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Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami

Emergency response and recovery program

Six-month report

September 11, 2011

When the earthquake and tsunami hit the coast of Japan on March 11, it was clear the scale of this disaster, compounded by the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, was unprecedented. This level of devastationin a country like Japan, where intertwined relationships between community groups and the government are set against a unique fabric of tradition and culture, has meant the response has also beenunprecedented.　For one, the Government of Japan met many of the population’s immediate needs in the worst hit areas. Community groups and humanitarian organizations like Save the Children stepped in to fill the gaps, addressing needs of specific affected populations, like children – providing not only material support where the government wasn’t able, but also important services.　Through our response, Save the Children has been able to meet the needs of children and their families by giving immediate and direct support, distributing essential materials and providing services specifically tailored to children. We’ve also met needs indirectly, by working with community groups already on the ground, giving them support so they could respond. Albeit small, with limited resources and a heavy reliance on government subsidies, local community-based and non-governmental organizations in Japan are also closest to affected communities and so are well positioned to provide a local-level response – especially with support from institutionally stronger, international NGOs like Save the Children.　Our response was enabled through the significant support Save the Children received from Japanese corporations, major international donors, and an unprecedented number of individual supporters. It is thanks to you that we were able to respond so quickly, identify what needs weren’t being addressed, and set out to meet them.　In the days and weeks immediately

following the disaster, Save the Children provided essential emergency items and helped children to cope with emotional stress, to return to school, and to voice their hopes for the future of their communities.　Today, six months down the road, we are proud of our successes. We recognize, however, that the first six months are only the beginning, and serve in part as a period for building the foundation for long-term relief and recovery work.　From our experience responding to disasters around the world – from urban developed areas like Katrina and Christchurch, New Zealand, to massive flooding and earthquakes in less developed countries like Pakistan and Haiti – we know that recovering from a natural disaster of this scale is a long process that entails much more than brick and mortar. Children and their communities need to recreate their social links, regain their sense of comfort, and cope with the emotional wounds left behind by the disaster.　Save the Children has committed to five years of work with the communities, so we can be their companion on the long road to recovery.

　This is a turning point for Japanese civil society. The emergency and its aftermath have resulted in a shift in thinking about the role of non-governmental organizations, emphasizing the need for a strong third sector, in a country where in the past the people had always expected – and mostly received – needed services from public sector.　Today, Save the Children is supporting local organizations and government officials to re-knit the social fabric of the affected communities and create an environment of active citizenship where everyone can participate in the recovery process. Our main priority is to include children in this process, so they can help define the way in which their towns and cities will be rebuilt.　We are pleased to share the record of our work over the last six months with you today, together with our plans for the next five years. Through this report, we would also like to express our deep gratitude and appreciation to you for your support and collaboration with us in our work responding to the needs of children and their families.

Introduction

Hironobu Shibuya Japan CEO, Save the Children Photo: Ian Woolverton/Save the Children

Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami Emergency response and recovery program 01

Japan is well known for its high capacity to prepare for and respond to emergencies, in particular natural disasters. An estimated 20% of the world’s earthquakes occur in Japan, and as a result extensive preparedness has been put in place to be ready, minimize damage, and respond to immediate needs. School children run through earthquake drills at the beginning of every school year, buildings are constructed with deep foundations, some with shock absorbing rubber and steel pads to minimize the impact of the moving earth. Citizens participate in regular evacuation drills and coast towns often have seawalls to protect them from water surges after a quake. However, the massive scale of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 was unprecedented – even for Japan. A strong earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck off the Pacific coast of Japan, followed by severe aftershocks. The earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami of over ten meters high, which caused devastating human and physical damage in north-eastern Japan. The earthquake and tsunami together destroyed entire cities in the coastal prefectures of Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi. The impact of the two crises became evident in the weeks following the disaster, with an estimated 15,760 people dead, and another 4,282 missing. The disaster damaged or destroyed more than 700,000 commercial and residential properties, leaving thousands of families homeless. An estimated 387,000 survivors lost their homes in the middle of winter and had no place to shelter from the low temperatures.　The disaster also damaged a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, causing the plant to lose power and resulting in a failure of the reactor-cooling systems – leading to explosions, fire and the release of radiation

into the environment. The longer-term impact of radiation in the environment has yet to be clearly measured. 　“In the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and the most difficult crisis for Japan,” said Prime Minister Naoto Kan days after the disaster. 　The government of Japan estimated the

cost of recovery from this triple crisis could be as much as 25 trillion yen (309 billion U.S. dollars), making it the world’s most expensive natural disaster. The World Bank has said that Japan may need five years to rebuild the affected regions, considering the extensive damage to housing and infrastructure.

March 11 2011:Triple crisisin north-eastern Japan

“I’m really worried that having to live like this is going to have a toll on Aoi”, says Kumiko Shitotomi, mother of

two year-old Aoi. “There’s no telling what is going to happen to us. We have no concrete plan- we can only wait”

she says in the days following the disaster. “Life here is harder than I could ever tell you, or you could ever write,

but we must be grateful that the family is together and everyone is safe.”

