Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sendai (Agenzia Fides) – Young Catholics begin their volunteer mission in Sendai. There are already about ten on the ground and the number will reach up to 30 by next week. In addition, other volunteers are arriving with specific skills, such as doctors, nurses and psychologists. Meanwhile, the parish buildings of the three Dioceses (Sendai, Saitama and Niigata) have become “refugee camps” to house hundreds of people who were made homeless after the earthquake and tsunami.
Today, the work for young volunteers, say local sources of Fides, is to assist refugees and to assess and clean the houses flooded by the tsunami. Young Christians - who have shown a strong outpouring of generosity (see Fides 22/03/2011) - have started to clean up homes in Sendai invaded by mud and silt, removing furniture and furnishings that are no longer usable, trying to make them habitable again. In this way, “they are also bringing hope and comfort to the displaced, showing practical solidarity that the victims appreciate very much,” notes Fr Daisuke Narui to Fides, the Director of Caritas Japan, which coordinates operations at the Help Center set up by Caritas in Sendai to handle the emergency.
The volunteers are also distributing blankets and food to the hundreds of people currently being housed in Church properties in Sendai and in the neighbouring Dioceses of Niigata and Saitama. The Churches, in fact, have opened their doors, becoming true reception centres “where you can breathe and put into practice love for neighbour and witness to Christian values.” Among the refugees there are also some who fled from the area of Fukushima, because of the danger of nuclear radiation: the nuclear threat “is one of the issues circulating in the minds of the displaced. Tthey will need material assistance but also psychological,” explains the Director. Emergency operations will continue for at least six months. Then a second phase will begin, rehabilitation and reconstruction, which could last another two years. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 23/3/2011)
