We fixed the nameplates to the entrances of the first 115 households at the temporary housing site on Saturday, May 28th.
We visited every household along with 10 other volunteers from within and outside the town, including some from as far away as Miyazaki in Kyushu, in the south part of Japan, and the 5 local junior high school students who had helped make the nameplates. We handed the residents the nameplates which were blessed with a lot of good wishes.
The residents received the nameplates saying, “Oh, great! Can I really receive this? Thank you!” “You’ve made this so beautifully! Thank you very much! ” We were very pleased with their reactions.
Unfortunately it was raining from the morning and it took almost a whole day, from 10 am to 3pm, to finish the work. However the volunteers said delightedly, “As we visited every unit and talked to the residents while working, we could see every family liked their nameplates. That made us happy, too.” “I felt that we were able to cheer up the victims in cooperation with the local junior high school students. Although it was only a brief visit, I was really glad to see the residents’ smiles.”
The junior high school students who participated said, “Last time I volunteered, I drew pictures on the nameplates. This time I got to attach them to the entrances of people’s homes. I was glad to meet more people and see their delighted looks.” “As every unit has a different nameplate, the entire site of the temporary housing now has a more cheerful atmosphere than it had when I came here for the first time.”
We are going to make such nameplates every time new residents move in, eventually making 420, in total, for all the households.
Reported by Musubu Matsuura, a local volunteer, from Shichigahama, Miyagi, Northeastern Japan.