About Our Organization

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Columbus, Ohio, United States
This non-profit organization was founded by Chie Murakami Schuller, who was born and raised in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She now lives in Columbus, Ohio. She founded this organization to raise funds for and awareness of the recent natural disaster in Northeast Japan. Ishinomaki(Miyagi) was devastated by the recent tsunami caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake on 03/11/11. Donations raised by this organization will be sent to Chie's friends including one friend who is still missing (she left behind a husband and a 5 month old daughter). Money can’t buy happiness nor can it bring back a loved one. However, our love will be much greater than the tsunami that took everything from the victim. As our logo says, our love will cover everything-including thier sadness and pain. Thank you for making a difference and showing your support for Miyagi, Japan. If you have any questions regarding this organization or how the donations are sent/spent, please contact us at loveformiyagijapan@gmail.com

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Sad News From Ishinomaki.





Today I received a package from my mother, and in that package, she included a photo book of the 3/11/11 Tsunami which was published by the local news paper.  In that picture book, there was a photo of the Okawa Elementary school which lost 70 percent of its students.  The school name made it to the national news headlines many times, so many of you might have already heard about this school.  Every time I hear or read about them, I wondered if I know any of the parents of the students who were killed or missing, or any of the teachers.

My mother also included a copy of newspaper article which tells a story of a local teacher and his wife looking for their daughter who was a student at Okawa Elementary and still missing as of May 21st.   The teacher in the article is my history teacher from my junior high school.  He was also my brother's homeroom teacher.  I cannot even imagine what they are going through.....Just like my teacher and Yuki's family, there are many others who are still searching for their families.  In Ishinomaki, people lost at least one family member, relative or friend in 3/11 Tsunami.  I’m no exception.  My heart goes out to my teacher and his wife, and all the people who lost their loved one in the tsunami.

今日は悲しいニュースが地元からまたありました。
母親から小さな小包が届いたのですが、その中に地元の新聞紙、三陸河北新報社が発行した特別写真集が含まれていて、その写真集の中には生徒の7割が犠牲になった石巻の大川小学校の写真もありました。大川小学校はニュースや新聞でも全国的に大きく取り上げられたので名前を聞いた方もいらっしゃるのではないでしょうか...ニュースなどでこの小学校の名前を聞くたびに、犠牲になられた生徒達のご両親や先生方の中に私の知っている人がいるんだろうか...といつも考えていました。。。。そしてその写真集の中に1枚の新聞記事のコピーが大川小学校の写真のページに挟まっていました。

その記事には中学校で大変お世話になった先生が、奥様と一緒に行方不明のお嬢さんを探していると書かれてあるではありませんか。。。。。5月21日の時点ではまだ見つかっていないそうです。どんな思いでいらっしゃるのか。。。。本当に心が引き裂かれる思いです。そして辛い地元の現実は先生のような思いをしていらっしゃる方がたくさんいるということ。。。石巻ではみんな必ず自分の身内や友人に犠牲者の方がいる状態です。先生のお嬢さんや私の友人のように、まだたくさんの方が行方不明で見つかっておりません。一日も早く、そして一人でも多くの方が家族のもとに帰れますように。。。。

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