Day 2 - Arrival, Orientation & First Impressions

Arrival at the Ishinomaki Senshu University - the main base of operations for volunteers in the area

Everything looked surprisingly calm and idyllic - more like the tent city at a music festival...

University track athletes continuing to train seemingly oblivious to our presence...

 

We initially joined up with a large crew of short term (2 day) volunteers for orientation

As we crossed the canal into Ishinomaki city itself, we caught our first glimpse of the damage....

...and of the local people working to rebuild the city.

The remains of an unmanned rice mill opposite our base camp

We were fortunate enough to have a roof over our head courtesy of Kaska Fashion, a textile factory which was gutted during the tsunami.

The ladies room

After a brief respite to drop our bags we were quickly organised into work teams....under the watchful eyes of a camera crew from Asahi television, sent to document the activities of international volunteers (more on that later)

The sports centre adjacent to our base camp...

On our way to our first job , we witness a truck being removed from the side of a building

Our first job....

...the residence of the Sawada family

...and what was left of their garage

Katie all decked out and ready to tackle the mud...

Ailyn in a brief moment of respite

Our first batch of mud and garbage...

Sawada-san speaking to Asahi Television

Part of the daily routine - the removal of the toxic sludge from all our equipment...

The closest we got to a shower all week

Across the road from our camp, the damaged greenhouse structure in the background has actually been cleaned out and an attempt is being made to re-seed the land

The camaraderie among the volunteers made a huge difference on morale

The Asahi Television crew was tasked with observing and documenting the activities of the international volunteers, including their dietary habits!

We were essentially confined to our camp in the evening. Lights out was at 10pm so we found ways to occupy our evenings....

Although many were too exhausted to stay awake until 'official' lights out

Prelude to Departure

Prelude:

It has been a short while since I returned to Tokyo after a week of volunteering with Peaceboat, an NGO which has been at the forefront of volunteering activities in Tohoku since March 11th. Their base of operations is in the city of Ishinomaki, at the heart of one of the regions most impacted by the earthquake and ensuing tsunami, a wasteland of destroyed homes and vehicles submerged in seemingly random debris. 

My decision to volunteer had seemed a fairly easy one to make. I never gave much thought as to why, I simply hoped to be useful and maybe give a little something back to this country I have adopted as a home. My only clear objective was to try and take as many photos as possible so as to provide my friends and family with a snapshot of the reality of the situation on the ground.

I will try and stay true to that purpose through this blog. Although I may pause to comment on events which shaped my thinking throughout the week. You have been warned. 

Departure:

Initial preparations - we were required to bring all our supplies with us, including food and water. Other essentials included full protective gear, high sensitivity masks and steel soled boots.

There were five bus loads of volunteers heading up to Ishinomaki - 22 teams including two international teams composed of 12 international volunteers.

Yuki - the key coordinator for the international contingent

Etsuko - Leader of Team 8-22 (official title) also known as the A-Team (any copyright infringement was completely intentional)

Simon - the French abalone farmer who would soon become my good friend and teammate