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READYFOR Secretariat: This project relates to disaster relief activities in disaster-stricken areas. The situation of the affected areas and the affected people has been changing. Please also check the information sent by public institutions and media reports regarding information on the affected areas.

 

【Learning Support for Children Affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake】

 

■The 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake

On January 1, 2024, at 4:10 p.m., a 7-magnitude earthquake occurred in the Noto Peninsula region of Ishikawa Prefecture.

Damage such as collapsed houses, tsunamis, and power and water outages were confirmed, mainly in the Hokuriku region.

It was a major natural disaster that killed more than 200 people, and many people need to evacuate while recovery work is still underway.

 

 

■Concerns about prolonged evacuation and psychological care for children

Even now, more than two months after the earthquake, lifelines such as electricity and water are still being restored, and many people need to evacuate. On January 17, about 260 junior high school students in Wajima City left their parents and began a mass evacuation to a facility in Ishikawa Prefecture. In some areas, people have been returning to their homes one by one since mid-March, but there are concerns that various problems will arise due to the prolonged evacuation of people in the future.

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, efforts to provide psychological care for children became a major issue as evacuations, recovery, and reconstruction of the community took place.

There are also reports that while they have lost their energy and motivation, closed their minds, and cannot see their future lives, the presence of friends and adults who listen to and interact with them has been significant.

 

 

 

■ We want to help everyone in the disaster area from Miyagi

My name is Masamichi Takahashi, and I am the manager of "Free Space Michi," a free school in Osaki City, Miyagi Prefecture.

We are actively working with children every day.

Thanks to everyone's support daily, we are about to celebrate four whole years since we opened.

Miyagi Prefecture was also severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake. However, with the great support of people nationwide, substantial progress is being made every day in the reconstruction processes.

At that time, we received a lot of help from the people of Ishikawa Prefecture.

"We want to give back at that time." This is a sincere desire for those who live in Miyagi Prefecture.

 

 

■ Support for children in the disaster area and the "basic philosophy" of education in Ishikawa Prefecture

Through the daily operation of the free school, children grow because they have a place where they feel safe.

Long-term support for children in the affected areas is necessary in an uncertain situation.

On the other hand, many people want to help the people in the affected areas in some way.

Thinking about what I could do to help, an image on a website caught my eye.

 

This is the "basic goal" of education in Ishikawa Prefecture.

【We will develop human resources with pride and attachment to Ishikawa and contribute to the world and the region. 】

 

<Ishikawa Prefectural Board of Education, 3rd Ishikawa's Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education>

https://www.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/kyoiku/plan3/documents/plan3_s1.pdf

 

With this goal in mind, I would like to walk into the future with the children of Ishikawa Prefecture. That's what I thought.

Thinking about what it would be like to be able to do from a Miyagi, we made the best use of the experience we had cultivated over the four years of operating a free school.

"Online Learning Support"

I decided to do it.

 

 

 

■ Contents of the project

"Online Learning Support for Children on the Noto Peninsula"

●Support period: April 1, 2024 ~ March 31, 2025

●Target: Elementary school students, junior high school students, and high school students in the disaster-stricken areas, mainly in Wajima City, Suzu City, and Noto Town

●Details of support

(1) We will support children's learning online via Zoom. The time of day is night.

(2) We will visit the site during the long summer and winter vacations and provide face-to-face learning support.

We plan to visit the site twice, in early August and late December.

*Subject to change at any time depending on the local damage situation and support situation. I appreciate your understanding.

(3) Through learning support, we will promote mental health care and support for children, as well as information sharing and collaboration with related organizations such as schools, boards of education, and local NPOs.

 

●How to support

(1) Dissemination of learning support to target students ⇒ dissemination through various social networking sites, local media, etc.

(2) We will conduct interviews with families who have requested learning support and make arrangements such as schedules

(3) Learning support will start when various preparations are completed. We also support high school and university entrance exams.

(4) While providing learning support, we will share information with the children's schools as necessary to create a support system.

We will also collaborate with organizations that support children in the area.

* Regarding collaboration with affiliated schools and other related organizations, we will utilize the experience we have cultivated through the operation of free schools.

 

 

■ Recruitment of volunteers

We are looking for volunteers, mainly university students from Ishikawa Prefecture.

It is a treasure that will create the future of Ishikawa together with the children.

I hope that as many human resources as possible will be nurtured to reconstruct the disaster-stricken areas.

 

 

■ Current status of activities in learning support

The situation in the disaster-stricken areas is still changing from moment to moment, and the methods and priorities of support and local needs will change according to the situation at that time.

We want to inform you about the current situation of the learning support project.

・Cooperation with related organizations

Every Tuesday, I attend the "Collaboration Meeting for Stakeholders in Creating a Place for Children Affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake" sponsored by the Japan and OECD Joint Research to gather information and collaborate with activity groups.

We will provide learning support while observing trends supporting children's place, mainly at evacuation centers.

 

・How to determine which child is eligible for support

After disseminating information on social media and the media, we plan to decide on support based on direct contact with families and information and consultations from related organizations.

We plan to start disseminating information in early April when preparations and adjustments are completed while monitoring the local situation.

 

 

■ About returns

We will send you “Thank you e-mail” and a monthly progress report.

In addition, we will send you a project booklet of activity records after the project is completed.

I would like to tell you about the energetic appearance of the children on the Noto Peninsula and how they are doing their best in their studies.

 

 

■ Usage of the donation

Your donations will be used to cover the personnel costs of staff and volunteers who provide learning support, as well as transportation and accommodation expenses for face-to-face support in the field during the summer and winter vacations.

We will responsibly connect your kindness to those supporting children's learning.

We would like to ask for your support so that we can work together with the children of Ishikawa Prefecture to create a "road" for reconstruction and the future.