0201Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami Emergency response and recovery program

The crisis in northeastern Japan directly affected over 100,000 children through displacement, loss of access to education, loss of family members, and exposure to high levels of stress and anxiety. 　As in many crises Save the Children has responded to around the world, children in the disaster-affected areas experienced suffering on a profound scale. The earthquake and tsunami caused destruction of children’s homes, schools, and entire neighbourhoods. Many children lost their relatives and friends. Some were separated from families in the panic and chaos following the disaster. With the destruction of their homes, the

earthquake and tsunami also took away the comfort of children’s daily lives and their routines – familiar surroundings were torn apart or washed away, games and clothing lost. Following the disaster, thousands of displaced children were forced to live in crowded evacuation shelters, facing uncertainty, fear and stress along with a lack of privacy. 　The two disasters have exposed children to increased risk of psychological distress, fear, anxiety, developmentally regressive behaviour, sleep and appetite problems, and altered play. Children also experience stress by witnessing the reactions of their parents feeling scared,

insecure, sad and angry. In addition to suffering the devastating effects of the earthquake and tsunami, children in areas around Fukushima have also been affected by the ensuing nuclear crisis. 　As in any major disaster, the massive disruption to children’s lives has had a strong immediate impact on children’s wellbeing. Children’s displacement immediately following the crises exacerbated children s fears as they have been forced to live in unfamiliar surroundings which do not provide the comfort and reassurance of their own home. Being around individuals they do not know, or not being able to be around

The effects on children

Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami Emergency response and recovery program

Suzunosuke Oka, 6, walks through the rubble that used to be his hometown, in Onagawa, north-eastern Japan. Suzunosuke was at home when the earthquake struck at14.46 local time. “I was very afraid. I didn’t know what was happening. I was scared and ran to my father.” Suzunosuke fled with his parents up the hill and watched as a ten-metre high wall of water swept over their home and across the valley. “It came right over our house. Everything was gone. I was so scared by what I saw,” says Suzunosuke. “After the water had all gone, we went down to see our house – but there was nothing left. I lost all my toys including my favorite playing cards, and favorite dragon.” In the days following the earthquake and tsunami, Save the Children emergencies teams travelled to the affected areas, to speak to local communities and especially children – like Suzunosuke – who had been hit by the disaster, and begin assessing the most pressing needs. Photo: Jensen Walker/Getty Images

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loved ones if they have been separated from their families risked further exacerbating children’s fears and anxiety. For those re-located or forced to stay indoors due to the radiation threat, being physically contained inside and not being able to play or even go outside because threat, has all added to the stress children have faced as a direct result of the triple crisis.　The disaster also greatly affected children’s education. A total of 7,232 schools and kindergartens were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami and 622 others were used as evacuation centers, severely limiting children’s access to education and delaying the start of the school year for thousands of children. In addition to the damage to school buildings, hundreds of teachers and students lost their lives through the disaster. Children’s lack of access to education following the crises has meant a slower return to normalcy at a time when they so badly need familiar surroundings, to be with friends, and to get back to a routine, helping them recover.

　The tsunami caused large areas to be washed away by water and filled with debris from the earthquake, so many unaffected plots of land were claimed to build temporary housing - including parks and playgrounds. This meant that children lost spaces previously reserved for them to play in, giving them fewer

possibilities to have fun with their friends and de-stress when they most needed it. Families who stayed in the wider area beyond the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plants in Fukushima were ordered to remain indoors, also limiting children’s ability to play outside and carry on with their lives.


In comparison to many areas where Save the Children works in disaster response, Japan is characterized by strong government structures and a relatively small scope for civil society organizations. The concept of ‘civil society’ - or shimin shakai – only began to significantly evolve following the Kobe earthquake in 1995, with the engagement of non-profits and volunteers in the response accelerating the growth of the third sector. Despite this growth, local non-profit organisations in Japan today do not typically take a significant service provision role, and often work on domestic programs while relying heavily on government subsidies. Specialized in more international relief and

development assistance are NGOs, who have their own reserve funds, collected from individual and corporate donors. Most international NGOs like Save the Children have typically worked almost solely outside Japan, engaging within the country mostly in fundraising and advocacy.　The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami has highlighted a dramatic shift in the role of the third sector, with donations to non –profits and NGOs from the public alone exceeding the grand total of funds received by these types of organisations following the Kobe earthquake, illustrating a change in public perceptions and expectations

of the role of the third sector in disaster response. 　Observing this change, national and local governments, as well as the corporate sector, have begun recognizing non-profits and NGOs as potential partners in relief and rehabilitation programs. More resourceful international NGOs like Save the Children can play a unique role by facilitating interaction and developing partnerships across the three sectors - government, corporations and civil society. Securing the space, in all senses, for this role is a critical, ongoing challenge that Save the Children must address.

