods arrived for all of those living in temporary housing.
We then learned that goods frequently arrive for the temporary housing residents.
While we were proceeding with the salon, capturing all of the women’s hearts with facials, handicrafts, and makeovers, one participant began to open up about her innermost feelings.
A number of other women then spoke about that day, leading one member to suggest, “Today has been really enjoyable, hasn’t it? What do you think about keeping up this kind of social activity after today? I would really like Jonet to visit us again.”
We were extremely happy to hear this. Perhaps the rifts that these groups created between themselves will be bridged. 
  
 

Minamisanriku

 
A new ramen shop set up at the place where the town office was 
before the disaster struck.

 
The shop, Omoriya, has begun selling lunchboxes prepared by people from the nearby temporary housing. We heard that people working in the vicinity of the shop come to buy them.

 
Inside the Omoriya shop

 
Mountains of empty paint tins

 
A pre-fab work station has been constructed, allowing boat repairs to progress. 

 
Benches and tables made by the 5th term support team from Keio University.

 
Inside a bio-toilet

 
A washing area set up near the volunteer centre had been left in place. 



Around Ogawa Elementary School

 
The debris around the school was removed and piled up, then that debris broken up into small pieces. The original road was uncovered (on right in photo) next to the road that had been created for the work vehicle. It is now a two-lane road, including lay-bys at intervals along the way. 

 
Mud got stuck in the speaker and grass grew. In the late autumn it withered. 

 

 
The mountain of debris has gone and the hill beside Ogawa elementary school is now visible 

 
The location of the memorial changed and a new statue of a mother and child has been placed there

 
Message left in front of the memorial from the parents  

 
View from the window of the doctor’s office  

 
It has become cold.
Maybe it’s just me, but the autumn leaves don’t look beautiful this year.

 
At the very mouth of Kitakami River. Straight ahead is the Pacific Ocean. 

 
Debris near the mouth of Kitakami River is still visible.

 
Debris has been cleared away here and land leveling has begun.