| Written by Administrator |
| Monday, 07 March 2011 15:31 |
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JAPAN RELIEF-- PROJECT KOKORO: NC's HEART IS WITH JAPAN Please consider Project Kokoro: NC's Heart is with Japan. "Kokoro" means "heart" in Japanese. From their website, http://www.projectkokoro.org: The Triangle business community, North Carolina Japan Center, Southern Bridge International, and NCSU Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service, along with selected public and private schools are coming together to select a specific community to help… From the global business nature of Research Triangle Park to the cultural diversity that results from having three world-class universities surrounding the area, Triangle residents pride themselves on being responsible global citizens. Helping people in Japan is the right thing to do. Please see http://www.projectkokoro.org for more! LOCAL JAPAN CLUBNippon Club of the Triangle: http://trianglejapanclub.org/ DUKE'S JAPAN RELIEFAlso, Duke University has just launched a Japan Relief web site: http://japanrelief.duke.edu/ SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL'S JAPAN RELIEFMarch 25, 2011: Sister Cities Remain Committed to Disaster Relief The power of sister city relationships cannot be demonstrated more clearly than during times of tragedies and natural disasters. In response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the Pacific, local communities have worked tirelessly to provide funds, supplies, and moral support to residents of their Japanese sister cities. Sister Cities International was featured in a March 19, 2011 New York Times article that highlighted the network's humanitarian assistance for survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. You can read it here. Video of Executive Vice President and Interim CEO Jim Doumas speaking on the response of sister city programs aired on The Weather Channel earlier in the week. San Diego and Riverside, California have been regularly featured in the news for their relief efforts. Watch Honorary Board Member Thelma Press in the news here and coverage of Riverside's outreach here. See website: http://www.sister-cities.org/index.cfm UPDATE: TOYAMA The earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22, 2011 (before the Japan tsunami crisis) was tragic for our Sister City. May 3, 2011 Students and teachers from Durham’s Sister City, Toyama, Japan, are among those most severely affected by the terrible earthquake that recently struck New Zealand on February 22. A group of 21 college students, primarily 19 to 20 year olds, and 2 teachers, were visiting Christchurch, NZ, for a one-month language study program. They were on their second day of study when the quake struck, causing collapse of the four-story Cambridge Television Building, where their language program was housed. Of the 23 member group, 2 teachers and 9 students were rescued, many suffering severe injuries including a male student whose leg was amputated to remove him from the rubble. Twelve students were lost. The Japanese Red Cross set up a special fund to provide relief to the survivors and families of these students: Japanese Red Cross / Toyama Earthquake Victims Fund. The Durham-Toyama Committee of Sister Cities of Durham immediately raised funds to support the families of the Toyama quake victims. Thank you to every contributor! Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan. For additional donations, the Japanese Red Cross website is: http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html Regards, Chris Boyer and Mavis Mayer Co-Chairs, Durham-Toyama Sister City Committee In addition, Durham City sent an official condolence letter to Toyama's mayor: February 24th 2011
Mayor Mori Masashi Office of the Mayor 7-38 Shinsakura-machi Toyama-shi, Toyama-ken 930-8510 JAPAN
Dear Mayor Mori I am writing on behalf of Sister Cities of Durham, and for all of our citizens, to express our great sorrow at the news that students and staff from the Toyama College of Foreign Languages were among those injured or lost as a result of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. We all hope that our young citizens will benefit from their experiences abroad but never expect that they will be harmed by natural disasters of this nature. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and the families of the students at this difficult time. We are hoping that most of your citizens will be yet found unharmed. I am writing this letter in the absence of Mayor William Bell, who is out of town at the moment, but I know that he joins us in this expression of sorrow. Sincere regards Cora Cole-McFadden Mayor Pro-Tem, City of Durham |
| Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:22 |