A unique working context: The third sector in Japan & the role of NGOs

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Photo: Ian Woolverton/Save the Children

Save the Children’s role

Save the Children’s quick initial response to the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, made possible thanks to the strong support of international corporate and individual donors, generated wide and positive media coverage and resulted in recognition of Save the Children as a major player in the relief effort. Save the Children’s speedy response in the affected areas was critical for ‘opening doors’ in these parts of the country: building relationships and establishing trust with community organizations and local government officials, setting the base for solid partnerships at local level. In addition, the quick response on the ground and large media coverage generated served as a platform to strengthen partnerships with corporates interested in assisting relief and recovery efforts, as well as government agencies and bodies leading on the response efforts at national level. 　Through this response and the partnerships built, Save the Children aims not only to meet the longer-term needs of affected populations, but also to strengthen the non-profit sector’s capacity as a whole to engage as a viable and legitimate partner with the government on response and recovery. Similarly, Save the Children sees an important opportunity for NGOs to gain ‘citizenship’ in the eyes of corporations, which recognize NGOs’ delivery capacity following this crisis, particularly INGOs

such as Save the Children. 　This approach is also designed to allow Save the Children to leverage its initial, smaller scale emergency response into a much wider, large scale recovery program in the medium-term, focusing on 3 specifics areas: child protection, education, and creating child-friendly communities. In the longer-term, Save the Children will also capitalize on the experience gathered through the initial response and ensuing recovery period, working in the unique context of Japan with already high levels of disaster risk reduction, to build up the role of NGOs in emergency preparedness and response to other potential emergencies that will require high levels of expertise.

Role of the government

Following the disaster, the Government of Japan quickly mobilized a large-scale relief effort to meet the immediate needs of the displaced population, which totaled over 460,000 people. Authorities repaired basic infrastructure destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami, restored communication networks and built prefabricated houses for the displaced – as of July 21, the government had set up 40,493 prefabricated temporary housing units and was planning to complete 47,579 more. By mid-August, the government had cleared around half the estimated 25 million tons of rubble – but the work is far from over as initial clearing and disposal of the debris will take months. Rebuilding damaged areas will likely take years. 　In response to the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, the government also evacuated nearly 80,000 people living in the areas around the nuclear plant. The government has also approved a nine-month recovery operation at the plant, including disposal of radioactive soil and payment of compensation to affected communities. Local civil society has engaged the government in discussions on what the impact of the nuclear crisis will be and what measures are needed to ensure the safety of the population in these areas.

Learning from the Kobe earthquake: Although the government envisioned the recovery and reconstruction phase to be a three to five year process following the Kobe earthquake, affected communities felt it continued long beyond that period – highlighting the importance of consulting affected communities on their needs when developing a strategy to address long-term needs. For example, recovery plans approved by local governments often did not reflect the desires of affected communities, causing distrust among affected populations and the government. Further, communities with a high degree of ‘social capital’ – bonds of trust, leadership, community cohesion and networks – had a speedier recovery than those without it. These communities were also more satisfied with the reconstruction policy, as they had been part of the negotiation process with the government. This experience is an important consideration for Save the Children as it builds its role within civil society and as an intermediary between local communities, non-profits, the government and the corporate sector.


Photo: Zets / zSave the Children

EMERGENCY RESPONSEGreat East Japan earthquake and tsunami Emergency response and recovery program 06

Timeline: initial response

March 11: Earthquake and tsunami hits northeastern Japan; Save the Children contacts partners in the field to see what initial support is neededMarch 12: Save the Children forms an emergency team and begins assessing needs March 14: Save the Children deploys teams to Miyagi, one of the worst hit areas, to set up a new baseMarch 15: Save the Children teams in Miyagi complete initial needs assessments to determine responseMarch 16: Save the Children establishes the first child-friendly space (CFS) at an evacuation center in Miyagi, helping children recover from the shock and stress of the disaster that destroyed their homesMarch 21: Save the Children distributes warm clothes and blankets for displaced families living in the cold, without proper heating as temperatures dropMarch 28: Save the Children has established 12 CFS for displaced children living in evacuation centers across Iwate and MiyagiMarch 30: Save the Children starts distributing hygiene kits and other essential items to meet the needs of families the government hasn’t been able to reachApril 11: One month after the earthquake and tsunami, Save the Children operates 19 CFSApril 15: Save the Children distributes school bags (‘randoseru’) in Miyagi prefectureApril 29 to May 5: Performances of “Dream Truck” Mobile Theater across six locations in Iwate and Miyagi, reaching over 1,000 displaced children with interactive theatre, clown shows, and arts & crafts

Education20,988 children have received school lunches from us

4,229 children are directly benefitting from material support we're

providing to schools

3,390 children have received our school kits

2,232 children are receiving transport for extra-curricular and after-school

activities

Protection3,588 children are attending child care centres we support

1,200 people have received psychosocial tips through our brochures

535 children from Fukushima are attending our “safer play areas”

389 children attended our signature Child-Friendly Spaces

Non-Food Items1,784 people have benefitted from our family hygiene kits

1,264 people have received our First Aid kits

615 children have received our Disaster Preparedness Hoods

Key succeses to date


Save the Children is one of the few international humanitarian organizations to have an office in Japan, which enabled a quick response following the tripe crisis. From the days immediately following the disaster, our emergency teams assisted displaced families with greatly needed basic supplies that they had lost through the disaster; helped to foster children’s resilience and recovery; supported children’s initial return to school and encouraged children’s participation in the recovery of their communities. 　Our relief efforts focused on the Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, two of the hardest-hit areas, which suffered extensive infrastructure damage and a large number of displaced people.

