DISASTER RELIEF
Playtime in Fukushima
By Sarah Pate
Operation Blessing International
FUKUSHIMA, Japan – When most parents are encouraging their children to go outside and play, families in Fukushima are suggesting the exact opposite.
Following the devastating tsunami in 2011, the community suffered another blow when the local nuclear power plant was crippled in the disaster. Among other things, concerns over radiation exposure kept children from being able to play outside for long periods of time.
When a kindergarten and after school care center asked CBN’s Operation Blessing for help to supply food and drinks for the children—teams decided something much more than snacks was needed.
“I was impressed by the programs they had for kids, including an outreach to displaced children living in temporary housing,” said Don Thomson, country director for OBI Japan. “But in order to transport the children they were required by the government to have a proper bus. They also needed a bus to take the kindergartners on excursions a safe distance away from Fukushima.”
 So a proper bus is what Operation Blessing gave them—complete with a beautiful new logo designed by a local artist.
At the official presentation ceremony, the kindergarteners and staff performed special songs in gratitude for the gift.
“We are very happy,” said Pastor Kokubo whose church runs the school and after care center. “We look forward to being able to take the children to safe areas to play. It is not just us who are to be blessed, but that we bring the whole town into the blessings,” he added.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward CBN’s Operation Blessing International’s disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery.
Please make an on-line donation today.
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