2 tonne truck of supplies arrive - Supplies reach the Filipino community of Ofunato and Rikuzen Takata

The Morioka-Manila Scholarship Association, who provides support for the education of children in Manila, has also been providing support for Filipino women and families living in Rikuzen Takata and Ofunato, where there was much damage from the tsunami.

These women, who decided to leave their home towns to come and live in Iwate, are kind and strong. 

On the 4th, 13 Filipino women from Morioka and the Morioka-Manila Scholarship Association, visited the Village Center in Takkon-cho, Ofunato, with clothing and other supplies. There, they met other Filipino women and families living in Ofunato and Rikuzen Takata, and Filipinos from Catholic churches involved in support activities. In the assembly room, they handed out a 2 tonne truck’s worth of supplies provided by Morioka’s Victim Support Team, SAVE IWATE,　which included clothing, blankets, diapers, and milk, etc.
The room was filled with Tagalog, English and Japanese, and within less than an hour, all the supplies had been handed out.

From Rikuzen Takata, Emily Suzuki (35), mother of 3 young girls, gathers diapers from the supplies while a member from the Morioka-Manila Scholarship Association watches her children. She shows a relieved expression as she says, “thanks, that helps a lot”.

A luncheon was held after the exchange, and after a few words of prayer from Father Gary Gestoveo, everybody enjoyed some home-style cooking.


A Strong Community

Marifé Sugawara (47), a leader of the Filipinos, lost her Yonesakicho home in the tsunami. Thankfully, her husband and two young sons were safe. For a while, her husband had to return to his old house, but three months ago, he returned and the four of them are now living in temporary housing.
The factory of the electronic component company he was working at was destroyed in the disaster, and he now works at the grilled chicken processing plant of the same company. It takes him more than 30mins by car from the temporary housing to the factory.
“And it costs a lot in gasoline. I wish I could work close to home”. Whilst he is grateful for the support, he reveals his concerns, saying, “it will be tough if we have to rebuild our home”.
According to Marifé, there are about 70 Filipinos in Ofunato and Rikuzen Takata. Of those, 15 from Rikuzen Takata and 4 from Ofunato lost their homes in the tsunami. Even for those who didn’t lose their homes, some have lost their jobs which has made living tough. Before the disaster, there were many Filipinos working at food or electronic parts factories, as well as working late nights at restaurants. Many of them have families with Japanese men and are raising children. The trial still continues, but the tsunami has passed and the Filipino community has become close knit and stronger. Marifé says that “the feeling of responsibility to protect my friends and family is what keeps me going”.
Loved like an older sister from all around her, Elva Sugawara (50) from Ofunato, who also says, “Seeing everyone’s smiling faces gives me the strength to try hard”. In January, her eldest daughter, Keiko, celebrated her coming of age. Elva, herself, challenged the Home Helper level 2 examination and passed. She says, “I want to study more and one day have a nursing job”.


Coverage from a Major Television Station

On this day, a Filipino major television station, GMA, is filming a documentary about the Filipinos. The producer says, “this area has suffered more damage than you could imagine, but you can feel the strength of the Filipino community to overcome these tough times. I hope that the message of hope will be conveyed through this documentary”.

The Morioka-Manila Scholarship Association helped with the job of confirming the whereabouts of Filipinos during the disaster, which then lead to them starting support activities. This is the sixth time they have helped with distributing supplies.
Secretary General, Yoshiko Ito (61), spoke about the Filipinos. “These women divided the supplies evenly, and they treat each other like neighbors. Just seeing that makes me feel good”.
Director, Toshiaki Takahashi (60), felt their power, saying, “it was actually them who gave us power”.


（Tokai Shinpo　2/11/2012）

Malnutrition in Temporary Housing - Possibly the Effect of Changing Living Environments

The city of Ofunato has summarized the results of their investigation into the eating habits and conditions of disaster victims living in temporary housing. The results clearly show a trend of deficiency in most nutrients, in particular calcium and vitamins. A trend in over consumption of salt was also apparent, and the change in living environments for victims of the disaster is suspected to be one of the causes. Effort is now going towards the guidance of nutrient-balanced diets.

After the disaster, apart from the 1700 temporary homes built in Ofunato, there are also more than 600 households living in apartments under a rent assistance scheme considered to be temporary housing. Amidst a big change in lifestyle from the disaster, an surey was carried out to grasp information for the support of promoting independence, securing desirable eating habits, and improving nutrition and eating habits.
The investigation received the cooperation of health centers in Ofunato and Oshu, and nutritionist associations of Oshu and Iwate. The investigation was carried out between August and November of last year.
The investigation surveyed a total of 600 participants, including 550 living in each of the city’s temporary housing facilities and 50 living under rent assistance. Nutritionists visited the homes of the investigation participants and asked them about their health condition, eating habits and their meals.
The nutritional condition was determined by examining the intake values of the valid answers taken from 575 participants.
The values were compared with the “2010 Japanese Dietary Reference Intakes” from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and categorized as either “deficient”, “normal” or “over consumption”.
After analysis, the results showed a trend of deficiency across the nutrients. A deficiency in minerals such as calcium and also in vitamins accounted for more than 80%. In contrast to the deficiency of vitamins and minerals, the consumption of salt was considered to be in excess, making an obvious dietary imbalance.
Each of the nutrients examined in this investigation were compared with the results of the Prefectural Lifestyle Survey conducted in 2009. From this it was understood that energy, protein, calcium and vitamin A were at the 80% mark.
In regards to what they were eating, many of the surveyed households were having several bread and rice ball based meals a day with no side dishes such as vegetables. 16.2% of victims said that they didn’t know what to do when they do the shopping because while part of them wants many varied ingredients, they are far from the shops.
Recently, there has been an increase in new stores opening in the area and mobile shops that visit the temporary housing facilities, but the city’s health care center fears that if this condition of poor nutrition continues it will lead to a state of deteriorated health. They say, “on the whole, the condition is not good, and it cannot be denied that the disaster has had some kind of effect”.
The city’s health care center plans to hold cooking lessons, from the 14th, for those living in temporary housing, starting with those in Massaki-cho. Due to the smaller preparation space in kitchens of temporary housing, the lessons will show ways to effectively cook balanced meals in small spaces.

[table] Ofunato City’s Temporary Housing Survey

Nutritional Condition (%)

Deficient Normal Over Consumption Energy 51.5 29.2 19.3 Protein 31 23 46.1 Fat 30.1 24 45.9

Deficient Normal Calcium 88.9 11.1 Vitamin A 87.3 12.7 Vitamin B1 87.8 12.2 Vitamin B2 81.6 18.4 Vitamin C 88 12

Over Consumption Normal Salt 67.1 32.9

（Tokai Shinpo　February 6, 2012）