A relief agency in Japan has sent a letter of appreciation to Powell River residents for their contributions.
Yumi Ball, her family and friends, held several fundraiser events for the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. They raised over $6,000.
A month ago, Ball sent all the money to a Japanese organization called Ganbaro Miyagi, the Recovery Assistance Centre of Miyagi.
Ball said she also sent an email to Hideki Mogi, who is in charge of the organization, to let him know that this money is not just from a small group of supporters, but it’s from the whole community of Powell River. Mogi was so impressed, he wrote a letter to the community to express his gratitude.
Mogi wrote that the organization was grateful for the warm support. “We have used your kind donations to support people in need,” he wrote. “We told many people how we have received donations from Powell River. People were very grateful that so many people from so far away cared about them. We would like to say thank you to everyone in Powell River from Miyagi.”
The organization established a relief centre a few days after the earthquake. Since then, it has been involved in many projects. It has distributed more than 1,000 tons of relief supplies and has provided bus service to isolated areas. It also supports the local government, runs a shop that sells goods from the area hit by the tsunami and provides school lunches for children.
Mogi indicated that the organization will keep on working for the next 10 years. “It is very important for victims to have constant support,” he wrote. “Many supporting groups left Miyagi and stopped supporting a few months after the quake. However, we will continue our supporting projects.”
Mogi also stated that he will send updates of how the organization is helping to rebuild the area.
