The village of Hiraiso lost 60 percent of its houses and most of its related fishing, oyster and seaweed cultivation equipment.

Report from the field: OBI teams share their firsthand, eye-witness accounts of the relief efforts in Japan

SHIOGAMA, Japan – On Friday we held our fourth eye clinic for the week—this time in Hiraiso Village, a small fishing and farming hamlet nestled in an inlet on the Miyagi Coast. Here, the neighboring large town of Minami Sanriku, 55 miles north of Sendai, had been wiped out by the tsunami. The village had also lost 60 percent of its houses and most of its related fishing, oyster and seaweed cultivation equipment.

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We had come to this village by special request of a local resident, Ms. Mitsuyo Satoh, a middle-school classmate of Mr. Abe, our rice supplier. Mr. Abe had told her about Operation Blessing and our work in Japan.

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On Friday OBI held a fourth eye clinic for the week—this time in Hiraiso Village, a small fishing and farming hamlet nestled in an inlet on the Miyagi Coast.

Ms. Satoh’s workplace at the general hospital in the next town had been completely flooded to the fourth floor by the tsunami, but fortunately she was home when the earthquake/tsunami struck. Her home overlooked the village inlet, so the waves did not reach her house, but she had watched in horror as the tsunami took out her hometown below. Eleven villagers lost their lives that day.

All of the surviving villagers are camping out in a retirement home overlooking the inlet. Because they are so far out from the larger cities/towns that have been given priority on restoring utilities, they are still without power and water, with no real possibility for them to be restored in the near future. They are surviving on supplies that are being brought in from outside the village.

The village chief, Mr. Kumayoshi Watanabe, who is a seaweed grower, was one of the first in line for his prescription glasses. His home had been flooded to the first floor. Many like Mr. Watanabe lost their glasses to the tsunami as they scrambled to run to safety.

In our conversations with the village chief, we learned that they too had a laundry issue. So, Operation Blessing did what it does best—and that was to simply go and get what the people need and had asked for. We returned the next day in our truck with three washing machines and generators to go with each. The comment that we got from the vice-mayor in Japanese, was “Minasan hayai desu ne!” (You guys are sure fast!)

Saturday was the big day that the OBI generators were to be transported by a barge from the Shiogama Port to the Urato Islands.

Saturday was the big day that our generators were to be transported by a barge from the Shiogama Port to the Urato Islands. The generators had been kept on the fish market dock since being flown in from the U.S., where they had been prepped and awaited delivery to the islands.

However, by the time the generators were loaded onto the barge, the barge operators said that due to unfavorable weather and wind, waters outside the harbor would be too choppy to get the cargo to the islands safely. We would need to wait at least another two days.

On Monday the weather looked perfect, not a cloud in the sky. The cherry blossoms were looking great against the blue sky. We thought surely we would be able to take the generators to the islands today.

The waters outside the harbor were far too dangerous for the barge to safely gets its precious cargo to the islanders due to unfavorable wind conditions today.

However, when we got down to the port this morning, the barge operator indicated that contrary to what the sky looked like, the waters outside the harbor were far too dangerous for the barge to safely gets its precious cargo to the islanders due to unfavorable wind conditions. We therefore would have to wait at least another day.

Part of our planned cargo for the islanders included some washing machines, and a refrigerator that had been specifically requested by the islanders. City officials quickly arranged for a fishing boat that would be able to take these items to the islanders. For these we wouldn’t need heavy equipment to load and unload as we did with the generators on the barge.

So, we did a quick trip to Sabusawa Island and Nonojima Island. We were able to deliver the washing machines and refrigerator. We pray that the weather will be just right tomorrow so this phase of our operation to the islands can be completed.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

 

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