American Airlines, Japan Society, Rotary Club, and US-Japan Foundation to support Japanese Medical Society of America and 9/11 Tribute Center again for the Second Outreach Mission to Japan
In August 2013, American Airlines flew a second team to Japan for an outreach mission. JMSA and Rotary International led members of the 9.11 community (family members, survivors, rescue and recovery workers, residents of the WTC neighbourhood) and Mount Sinai Global Health to share their personal stories of transformation and give hope to survivors of the 3.11 earthquake disaster in Tohoku, Japan with children in need and the community.
"At American Airlines, supporting children and their families is a primary focus of our Kids in Need program," said Bernie Willett, American's Director – Citizenship and Community Programs. "We're proud to partner with JMSA for the 2nd consecutive year to join their mission to give hope to children in Tohoku, Japan, who are still suffering from 3/11 disaster.”George Packard, the President of the United States-Japan Foundation, “extends every good wish for the success of the project.”
Kids in Need – children in temporary housing shelter:
More than two years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, disaster stricken areas continue to suffer the consequences. In particular, children’s emotional wellbeing is a concern as many continue to live in temporary housing away from their hometown communities. Our outreach mission can empower school communities by sharing personal stories of 9/11 community members’ recovery over the past 12 years. The inspiring meetings are highly effective in facilitating communication about psychological responses to disaster, and can lead to the enhancement of children’s resilience and active coping.
We revisited Shin-chi machi, one of the temporary housing shelter complex in Northern Fukushima. Last October, we did not see any playground. Today, we were excited to see a playground at the complex.
Local residents said hearing kids play outside gave them a sense of peace and comfort.
This boy brought his 9.11 medal he got from last year.
Kids in Need – Christmas in Summer:
Santa Claus always brings joy to the kids around the world.
Gift of Kizuna (connected with hope) T-shirts in Shin-chi machi temporary housing, Northern Fukushima.
PepKids is a large indoor playground run by the city of Koriyama in Central Fukushima (Left)
High five with NYC fire fighters (Right)
We asked kids in Fukushima what wish they had for Santa (Left)
Kids play indoors as radiation counter quietly monitors outside (Right)
We cheered foster children at a temporary housing shelter in Otsuchi-cho, Iwate Prefecture, where half the city was swamped by Tsunami on 3.11 and about 10% of town population lost their lives.
Continue Reading Here (To Part 2/3)
Person to Person Dialogue: Connecting 9.11 to 3.11 – Together We Can Move Forward