Disaster Relief Volunteer in Fukuoka

On July 14, 2012, the record rainstorm hit the northern part of Kyushu. One of the most affected areas, Kurogi town is located approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Fukuoka and it used to have the beautiful landscape of rice terraces and green tea fields in the mountains. The rainstorm destroyed roads and fields and the landslides that followed covered the entire area.
Sansonjuku, a local organization based in Kurogi, is working with the locals to preserve the nature of the area and to promote the community revitalization. After the disaster, they got to disaster relief work such as clearing landslides, cleaning ditches and fields and supporting the affected families at evacuation centers.
Habitat Japan partnered with Sansonjuku and mobilized volunteers to join this work. Though it has been 6 months since the disaster, lots are still needed to be done by volunteers because heavy vehicles are not able to access devastated areas. To support people of Kurogi, 11 members of the Campus Chapters, Habitat APU (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University), participated in the volunteer work on January 26-27, 2013.
A home partner, Mr. Sakamoto (72) talked to the students who worked in his green tea field and said, "Thank you very much for helping. Most of the people in Kurogi are elderly so young people's powerful help was most needed."
Habitat Japan continues to work with Sansonjuku and the Campus Chapters to work for disaster relief and local revitalization of Kurogi.