I would also like to introduce the NPO that Greg and Kyle have been working on called Teachers for Japan. Teachers For Japan was started with MEESA after the 3.11 disaster that devastated the Tohoku area. Their mission is to provide support to the schools of Miyagi that has been heavily damaged by the tsunami.
I had a chance to meet with the members of Teachers For Japan while I was in Sendai. Their passion to help the students of Miyagi made me think of ways that I could also help. During our meeting I realized that there are still many schools in Miyagi that are suffering from the devastation. There are many kids who's homes were washed away or family members lost who are struggling to return to their regular school life. However, now four months after the event the need for school supplies and tuition fees are growing, while the rest of the world is moving on to the latest news. Now more than ever the students in Miyagi need our support. I've taken the initiative to spread the word about this organization in hopes that you and your friends and family will not forget about the kids who are still trying to recover from their losses. So please read on and visit their website Teachers For Japan about how you can help!
For Teachers for Japan's photostream please visit Flickr: Teachers For Japan
About MEESA:
The Miyagi English Education Support Association (MEESA) was founded in 2006. Its goal is to further the cause of English education in Miyagi Prefecture through public events, cultural activities, and teacher support. MEESA promotes and conducts activities including speech contests, public recitations, and seasonal Halloween and Christmas festivals. MEESA has staged such events in Sendai, Tagajo, and other communities throughout Miyagi prefecture.
About the Teachers For Japan Initiative:
In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Miyagi Prefecture and the rest of the northeastern (Tohoku) area of Japan on March 11th, 2011, several foreign English teachers have joined forces with MEESA to create the Teachers For Japan initiative. All of these teachers have lived in Miyagi for more than three years, and remain there despite the destruction and continued danger associated with the ongoing emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
MEESA, a long-standing Non-profit Organization, is working together with these teachers, and other teachers around the world, to effect immediate, local disaster relief efforts in Miyagi Prefecture. As MEESA’s mission centers on education, and that focus is shared by the foreign teachers who have established the Teachers For Japan initiative, we have chosen to make rebuilding education in Miyagi prefecture our primary cause. We aim to do so in the following ways:
1.) Providing financial support to assist in the education of children who lost family members or whose families lost everything they own due to the disaster;
2.) Providing financial support to assist in the rebuilding of damaged or destroyed schools.
The members of the initiative will allocate donation funds to solve local problems and address issues on a personal level. A bank account registered in MEESA’s name has been dedicated solely to the initiative, and 100% of donations will go directly to disaster relief efforts.
This page is for personal statements from current and former Tohoku-area teachers. Tohoku is more than a remote region in a distant country for us; it is a place we have called home, or continue to call home, and the area and its people are still in our hearts. Helping them is a personal commitment for many of us.
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When I heard the news about what happened to Higashimatsushima, my heart sank. I taught at Nobiru Elementary School, Naruse Dai-ni Middle School, and Miyato Elementary School for two years and still visit the town quite a bit; to see these places I love and the people who live there suffering as they are is one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I did not suffer greatly as a result of the earthquake, and was safe from the tsunami where I live now. I want to do everything I can to help my friends there who were not so lucky. - Greg Lekich, ALT in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi, 2007-2009.
I taught French and English for 2 years (2007-2009) at Tomiya high school near Sendai, and also at a school for visually impaired students (Mo-Gakkou) based in Sendai. It was a very rewarding experience: I have wonderful people, who bent over backwards to help me while I was there, I explored Japan and especially the Tohoku region, and I discovered a very rich culture, full of surprises! Even though I have been back in France for almost 2 years now, I can't stop thinking about my life there, and I miss Japan a lot. When I realized the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami, I was extremely shocked. First I felt anxiety, waiting to hear from my friends, then grief to see the deprivation in which they live now. Many teachers or students from Mo-Gakkou come from coastal cities and have lost everything. Observing all that from Paris is unbearable, I feel so helpless. But to see this huge mutual aid, and Japanese friends comforted after reading my e-mails and glad to see that we abroad haven't forgotten them, encouraged me to involve myself even more. Contributing to this organisation is the least I could do, while waiting to go help there.
J'ai enseigné l'anglais et le français pendant 2 ans (2007-2009) à Tomiya, en banlieue de Sendai, et dans une école pour mal-voyants (Mo-Gakkou) basée à Sendai. Ce fut une expérience très enrichissante: j'ai rencontré des gens formidables, se pliant en quatre pour m'aider, j'ai exploré le Japon et plus particulièrement la région de Tohoku, découvert une culture très riche. Même si je suis rentrée en France il y a maintenant presque 2 ans, je n'oublie pas ma vie là-bas, le Japon me manque énormément. Quand j'ai réalisé les ravages causés par le séisme et le tsunami, j'ai été extrèmement choquée. D'abord l'angoisse dans l'attente de nouvelles de mes amis, puis la peine de les voir dans le dénuement dans lequel ils vivent maintenant. Beaucoup de professeurs ou élèves de Mo-Gakkou viennent de villes côtières et ont tout perdu. Vivre tout ça de Paris est très difficile, je me sens tellement impuissante. Mais de voir cette entraide et mes amis japonais aussi réconfortés à la lecture de mes messages, et heureux de voir qu'à l'étranger on prenne de leurs nouvelles, m'encourage à m'investir encore plus. M'investir dans cette organisation est la moindre des choses, en attendant de pouvoir aller aider sur place. - Nathalie Barbier, ALT in Tomiya, Miyagi, 2007-2009.
After the quake, I was immediately worried about the coastal areas, having just talked to my girlfriend the night before about how it wasn't earthquakes you have to worry about in Japan, it's the tsunamis. After hearing about the 30 meter waves on the radio, my worry and frustration of not being able to do anything grew. I was worried not only for my girlfriend, but also for the friends I made that were living near the coast, and the kindergarten I taught at in Higashi-Matsushima. A few days later, I decided to ride my friend's bicycle from Sendai to Ishinomaki to find the friends not yet accounted for, to check on the kindergarten, and find my girlfriend. Luckily, and much to my relief, everyone I searched for was safe and sound. But along the way, during that 50km(30mile) bike ride, I saw a wide array of damage and devastation that I had never in my life seen before. I know that while my friends may have been lucky, there are many who suffered and still are suffering since 3/11. I want to be able to help the battered communities and do what I can to help the people get through this terrible calamity. - Kevin Crowley (ALT in Shiroishi, Miyagi, Eikaiwa Teacher in Sendai, Miyagi, 2009-present)
"About Meesa." Teachers For Japan. N.p., 2011. Web. 14 Jul 2011. <http://www.teachersforjapan.org/English.php>.
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