IJT Charities

It’s Not Just Mud

Our charity for 2012 is It’s Not Just Mud (INJM). INJM began as a very grass-roots collection of ex-pats working alongside locals in the tsunami devastated town of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Led by young Brit, Jamie El-Banna, the group has evolved to become a professional non-profit organisation with a long term vision to aid the rehabilitation of tsunami affected people and business in Ishinomaki.

INJM’s work involves a lot of hard labour: clearing sludge and debris from homes, repairing damaged buildings, unblocking waterways and restoring parks and gardens. The charity’s name alludes to the fact that such simple tasks can mean an awful lots to the people of Ishinomaki who lost everything in the tsunami.

It’s not all physical work; INJM volunteers work hard to offer psychological support to Ishinomaki citizens by organising community events, children’s sports days and putting in hours at temporary housing shelters.

To find out more about INJM please have a look at their excellent website here:

www.itsnotjustmud.com

To make a donation to INJM please visit the InsideJapan Tours company Just Giving page here:

www.justgiving.com/insidejapantours-ishinomaki

If you would like to volunteer with INJM, please have a look at our self-guided Tohoku Treasures Volunteering itinerary. We can also arrange for you to volunteer as part of a tailormade package; please speak to one of our travel consultants for details.