IJT Charities

Tohoku earthquake and tsunami relief fund

On March 11th 2011, the biggest earthquake ever recorded hit the northern Tohoku region of Japan. This was quickly followed by a devastating tsunami. Waves of up to 38 metres, the same height as a 14 storey building, travelled up to 10km inland. Approximately 28,000 people are known to be dead or missing as a result and tens of thousands of people have been made homeless.

It’s a testament to the stoicism and organisational skills of the Japanese, that within a matter of days roads had been cleared and temporary accommodation set up. However a full clean-up operation will take years and an estimated bill of Ł350 billion.

One Japanese charity at the forefront of the relief effort is the NGO Civic Force. The charity provided initial emergency shelter to victims and has since been involved in the strategic distribution of volunteers, essential goods and funds to those most in need.

InsideJapan Tours have set up a tsunami relief fund to raise money for the good work of Civic Force. We would appreciate any contribution, large or small, via our Just Giving page:

www.justgiving.com/insidejapan

You can keep up-to-date with Civic Force and their relief effort via their website:

www.civic-force.org/english/index.html

Compared to the West, charity donations by individuals are rare in Japan; most people expect donations to come from companies or government taxes, so charities face a huge challenge in increasing awareness and raising funds. We are proud to be supporting Civic Force at this grave time.

Bristol & Boulder Half Marathons 2011

To continue our fundraising efforts for Civic Force, 8 staff members from our Bristol office have put themselves forward to run the Bristol Half Marathon. The 13.1 mile race takes place on Sunday 11th September 2011, exactly 6 months after the Tohoku disaster struck.

The runners will be competing in two teams, the Samurai Striders and the Wasabi Warriors. Training is being led by our most experienced runner, Harry Sargant, who completed the Tokyo Marathon in 2008. Look out for our bright green running tops as we do our practice route around Bristol harbour on Wednesday evenings!

Not willing to be left out, Mat Eccles, who manages our Colorado office, will be running the Boulder Half Marathon on Monday 5th September 2011. This is a much more difficult route than the flat Bristol road race; hard-packed dirt paths and lots of hills. Good luck Mat!

Please sponsor our runners here:
www.justgiving.com/insidejapantours