ARIGATO Project

The ARIGATO Project of United Earth, an organization committed to social contribution, is supporting the areas stricken by the earthquake and tsunami that occurred during the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.

1. About the ARIGATO Project

ARIGATO is a beautiful Japanese word that expresses concern and heartfelt gratitude for others.
It means Thank You and also For You as a word showing gratitude and consideration for others.
At the ARIGATO Project, as we support the stricken areas to reconstruct, we hope to spread the word ARIGATO throughout the world, giving thanks to the people being supported, the supporters and those beyond the country’s borders.

The earthquake reconstruction is said to take a very long time. We look forward to your cooperation.

2. About the support recipients

At the ARIGATO Project, as we support reconstruction from the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, our support activities are centering on the reconstruction of Minami Sanriku-cho, Miyagi Prefecture where there was devastating damage from the tsunami.

* About the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and the support recipient Minami Sanriku-cho, Miyagi Prefecture

* About the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake (the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake)
At 46 minutes 18 seconds after 2PM (JST) on March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred. The epicenter was off the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture, and the magnitude of the Tohoku Region Pacific Coast Earthquake set a new record in Japan.

At Minami Sanriku-cho, Miyagi Prefecture which the ARIGATO Project is supporting, the tsunami is said to have reached more than 16 meters (52 feet). The town hall and many company factories, stores and private homes were lost, and the entire town received devastating damage.

See details at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami



3. What the ARIGATO Project is aiming for

We are not looking to support only what is happening right now, but we are aiming, together with the people of the stricken area, to realize the building of a new energy efficient town. Our activities will help the towns devastated by the earthquake disaster be reconstructed as soon as possible, and they will be more giving to the residents, gentle to the earth, and will be seen by the world as model towns moving toward environment and people building. We look forward to your cooperation.

The 5 phases of support activity

We are tackling the following 5 phases as we move toward reconstruction.

1st phase: Supply materials and funds needed to avoid damage to life
2nd phase: Support life in refugee shelters and debris removal
3rd phase: Child support, care for those living in temporary housing, support of lost communities
4th phase: Financial recovery, support of industrial reconstruction as a means to return to daily living, creating jobs, entrepreneurial support
5th phase: Working toward building a new town, building an energy efficient town, educating future leaders

As of October 2011, we are tackling phases 2 through 4.

Our vision regarding our support activities (introducing some of our achievements)

Directly after the earthquake disaster, we started street fundraising in the Kansai and Tokyo areas.
On March 20th, we sent advance parties to do on-the-spot surveys at the stricken areas, and of the areas surveyed, decided to support Minami Sanriku-cho, Miyagi Prefecture where the tsunami had washed away most of the town. Upon getting organized, we began requesting volunteers and gathering materials via the Internet.

The following video is of the tsunami that hit Minami Sanriku-cho, Miyagi Prefecture at the time of the earthquake. It makes us realize anew the terror of the tsunami and the extent of the damage.

1st phase: Emergency goods and funds support
1st phase: Emergency goods and funds support

Directly after the earthquake disaster, we started street fundraising.
One week after the earthquake disaster, we sent survey teams to the Tohoku area, and decided to support Minami Sanriku-cho, Miyagi Prefecture where the damage from the tsunami was extensive.
At the same time, we began requesting volunteers and materials via the Internet.

In addition
Building of the Minami Sanriku-cho Volunteer Center in connection with the Social Welfare Conference.
Material support of rice, condiments, clothing, tents, etc
Donation of sunflower seeds and 250 planters to Shizugawa Elementary School and Shizugawa Junior High School with the cooperation of “Megumi Japan”
A gift of 400 carnations on Mother’s Day to each refugee shelter with the cooperation of the Ichirin no Hana Project (One Flower Project)
Distribution to each refugee shelter of signed books provided by screenwriter Kankuro Kudo.
Clothing support attended by martial artist Shungo Oyama
An earthquake disaster support charity seminar was held in Tokyo.

 

 

2nd phase: Debris removal and refugee shelter support
* In the 2nd phase, we are supporting the victims living in refugee shelters and supporting the removal of debris from buildings destroyed in the tsunami.
* We received from the town a request to organize the support for the Tokura area refugee shelter “Nature’s Home” and the Shizukawa refugee shelter, the Shizukawa Junior High School, and victim support, child care and material management began. (The refugee shelters were closed in September 2011.)

Other activities
* Through various corporate CSR activities, we have started volunteer tours. As a result, many corporations have come to Minami Sanriku-cho to volunteer.
* By introducing various corporations to influential people in the damaged town, we have been promoting projects for the benefit of the local residents, and we have been attending the visitations of celebrities to the stricken area.

 

 

 

3rd phase: Child support, care for those living in temporary housing, support of lost communities
* Due to the damage from the tsunami, facilities for child-care such as nursery schools have disappeared. We are supporting child-care by building safe places for the children to play so that family members can go to work without worry.
* We are operating a cafeteria-style coffee shop where the people living in temporary housing can comfortably gather.

 

4th phase: Financial recovery, support of industrial reconstruction as a means to return to daily life, creating jobs, entrepreneurial support

* We are developing plans and management for events that will become town businesses and for activities to increase the number of visitors with tours from outside the area. Also, we are proceeding with plans for shopping areas with simple stores built from shipping containers as well as industrial reconstruction support, job creation support and entrepreneurial support to help with the financial recovery of the town.

“Storytelling Guide Project” (Japanese only)

Through our reconstruction support activities, we are aiming not to return the town to its former structure, but to realize a town that children in the future can be proud of, a town able to resist disasters, a town proud to show the world it is at the edge of energy efficiency. Through consensus of many concerned technicians, industrialists, politicians and townspeople, we are presently working toward this realization.

In order to realize the ideal town, we feel it is of the utmost importance to firmly conduct phases 1 through 4 and recover the town’s energy.

Long-term support will be necessary for some time.

We look forward to your continued cooperation.