Team Tsukuba
Team Tsukuba is a group of international and Japanese residents of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan (and their friends from other areas) who work together on various projects.
Our current project involves helping the survivors of the March 11 tsunami. As we are mainly working in the Watanoha area of Ishinomaki, we have called this activity “Project Ishinomaki”. We are a part of a larger team of people who are helping Mr. Toshihiko Fujita. Mr. Fujita is based at the Koganehama Kaikan in the Watanoha area.
Project Ishinomaki
Past Trips
Trip 1: May 27 to 29, 2011
Our first trip was arranged with the help of Kosuke Sato from the Do for Japan group. We took seven people to the Watanoha area of Ishinomaki and we worked at three sites over the weekend. We helped to clean out one house on Saturday and a house and a garden on Sunday.
Trip 2: June 17, 2011
One of the Team Tsukuba members donated his car to a tsunami survivor in Ishinomaki. He delivered his car to her in Sendai on this date.
Trip 3: July 6 to 10, 2011
We brought 6 people for five days (July 6 to 10) and an additional 11 people for the weekend (July 8-10). We mainly worked on cleaning out the drains in the Watanoha neighbourhood of debris and mud. We also delivered a van load of donations (washing machines, microwaves, fans, mosquito coils, etc.) from our friends and colleagues in Tsukuba. (Report)
Trip 4: July 18 to 19, 2011
Two Team Tsukuba members travelled to Ishinomaki to drop off more donations (we couldn’t fit all of them in the van during the July 6-10 trip). One of the members donated her car on this trip.
Trip 5: August 5 to 7, 2011
A group of twelve volunteers went to Ishinomaki to volunteer and bring donations (fruits, vegetables, t-shirts, toys) to Watanoha, Ishinomaki. On Saturday, we dug out ditches and removed the flooring from a house. We also delivered the fruits and vegetables to the families in Watanoha. On Sunday, we cleared a field of debris so that it could be used for a festival in late August. (Report)
Trip 6: August 12 to 14, 2011
A group went to Ishinomaki to volunteer and bring donations to Watanoha, Ishinomaki.
Trip 7: August 19 to 20, 2011
A group of two people went to Ishinomaki to bring 50,000 yen worth of fruits and vegetables (arranged through JA) to be shared amongst 80 families in Watanoha, Ishinomaki.
Trip 8: August 27 to 28, 2011
A group of two people went to Ishinomaki to bring donations from Rescue Japan to Koganehama Kaikan in Ishinomaki.
Trip 9: September 1 to 4, 2011
This trip was cancelled due to an approaching typhoon.
Trip 10: September 23 to 25, 2011
A group went to Ishinomaki to volunteer and bring donations to Watanoha, Ishinomaki. They were also able to help the people in the area recover from the flooding caused by Typhoon #15.
Trip 11: October 8 to 10
A group went go to Ishinomaki to volunteer and bring donations to Watanoha, Ishinomaki.
Trip 12: October 29
Two people went to Ishinomaki to bring donations (coats, sweaters, kerosene heater) to Watanoha, Ishinomaki.
Trip 13: November 4 to 6
A group went to Ishinomaki to volunteer (cleaning gutters, clearing out a parking lot, helping at a soup kitchen) and bring donations (coats, sweaters) to Watanoha, Ishinomaki.
Upcoming Trips
Trip 14: November 27 to 28
Deborah Grow, a local singer and author will go to Ishinomaki to donate copies of her English sing-along book and teach children how to sing the songs.
Updates
Follow the Project Ishinomaki posts on this site for updates.
Want to Help?
New members are always welcome, and you do not have to be from Tsukuba to join. There are two ways to stay in touch with the groups’ efforts.
Team Tsukuba Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/teamtsukuba
Team Tsukuba Mailing List
Contact us to be added to the list.