“The earthquake hit in the afternoon of March 11th. Our first priority that evening was making sure all of our staff was accounted for and safe. The next morning, we started setting up our emergency response team. Right away we decided to deploy international emergency experts from Save the Children globally, and they left their home countries that same day to join us in Japan and help lead the response.　The next day, on March 13th, we went to one of the affected cities close to Tokyo, to carry out our first needs assessment. At the time we didn’t have all of the emergency staff we wanted and it was challenging to be able to assess all the areas we would have liked to. There was also no way of getting to the most affected areas – the trains were not running, buses were not going there, there weren’t any flights, and in order to use the highway, we needed to first obtain police permission. We were lucky that one of our board members was from Miyagi – the area with the highest number of affected people – and was able to help us get an invitation from local authorities, helping us secure police permission to use the highway. This allowed us to get to the area and begin assessments.　In Japan, the government has traditionally responded to these types of natural disasters – in the past NGOs did not play a large role as the government had the capacity and resources to respond to the needs.　This posed an additional challenge for us in wanting to respond to the disaster. It wasn’t easy for NGOs to join in the response – for example getting an invitation from local authorities to visit their towns or prefectures in order to carry an assessment – because people here were not used to the idea of an NGO playing this role.　This time was different because the scale was too large for the government to respond to on its own – the disaster response was beyond the governments’ capacity so we had to work together to meet the needs of the affected populat ions. B y building up partnerships with local authorities, we’re now getting to the place where we know we’re valued as a major player in the recovery and rebuilding process.”

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In perspective: Hiro Miyashitaremembers the days after the disaster

Hiro MiyashitaDirector, Recovery Program


Within the days and weeks following the triple crisis, Save the Children teams sent out essential household and hygiene supplies such as blankets, towels, soap, diapers and first aid kits. Staff members also distributed warm clothing and flame-retardant disaster hoods for children. 　Save the Children set up safe play areas for children in evacuation centres in the prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi, establishing a total of 19 spaces where more than 800 children were able to express themselves, learn, play, interact with each other and gain new basic life skills. These monitored areas also served to identify individual children facing particular psychological stress and to offer support to parents in their role as carers. Save the Children trained over 80 volunteers and staff on how to manage activities in these spaces and how to refer children to other social services. Child-friendly spaces set up during the emergency response closed progressively as people started to leave evacuation centers and children returned to school. The last Space closed in August.　Save the Children’s psychosocial

support also reached 105 day care centers, benefiting about 4,630 children. These centers received material, technical and staff support and were able to resume their activities when children most needed them. In addition, the teams distributed information to 1,200 parents on how to deal with stress and better support their children in a post-disaster environment.During the Japanese ‘golden week’, a series of public holidays starting at the end of April, Save the Children used a truck to bring theater plays, clown shows, games and activities to children in six locations across the most affected areas of the country.　In the weeks following the disaster, Save the Children supported 3,080 children’s return to school by providing them with school kits to replace items such as schoolbags, pens, notebooks, and rulers that were lost after the earthquake or swept away by the tsunami. 　Save the Children gave meals to 20,998 children attending school through support to school canteens, and provided transport to sports grounds and other extracurricular activities for 596 children.

　Beyond addressing immediate material needs for children and their families, Save the Children recognized the importance of listening to children and taking into account their views and opinions on how their communities should be rebuilt. By carrying out a large-scale survey with 11,000 children in the affected areas, Save the Children helped ensure they could have a say in the rebuilding of their communities after the disaster, giving children a voice and the chance to participate in the recovery of their hometowns and villages. 　To be able to assist the communities in the affected coastal areas, Save the Children expanded its operations considerably. We set up new offices in the Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, established dedicated emergency teams, and mobilized additional national and overseas staff, funding and material goods to better serve the displaced children and their families. At a time when fuel was scarce and infrastructure and communications damaged, Save the Children secured supply lines from Tokyo to procure relief items.

Our response

Wakana Kumagai, 8, receives her brand-new school satchel – or “randoseru” – given to her by Save the Children. “My husband had prepared for our daughter’s new school year, and had gotten a randoseru and other school things for her”, Wakana’s mother, Yoshiko, remembers. “My husband passed away in the tsunami – he is not coming back to us again” she shares. “Today I feel relieved that my daughter has gotten a new randoseru. Now she can start school!” For schoolchildren in Japan, a new randoseru is a symbol of the beginning of a hopeful new life. The randoserus provided by Save the Children along with back-to-school kits provide children and their parents much-needed hope for a better future, as they try to recover from the devastation to their homes, towns and schools following the earthquake and tsunami that hit the Japanese coast on March 11. Photo: Zets/Save the Children

