Help Tsunami Affected Children Return to School
- Projects:
- 106
You can give schooling for young survivors of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami. Onagawa Night School (ONS) is a part of Katariba’s Collaborative School program that was started after the devastating events of March 11, 2011. ONS employs local teachers and runs free after-school classes for children from Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture. Many of these children lost their homes to the tsunami and live in evacuation centers and temporary housing. Your support will help them to attend ONS, receive a proper education, and inspire them to achieve their potential.
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The Need
More than 20,000 people were killed or gone missing from the 9.0-magnitude Great East Japan Earthquake. It triggered a massive tsunami that hit north-east coast, leaving approximately 120,000 houses completely destroyed. Onagawa was one of the most devastated areas along the Pacific coast with thousands of deaths displacements. More than 90% of elementary school students in Onagawa became homeless or displaced as the result of the tsunami. While there have been improvements, still approximately 25% of elementary and junior-high school students in the Onagawa are living at an evacuation center or temporary shelter. These young people lack the space where they study and it is vital to provide them with adequate learning environments so that they do not give up on higher learning or their future dreams.
About iLEAP/ Katariba
Partner since August, 2011
iLEAP cultivates and inspires a new generation of global citizens motivated by a commitment to service and who have the practical skills, critical thinking, and global community of support to create systemic positive social change in the world. iLEAP envisions a worldwide community of interlinked global citizens and innovative organizations from which will emerge creative partnerships that will fundamentally shift the practice and purpose around international volunteerism, business, and development. Kumi Imamura, is the founder of Katariba and is a graduate of iLEAP's Social Innovation Forum, Japan. Katariba (meaning “place for sharing” in Japanese) is a non-profit organization in Tokyo, Japan, established in 2001, with a vision of “a society filled with energetic young people who are well-equipped to survive”, Katariba flagship work is to train and dispatch teams of university students to high schools and for them to facilitate workshops on career development and planing. Through this mentoring, high school students become more motivated and many positive changes emerged--such as a stronger desire to study, clearer goal-setting and a more cooperative attitude. Each year, Katariba works with approximately 100 high schools all over Japan and is now delivering workshops at universities and businesses, as well as to develop alternative educational programs for the disaster-stricken Tohoku area. Onagawa Night School is the first project of The Collaborative School under a partnership between Katariba, local school authorities (including the school board and teachers from supplementary private schools in Onagawa Town, Miyagi Prefecture), and Japanese and international supporters. More projects to be launched soon in other communities in disaster-stricken area.
