Tsunami Survivor Hopes to Work as Volunteer for Others in Otsuchi, Iwate Pref. (2)

Tsunami Survivor Hopes to Work as Volunteer for Others in Otsuchi, Iwate Pref. (2)

The handicraft group has made many series of Eco Tawashi brushes, such as those of small animals, famous characters and sweets. Members look forward to having a chat about the designs and colors for the next series. ”We are very much grateful to Keiko for her support, because this work helps us very much, helps us to encourage ourselves,” Sachiko Sato said. Fukudate and Kishiko Hakamada agreed. “We are having fun with this job,” Hakamada said.

-Area around Damaged Town Office Looks Like Ghost Town-
Otsuchi was a town with a population of about 15,000 before the disaster. Over 1,600 lives were lost in the tsunami waves. Despite a lapse of one year, scars of the tsunami damage still can be seen at many places in the town, among them the completely damaged building of the town office and the piers of a collapsed railway bridge over Otsuchi River. At the deserted town office, which stands like a monument, the clock on the front of the building points the time when the tsunami hit the town, 3:16 p.m. Before the main entrance to the building was a desk to lay flowers for the victims, including the 69-year-old town mayor, Koki Kato. Dozens of damaged vehicles, including a few fire engines, had been assembled at a place which used to be a business area near the town office building.
The building was on the busiest street in the town, which was lined by a police station, a post office, a fire station, a public library and banks and other commercial establishments. The area looked like a ghost town.

-“I’d like to go to workplace on foot. This is rather good for health”-
At present, about 4,700 people live at temporary housing units at a total of 48 sites, mainly on the foot of hills, in Otsuchi Town. Hakamada lives with her husband, who is a former fisherman. Her husband is slightly sick, but he works five days a week for a few hours for a town-sponsored job to collect the rubble.
Most of the survivors have also lost their vehicles in the tsunami waves. Furudate’s case is the same. She is willing to go to work at Kirari Station on foot, however. It takes about 15 minutes to go there on foot from her housing unit, but she does not mind. “I think this is good for my health, rather than killing my time alone at my small temporary house,” she said.