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RECOVERY PROGRAM09

Six months after the earthquake and tsunami, most of the material needs are covered and the emergency phase is now finished. While services such as education were disrupted immediately following the disaster, many of these have now resumed as the government has led relief and recovery efforts, ensuring that families have access to public services at a minimum level. In comparison to many other countries where Save the Children responds to emergencies like natural disasters and conflicts, Japan is a highly developed country where, after an emergency, access to accommodation, education and health services is ensured by the state. 　Six months after the triple crisis that struck north-eastern Japan, families are leaving the evacuation centres and children are settling back into school. At the same time, communities are trying to come together with local authorities to recover and rebuild their towns – but

clearing the rubble is only the first step. Well after the bulldozers finish their work, communities will continue to face challenges. While the initial recovery has already come a long way, it is important to recognize that the entire process of rebuilding communities – strengthening ties and putting in place systems that allow community members to support each other and ensure children’s protection in the event of future emergencies – is an on-going process that will take years. 　Today, while children have begun to regain a sense of normalcy following the immediate chaos and stress of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, the psychological impact of the disaster is still a concern, and is not as quick to recover from as simply rebuilding damaged infrastructures. Sporadic tremors continue, causing fear in children. To help recover from the stress and anxiety experienced during and after the disaster, children need to return to a routine and

have time with their friends, play sports and games they like and are used to, and have someone to talk to about the difficulties they have lived through. Many children living in areas close to the nuclear exclusion zone, are still limited to staying indoors to minimize their exposure to radiation, directly impacting on their chance to play with friends.　While children have largely returned to school in the affected areas, some children are unable to attend the schools in their new areas, as displaced parents have reduced incomes with which to pay tuition and other school fees. In other cases, children have been forced to enroll in a new school when theirs was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami – but the distance from evacuation centers, temporary housing or other accommodation for displaced families is simply too far from the school, limiting these children’s access to education.

Six months onGreat East Japan earthquake and tsunami Emergency response and recovery program

Save the Children’srecovery plan

Save the children will be supporting children's access to education as part of our five years recovering plan.　By providing children with school materials, and learning oppotunities through an innovative online tutoring project. we're also improving the quolity of project of education children receive.

Save the Children has committed to a five-year recovery plan to facilitate children’s return to normal life, restore community ties, create education opportunities, and promote the participation of children in the reconstruction process.　Save the Children has now shifted its efforts from the initial emergency response immediately following the disaster, to longer-term recovery interventions that support people in north-eastern Japan to rebuild their communities and create an environment where children can thrive. 　Through the recovery phase, Save the Children is focusing on the three critical areas of child protection, education and creating child-friendly communities. More than 100,000 children will directly benefit from Save the Children’s recovery programs in the prefectures of Fukushima, Iwate, and Miyagi, through the three program areas listed above.

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Save the Children will support the psychosocial recovery of children and their families by setting up play areas and activities for children in the affected communities, and supporting local child care centres run as after-school programs, with the overall objective of enabling children to access safe, protective environments in which they can play, learn and develop.

Play zones: Save the Children is establishing 32 parks and 20 pre-fabricated play spaces andequipping 253 indoor playgrounds for children located in the affected communities, including near temporary housing and evacuation centers, providing children with opportunities to learn and play in the longer term and helping ensure they have a chance to recover from the disaster in a safe environment where they can de-stress and have fun.

Working with local partners: As some temporary housing settlements do not have community centers, local government in some affected areas have requested Save the Children to build the centres and provide child-friendly materials and equipment for children’s recreation. Save the Children will operate ‘play zones’ for children in these centers in cooperation with local partners, and is completing preparations to open the first such “play zone” in Rikuzentakata by mid-September.

Child care support: Save the Children has begun supporting child-care centers offering day careservices and after-school activities, providing financial, material and technical assistance to ensure children’s access to a safe, protective environment where they can learn and play with their friends.Over the next year, Save the Children will support 115 child-care centers, called Gakudo, through:

We’ve already started on delivery of these activities, distributing toys, stationery, disaster preparedness kits, and first-aid kits in day care centers and kindergartens. We’ve also organized summer workshops for children attending day care, benefitting a total of 577 children from 28 centers in Yamada, Rikuzentakata and Ishinomaki. Children enjoyed activities related to science, chemistry, handicrafts and music,

with support from our corporate partners.　Once these material needs are met in the first year of our recovery program, Save the Children will concentrate on building up capacity of Gakudo staff, providing training on providing psychosocial support to children and planning activities in a restricted, indoor environment. We will also work to establish a professional support network for staff and provide financial support to cover staff costs where needed.

Child protection

Supporting the psychosocial recovery of children and their caregivers in the longer-term


Miki Morimoto

Children, working in the worst affected areas in northeastern Japan.

“My job is to establish safe play spaces

for children where they are most needed

- coordinating with everyone from local

government of f icials to communities

groups to make sure children have

places they play and learn - to just to be

children. It is hard enough for people to

find enough space to build temporary

shelters – so many areas around here

were completely devastated by the

earthquake and tsunami – and it’s even

harder to have places to play. Many

temporary shelters here are being built

on school grounds and parks, places

children’s laughter as they played with

their friends.

　One girl I spoke to a few months ago said something that stuck with me. She told

me she would love to have a place for children only, where she and her friends could

be free to play and have fun, without worrying about how grown-ups would react or

feel. Those words coming from this one girl - the voice of this one child – made me

realize just how urgent and vital it was that these places be established for children.

It’s an essential need – children that have lost everything and have their worlds turned

upside down need this space.

　My job enables me to take these children’s voices – telling me what they need – and

to what the children say they need. Even though it’s challenging and there are so many

steps involved, I have to do the best I can to make sure that every place we set up,


Summer camps:Together with local governments, Save the Children has begun running summer camps for children affected by the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, giving children a chance to play with their friends

and participate in organised activities including handicrafts, dancing workshops, swimming, and games. Children who participate in this summer camp can’t or are afraid of playing outdoors in their hometowns because of the radiation.

