Kumamoto Earthquake Relief
Kumamoto Earthquake Relief
Kumamoto Earthquake Relief
Kumamoto Earthquake Relief
Kumamoto Earthquake Relief
This campaign is closed
Kumamoto Earthquake Relief
Japan has always had a beautiful, rich culture that still remains to captivate me. Whenever there was book assigned in school to be read involving its history or culture, I would be drawn into reading until the sun went down, only to later turn on a light to continue, of course. From reading the accounts of survivors of the Hiroshima bombing to the narrative of a geisha, I was always intrigued to discover more. Believe me when I say that I was ecstatic to have been assigned the country of Japan to represent in a Model United Nations Conference, a mock United Nations conference for students to discuss global issues, as I wrote ceaselessly in my position paper.
When I heard about an earthquake first occurring in 2011 in Japan, I was reading the story of "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr. The book describes the point of view of a 12 year old girl who was diagnosed with leukemia due to the radiation of the Hiroshima bombing that had occurred ten years prior. She attempted to fold 1,000 cranes after hearing the legend that it would grant her one wish after the completion. Whether the legend was true or not, I folded 1,000 cranes to make one wish, one that I would have to make happen myself.
My one wish was to make a difference in the world in some way, and now I finally have the chance to.
As reported by the United Nations on April 18th, 2016, the earthquakes that struck Kumamoto had displaced around 110,000 people from their homes as well as caused the deaths of 40 people. In a recent article by Japan Times, over 1,000 quakes have occurred since the initial one. The number of deceased by the earthquakes has rose to 49, and 16 have assumed to have died from either stress, fatigue or other situations involving the earthquakes. Other survivors remain to be psychology affected.
After researching through various organizations, I decided that the money received through this fundraiser will go through Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development (NICCO), which is a non-profit and non-governmental organization founded in Kyoto, Japan in 1979.
As reported by donate-japan.org:
What they are doing in Japan for this earthquake
Current activities:
Mid-term plan:
If donation exceeds capacity:
NICCO fits essentially what I was looking for, as it provides a plan for the present and the future of the victims of the Kumamoto Earthquake, and have implemented past projects within Cambodia and other countries to ensure that the people gain some stability, whether it be that they are refugees, impoverished, or survivors of a disaster such as the earthquake in Kumamoto. To read more about them, you may check their website here: http://kyoto-nicco.org/english/index.html
To further support this fundraiser, 20% of an order's total before shipping, placed through my storenvy will be donated along with whatever is earned by you guys within the month of May. So, essentially, for every $5 placed upon an order, $1 will be donated towards this fund. A paper crane, that I had folded 5 years ago to make my one wish, will be included within orders who have helped through their purchase for each $1 donated through them.
Instead of it just being myself to make my wish come alive, we can change the world together. With the amount of support I've received so far this year from many people, I believe we can become a force to help Japan in its current state and hopefully many others. Despite the small community, I believe we can achieve big things from even the littlest actions.
Just with one wish.
To anyone who donates, thank you from the bottom of my heart.