Action Plan under Recovery Assistance Project in 2013

In the city of Ishinomaki, the population started declining before the earthquake. JEN is trying to improve living conditions in this community. In particular, it has been trying to help children in a number of different ways, so the leaders of tomorrow have access to educational opportunities.

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Improvements for Schools
UNIQLO volunteers participated in 12 different educational activities for 1,392 children at five quake-damaged schools. These facilities were able to resume classes, swimming lessons and library sessions due to these initiatives. UNIQLO volunteers also reduced the teachers' workloads by roughly 180 hours by cleaning about 400 meters of drainage gutters and helping to shift school operations to new buildings. This gave the teachers more time with their students.

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Implementation of the "Student-led Recovery Plan"
UNIQLO is now supporting a recovery project run by students from Kadonowaki Junior High School. Roughly 1,200 project participants -- including 308 from this junior high school -- created 22 flower beds. This initiative gave students the chance to help the community while interacting socially. Other initiatives included the Hometown Children's College and dance lessons for children. A total of 348 children participated in these activities.

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Other initiatives included the Hometown Children's College and dance lessons for children. A total of 348 children participated, and we heard they enjoyed it. We gave them an opportunity to exercise, which is key to one's psychological well-being.

Episodes

Kadonowaki Junior High School: "Student-led Recovery Plan"

The students suggested building new flower beds because their old school had been destroyed by fire. The disaster had also stripped their city of color, so the students were happy to see the return of natural vegetation. The flower beds, dubbed the "Flowerbeds of Friendship," bloomed in April. In the summer, 148 junior high school students from Tochigi prefecture visited and engaged in activities with students from Kadonowaki Junior High School.
In the autumn, UNIQLO received a collection of essays full of warm memories. The student who first suggested the project wrote that "the blooming flowers brought smiles to the faces of various people. It was fun talking with the students from Tochigi. I want a lot of people to visit the city, so it overflows with smiles."

Hometown Children's College

UNIQLO held a hands-on fishing event in Ishinomaki's Yagawahama area and asked participants what made them proud about Ishinomaki. "There is a lot of amazing fish," said one person. "The fishermen are so cool." Another individual noted that "the place is alive with abundant nature," adding that "shellfish can be cultivated."
Many children are still waiting to return the seashore, the students in Yagawahama have also ready started visiting the area's beautiful coastal waters.

Future Plans

In the third year of the UNIQLO Recovery Assistance Project, we will continue to offer "Ishinomaki: City of Hope and Dreams" programs to support children and achieve our objectives.

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We will continue to support schools and offer other assistance because on educational needs in Ishinomaki.
Needs change in response to the situation on the ground. The PTA has started to help maintain and repair school buildings. We will closely monitor the situation and change our support as needed. We would especially like to support PTAs and other community groups to systematically improve local activities.

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We will implement our "Hometown Children's College" project for children in the city of Ishinomaki from April to October.
We plan to implement a series of eight hands-on events that will allow children to have fun, learn about Ishinomaki and gain an appreciation of their hometown's merits. By taking pride in their city, children will overcome the disaster and embrace their hopes and dreams. The program will be developed with the lifelong learning department of the Ishinomaki Board of Education.

Determination

Three years have passed since the disaster, but recovery projects are progressing slowly. As a result, individual experiences differ greatly across Japan's Tohoku region. People are leaving the areas that were affected by the earthquake, and communities, schools, PTAs and children's organizations are losing places in which to meet and support children. We will continue to support children to give them a brighter future.