The camps are held in areas accessible to children in the affected areas, but away from the locations recognised as being at high risk of radiation, for example those declared as radiation hot spots or within the exclusion zone.

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Haruna and Yoko’s story

“I made five friends today,” explains Haruna, 6. “Normally I am shy, but I tried to be brave and ask ‘Can I be your friend?’” Haruna was one of the 76 children of primary school age from Koriyama city, inFukushima, who participated in a two-day summer camp the last weekend of July.　The camp is one of the first being organized by Save the Children, and provided children the rare opportunity to make new friends and spend time with family in a safe area. Haruna’s mother Yoko was one of the parents who took part in the camp, and explains the impact of the nuclear crisis on her family.　“Our whole life changed,” Yoko laments, shaking her head. “Before, my daughter used to play outside, in the garden, with the dog. Now, it’s not safe out there.”　“My daughter asks me, ‘Mum, what’s the sievert today?’” referring to the unit to measure the biological effects of radiation.“Many friends of my daughter’s have moved out, and those who are still there, stay indoors,” explains Yoko. Like other parents, Yoko tries to keep her daughter away from the radiation as much as possible, often taking Haruna away for the weekend to say in a town further away from the nuclear plant – but recognizes that it’s hard for her daughter as she doesn’t get to meet other children.　“For children, being together with other children is the most valuable thing,” she notes. “I was talking to other mothers who came to the summer camp and they said the same thing.”　In addition to making new friends, Haruna also got the chance to learn new skills at the camp. After learning a series of dance steps from camp facilitators, Haruna was enthusiastic about her new skills. “Ienjoyed it a lot,” she exclaimed. “The dance wasn’t difficult – it was very easy. I will repeat it for mum at home.”　Providing a safe place for children to play and learn is a key component of Save the Children’s recovery program. Recognizing that the psychosocial impact of the disasters can take months and even years to recover from, Save the Children is working to ensure children can continue to have a time and place to play with their friends and re-gain a sense of normalcy – getting the chance to just enjoy being children helping them recover over the longer-term. Save the Children’s summer camps, organized with local government, give children this opportunity, and are being implemented across affected areas in Japan.

Photo: Haruna decorates a tote bag with her from her mother Yoko, at Save the Children’s summer camp for children affected by the nuclear crisis in Fukshima. Photo: Rodrigo Ordoñez

Save the Children is supporting optimal learning environments and education opportunities through four types of activities through the recovery program.

Support to schools:Based on the requests from 100 different schools in areas affected by the disaster, Save the Children is offering direct assistance to help become fully functional, child-friendly environments where children can learn and flourish. This includes support in the form of school meals, transport to off-site sports grounds, temporary toilets or classroom supplies. Here’s some of what we’ve already done to date:

4,000 children

over 2,500 disaster hoods

Support to students: Save the Children will give scholarships to more than 1,500 children whose parents lost their livelihoods, so they can continue with their studies or training. The area directly affected by the earthquake and tsunami has been along the coast of northeastern Japan. As such, the fishing and seafood industries were some of the hardest. Many parents working in these sectors lost their livelihoods or incurred economic

loses. Save the Children is preparing to offer financial support to affected families so their children can continue their education. Parents may use these funds to pay for all sorts of school-related expenses, such as fees, textbooks, uniforms, meals, and stationery. 　Even before the disaster, young people were leaving their communities in these areas to seek opportunities elsewhere, as the fishing and agriculture industries were already struggling. With the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami, children and youth whose families are active in fishery and agriculture, are even more likely to leave these areas as they see decreased opportunities for their own future career options and possibilities to support themselves. In addition to improving children’s access to education in the immediate, the scholarships will ensure local economic development in the longer term, helping sustain local communities and keep family businesses and traditions alive.

E-learning:Save the Children has set up online tutoring for school children in affected areas of the country. Through this innovative project, young adults – students themselves at university – will mentor primary-school children through after-school support enabled through interactive online learning

sessions. The program aims to provide supplementary educational coaching support to children in the affected areas, where prior to the earthquake and tsunami, these services were offered through learning centers called “juku” – many which were destroyed or damaged during the disaster. Based on the Japanese idea of “terakoya”, a traditional community-based education system allowing access to education for children from disadvantaged areas or families, Save the Children’s online tutoring initiative aims to improve children’s access to learning opportunities in the months following the disaster. Students interested in tutoring younger children enlist in the project on a voluntary capacity, and the younger schoolchildren benefit from their coaching through learning sessions set up through Save the Children’s play zones and other appropriate, childfriendly centers established in Iwate and Miyagi. Through the pilot project launched in July, tutors based in Tokyo connect in real time with schoolchildren in Iwate and Miyagi for one-on-one 40-minute support sessions, using webcam and live chat together with a digital blackboard that children and tutors can write on, with their text appearing on both computer screens within seconds. Children benefitting from this project are over the age of ten and are preparing their subjects before entering high school.

Education

Helping to build up and strengthen learning environments and opportunities that facilitate children’s educational, cognitive and social development

Eriko Tokuyama

My job is to support learning environments and opportunities for children affected

by the disaster. Concretely, this includes things like providing children with lunch

support, stationary and other materials. We’ve also been distributing disaster hoods,

for children to wear in the event of another emergency, protecting them from heavy

increases children’s chance to go to school is our scholarship initiative.

