Tuesday, 12 April 2011

A message from Sendai  to be translated later



仙台の遠見塚小学校の先生からのメッセージです。 この間のM6の地震でまた学校の天井が壊れてしまったようです。 入学式を21日に延期して、準備を整えていたときの出来事です。

イギリスの学校の子供たちの手紙をたくさん集めて、教育委員会に送る計画です。
子供たちだけでは、なく職場のお友達にも手紙を書いてもらってください。 短いのお願いします。 :) あとで翻訳するので。 よろしく。 以下、先生からのメールです。



実は、4月7日に強い地震がありまして、
(仙台は震度6でした!)
学校の天井がまた崩れてしまいました。
子どもたちが荷物を取りに来た時のために、
一人分ずつまとめていた荷物も、まためちゃくちゃになり、ガッカリ・・・

ただ、今度は津波がなかったので、
被害はたいしたことはなかったのですけど。

11日に始業式を予定していた学校もたくさんあったのですが、
停電になったり,断水になったりして大変そうです。
うちの学校は,21日始業式、入学式だったので、
その予定は変えずにすみそうです。

子どもたちのメッセージを送っていただけると聞いて、大変嬉しく思います。
せっかくですので、遠見塚小学校ではなく、教育委員会の住所をお知らせします。
教育委員会では、届いた様々なメッセージを掲示して、
市役所を訪れた方々に見ていただいているそうです。
その後、時期を見て個々の学校に届けるということでした。

 仙台市教育委員会の住所です。
  〒980-8671
  仙台市青葉区二日町1番1号
   仙台市教育委員会宛


また、河北新報社で,災害10日間の写真集を出版しました。
清子さんにも是非見ていただきたいと思いました。
良かったら,こちらからも送りたいと思います。
住所を教えていただいてよろしいでしょうか?

また、遠見塚小学校とイギリスの小学校をつなぐアイディア、
大変すばらしいと思います。
文通などできたら,嬉しいですね!!
ただ、リンクして・・・という点については、
今回の震災で我が校のコンピュータ室が大打撃を受けまして、
それが可能どうか分かりません・・・
担当の先生に聞いて、またお返事をしたいと思います。

では、これを機に様々な交流が生まれることを願っています。

どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。
              

P.S.こちらもだいぶ暖かくなりました。
    来週には桜が咲き始めるかもしれません!

After the event....


The fundraiser was incredibly successful.  We had 600 visitors and rose over £5000.  The most amazing thing was that the Japanese community had an idea only three weeks before the event.  There were around 60 people who participated in this most amazing event; nine people in the committee had three meetings, all the jobs were delegated to around 30 people.  The tasks include sushi food preparation, craft preparation, equipments sorted and procuring items needed for the event.  The expenses were very minimum.  Most of the food ingredients and stationary (ink, photo paper, etc) were donated from the Japanese community and the local business people.  The event organisation involved non only Japanese people but British people, Thai people and Korean people.  It was a wonderful example of diversity 'Big Society' which the Tory party would like to call it. 

Well done everyone.   There will be many more of ths to follow. 

Hang on there!

Friday, 8 April 2011

Ryuichi Kiyonari - British Super Bike Champion

We just had a phone call that Ryuichi Kiyonari, last year's British Super Bike Champion, is coming to support the event tomorrow.  It will make a media attraction.  Is he coming with his bike????  Hope so....

One more day to go to a fundraising event

My car has broken down in the middle of a road this morning.  There were so much to do for a tomorrow's fundraising event, which Ganbare Japan is supporting.  I need my bicycle now!

It's amazing to see every single person working their parts to make this event successful: preparing for teriyaki, sushi, making origami crane, making cards, collecting items for the flea market, baking cookies, cakes, cup cakes.  The weather is absolutely gorgeous.  I am just hoping this is going to last for us.

We are about to go to the venue to set up a tent, set up table and chairs for tomorrow.  All the support not only from the Japanese community but also from other Asian communities such as Koren, Thai and Japanese have been very encouraging and helpful.  

Wish us the best.

Thursday, 7 April 2011

Street Collection

It was a busy day.  My children finished the school and now officially 'Easter holiday' for next three weeks!

I've got a permission for a street collection on Saturday in Beeston. Everything is new to me.  I'm going through a huge leanring curve.  The staff at Broxtowe council was very helpful.  It usually takes four weeks to get a permission but they did it for us in just two days.  She said 'You cannot plan for something like this in advance, can you?'  That is very true.  I was very grateful for the efficient process.

Linda Button at Oban House, who is Chairperson for the charity called Voluntary Action Browtowe, makes our preparation as easy as possible.  She is the one to quickly have responded to my appeal to offer the venue to run a fundraising event on Saturday.  Without her support, the event would not have been organised. 

All the helpers for the event have been working day in day out now for the last three and half weeks.  But compared to what the people in Japan suffer, it is nothing.  Three more days of hard work....

Ganbatte!

Japan Day on 9th April

Ganbare Japan – Go Japan Go!
 
FREE ENTRY

Place: Oban House, Beeston, Nottingham 8 Chilwell Rd, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 1EJ
Next to the Beeston Central Post Office Date: Saturday 9th April Time: 10 am - 3 pm

At this Japan tsunami fundraiser, we will have:
 Origami, Manga and Calligraphy Workshops
 tasting Japanese food including sushi, tempura and yakitori
 trying on Kimono
 Flea market and a lot more.

Do come and join us.


Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Japan Day at Nottingham High Junior School


I had a very good and fruitful meeting with Miss Walster, a teacher at Nottingham High Junior School. I already visited the school to give a talk about Japan very after the tsunami.   She is very passionate about language and cross culture.

The school was originally planning for a multi language day but decided to focus on Japan this time. They would like to organise a Japan Day in June for the boys to learn more about Japan.  The event will be full of activities such as calligraphy, language learning, history, geography and food tasting. 

Looking forward to preparing for the day.