Volunteering in Odaka

4/22/2017

I would like to make this post about volunteering work that is currently taking place in Odaka-ku, Minamisoma. I don’t do this to self-promote, but to bring awareness to a wonderful opportunity, if you are looking to help out.

Lots of helping hands waiting for assignments.

They supply an instant ramen lunch if you don't have your own.

The meeting house is kept clean and organized.

Odaka is the southernmost ward of Minamisoma City. It was affected by the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake. Along with Futaba, Okuma, Namie and Itate, it was evacuated because of radiation. The last year Odaka was finally opened back up, and the government has given the ok for people to move back in. The other towns have not yet been cleared for habitation (although I do hear that parts of Namie are pretty close to being opened again.) Right now they are cleaning up Odaka, but I expect they will need help with Namie in the near future.

Before and after. Digging a ditch to reveal a pipe broken from the tsunami.

Loading felled logs and removing them from a property.

Thinning a bamboo forest.

As a result, Odaka town is in need of help cleaning up the town so people can move back in. Every month a group of English-speaking volunteers go into Odaka and help clean up the town and do tasks assigned to us by the volunteer center’s directors. The volunteer center is open four days a week, so you don’t need to be a part of a specific group to join up.

The help needed in Odaka is that of manual labor. I have been a fair amount of times and I have always done things outside that require me to use tools. I have cleared land, cut down trees and bamboo forests, dug ditches, cleared and moved logs. I have even repelled off a hill while helping move already cut down trees off the hill. In the past people have cleaned out homes so they could be demolished, although I have never done this work myself. The work is tiring but rewarding.

Before and after: clearing a field.

Before and after, clearing a yard.

After a day of volunteer work is completed most people go to the local onsen to socialize and relax their muscles in a hot bath. Normally tickets to the onsen are 800 yen, but if you do a day of volunteer work, you can buy tickets from the volunteer center for 200 yen.

There is always work to be done and ways you can help. If you are interested please look into joining the English-speaking, or any, volunteer group to help this community get back on its feet.

Website: http://ameblo.jp/((()))-home-net/

Phone number: 0244-26-8934