　When I visit schools to inspect the lunch service we provide, I always find that

children are happy to have their lunch provided to them – they tell me so themselves.

What’s more, they want to share their happiness with me. Every time, there are kids

meal with me. Their words and kindness always move me.

　children direct their thanks at me – at Save the Children – with a smile on their faces.

This is why I do the work I do – to keep the smiles on their faces.


Save the Children is promoting communities where children can play an active role in the rebuilding process and have a say in the way children are treated and included in contingency planning, disaster-risk reduction and emergency response.

Clubs and events: Save the Children is establishing Children's Clubs in affected communities where children can organize events, festivals and debates to express and share their views on the rebuilding process. One example of an activity we’ve already started as part of this initiative, is the child forum held in northern Japan, where children met to discuss their views and ideas on how they want their towns to be rebuilt and what kind of role they’d like to play in the process. The children are then presenting the outcome of this forum to their local governments, to be taken into account in the recovery plans being developed by state officials at municipal and prefecture levels.

Children centers: Starting in the first months of our recovery program, Save the Children is setting up several buildings that will serve as a base

for ten Children's Clubs each. Children will use these community hubs as a platform to make their voice heard and as a space to host meetings, forums and other events. Children will design the layout of the buildings to make them feel safe and to serve as examples of child-friendly reconstruction.

Advocacy: Save the Children is working to promote children’s rights and to make children’s issues a part of emergency planning at the prefecture and national levels. Children are already participating in this process and voicing their opinion, for example through the “Hear our voice” survey.

Research institute: Following the first year of our recovery program, Save the Children will establish an institute in Sendai to serve as a hub of global knowledge on the role of children and affected communities in disaster-risk reduction and emergency response planning. The institute will commission original research, will establish a worldwide network of experts, and will use the Internet to disseminate its knowledge base.

Child-friendly communities

“Hear our voice”

To highl ight chi ldren’s role in

the recovery process, Save the

Children has launched multiple

surveys, collecting the opinions

and ideas of over 11,000 children

af fected by the earthquake and

tsunami on what role they’d like

to play in rebuilding their towns

and communities. Close to 90% of

children surveyed expressed their

desire to play an active role in the

recovery process. Save the Children

shared the results of these surveys

with local authorities involved in

recovery planning, as well as the

Reconstruction Design Council ,

demanding the par ticipation of

children in the rebuilding process,

one girl explained, “I want children’s

opinions and voices to be heard

– not only have adults making the


Ryota’s story: I want to do something to contribute

“I want my hometown to be better than it was before. I want to do something to contribute to that,” says Ryota, 12, from Yamada town in Iwate, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami.　Ryota is one of the children par ticipating in Save the Children’s new Children’s Clubs, and was one of the over 11,000 children who participated in our survey to see how children wanted their towns to be rebuilt. Close to 90% of children surveyed said they wanted to do something to contribute to the recovery of their towns and communities. Ryota is one of them. 　Through Child-Forum Save the Children organized in Aomori, Ryota got a chance to meet other kids participating in the Children’s Clubs in other parts of the country, and took the opportunity to share his ideas and suggestions with his peers.　“I’ve been interested in the Children’s Clubs for awhile and am happy to be here in Aomori, to have the opportunity to join in. I’ve really enjoyed it – I’ve made friends and got to see what other children’s clubs are planning. It’s so interesting!” exclaims Ryota. 　“I hope I get chosen to be responsible for presenting [our ideas] to the government of Yamada after the forum. I am a bit nervous about whether I could explain our plan properly – but I’m not that worried because now I have experience,” declared Ryota with a smile on the last day of the event. 　Explaining why he wanted to participate in the club and contribute his ideas on building back better, Ryota shares “I take part in the club because I‘m very fond of my hometown. We have beautiful trees, mountains and sea. The freshness of the air and the water here are great also.”

In addition to Save the Children’s direct interventions to improve the situation for children and their families recovering from the disaster, a significant aspect of our recovery plan focuses on building up capacity of local civil society and community-based organizations, by providing grants to these local-level organizations and supporting communities’ initiatives to rebuild their towns in a way that best meets the needs they’ve identified themselves. This program aspect, called the Community Grants Initiative, also serves to contribute to the overall strengthening of the third sector in Japan, and present the public with an option for recovery that complements and adds to the government’s set plans, ensuring needs are met without relying entirely on public funding, helping ensure sustainability in the longer term. The Community Grants Initiative allows local organizations and associations to implement the changes they’d like to see in their towns, with a particular focus on improving children’s wellbeing and protection during the recovery period. This initiative is implemented across Save the Children’s three program areas of child protection, education and building child-

friendly communities.　In child protection, Save the Children has been identifying potential partners to run recreational activities for children and manage the “play zones” in Iwate and Miyagi, as well as summer or weekend camps for children in Fukushima. One example is our partnership with local organization “Home-Start Japan”, which is receiving a grant to visit children and families in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, offering ongoing in-person support and assistance to improve children’s wellbeing and protection and contributing to their recovery from the psychological and emotional hardship they have faced in the days, weeks and months following the triple crisis. Save the Children has also agreed a partnership with the NPO ”Chikyu-no- Gakko” which delivers picture books and operates mobile library to play zones, kindergartens, nursery schools and other institutions in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima.　In education, our grants are going to schools, parents and communities to make repairs or improvements in and around schools. These grants could serve to remove debris and contaminated soil,

refurbish playgrounds, rehabilitate school libraries, organize sports tournaments, or other small-scale projects. One example is our work with parent-teacher associations in Iwate, where our grants are being used to support children’s sports and cultural activities that parents used to fund directly themselves, but can often no longer afford to due to lost income following the disaster. Parent-teacher associations will use the small grants to pay for equipment, transport and accommodation that will enable sports teams to participate in tournaments in other locations, helping children regain a sense of normalcy and allowing them to get back into regular routines, contributing to their immediate and longer-term recovery.

Child-Friendly Communities:　Under the five-year recovery program, local organizations and nonprofits are receiving funds to promote child participation in the reconstruction process and to carry out activities related to disaster-risk reduction and response, such as planning exercises and emergencydrills.

Strengthening local recovery: the Community Grant Initiative

In perspective: Yui Sasaki

Yui Sasaki, 25, is a staff worker at one of the child care centers, called “gakudo”, supported by Save the Children through local volunteers and provision of materials goods – including games for children to play with. Yui has been working at the gakudo in Rikuzentaka, Iwate prefecture, for almost 18 months.　“The gakudo re-opened in April – it was affected [by the tsunami], but we were quick to act. We received the goods and materials we needed, along with help from volunteers. I am still impressed at how they much helped us.Around 50 students are here today and it feels like a packed room. At the beginning, we couldn’t use our school grounds and children couldn’t freely play. We still have some restrictions and children have to be patient and I feel sad for them. Personally, I feel so satisfied with the goods and materials we received. I’d say it’s been more than enough."　Yui highlights how important it is for children to have someone to talk to and time to play with their friends and recovery – the type of support provided by Save the Children in part through the gakudo. “I think that we adults were also affected by the disaster and it’s harder to pay attention to children’s emotional needs, for example those that lost their family members.”


Photo: Rodrigo Ordoñez / Save the Children

FUNDINGGreat East Japan earthquake and tsunami Emergency response and recovery program 16

Save the Children is immensely grateful to its global donors for their extraordinary generosity in supporting the organization’s relief and recovery efforts for Japanese children and their families. For one of the first times in Save the Children’s 91 years responding in emergencies, the incredible and immediate support Save the Children has received for this response has outstripped what we had appealed for, illustrating the amazing compassion of the public, of corporations, foundations and government around the world for children of Japan in their time of need. Your contributions have enabled Save the Children to quickly mount an immediate response to the crisis, and to now sustain

of overall costs are directed to all of the support provided to make our work possible - from logistics staff to finance and fundraising.

dedicated to our education program

going towards our child protection program

building child-friendly communities.

programs directly implemented by Save the Children, and 25% is going to programs being implemented our local partners, including community groups, parents’ associations, and smaller local-level NGOs.

first six months of our response and recovery program for children and their families affected the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

March immediate following the disaster and then in April as we scaled up our response. During the month of May we focused on putting together our longer-term recovery strategy and securing the resources to enable us to implement our recovery programs, while still remaining operational to respond to the needs of the population.

started in June and July, and we’ve continued to scale up activities through the past weeks.

concentrated in the coming six months with the large-scale implementation of our recovery program. Total spending in the first year is forecasted to be 23.96 million USD.

our efforts in the longer-term, ensuring we can remain the constant companion children and their families need in the coming months and years in the longer term recovery effort, and help reduce the risks children may face in future disasters.　An essential part of our work in emergencies is being able to respond immediately to the urgent needs of children and their families. In order to be ready to respond, Save the Children has created the Children’s Emergency Fund, which pools together funding from various donors who contribute to the Fund. With the money raised through the Fund, Save the Children can respond as soon as crisis hits, providing immediate and essential

aid to children and their families who most need it. Donors interested in funding Save the Children’s emergency work for children around the world – including future potential disasters in Japan – are invited to contribute to the Children’s Emergency Fund.　For the emergency response and the recovery program, Save the Children has a total secured budget of approx. 72 million USD, out of 78 million USD budgeted for the recovery program.　This leaves a funding gap of approx. 6 million USD, however Save the Children is currently in negotiations with donors in Japan who have expressed an interest in funding our longer-term recovery plan.


We are the world’s leading independent

organization for children.

Our vision is a world in which every child

attains the right to survival, protection,

development and participation.

Our mission is to inspire breakthroughs

in the way the world treats children, and

to achieve immediate and lasting change in

their lives.

Save the Children Japan was established in

1986. For 25 years, we have been working

for and on behalf of children in Japan and

around the world. Domestically, our work

has focused on promoting child participation

with local prefectures and campaigning to

address the issue of child poverty in Japan.

Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sudan,

and Vietnam.

For more information,

visit www.savechildren.or.jp

or contact [email protected].

Photo cover page: Save the ChildrenPhoto page 04, 09, 10, 14, 16, back cover : Zets / Save the Children

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