| Damage situation in Miyagi | |
|---|---|
| Deaths | 9,472 |
| Missing | 1,805 |
| Orphaned children | 712 |
*Sources
14 students from age 8 to 12 participated in the workshop which was held at Ayukawa elementary school, which is located at the Oshika Peninsula, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi.
Ayukawa port flourished in the whale fishing trade, the objects and the design of whales can be found in many places throughout the town.
Children had lots of places they wanted to shoot. Ayukawa's symbol, “Oshika Whale Land”, newly opened temporary shopping mall “Noren-gai”, beautiful beaches, community center where volunteers provide charity events, etc. At the parking of a convenience store, a big “HELP” sign was drawn to save a pregnant woman right after the earthquake. The story was reported in the news. The sign still remains there as it is.
People at the temporary shopping mall looked all grateful with a smile as they could finally get the place to work and children also felt very happy about it. At the charity event, children enjoyed themselves with the games and entertainments prepared by the volunteers. Being photographers, children were also innocent residents in the affiliated area. And around them, there were always adults, gently caring for them.
Rubbles, plants, small creatures, etc. Children found many things from the ground at the afflicted area. “In the future, when the town gets fully reconstructed, I want to show my children how it was like before. I will then tell them, we had a difficult time but we worked hard and we all overcame it!”, Kairi Saito (age 11) said during the workshop. A teacher in Ayukawa Elementary school set up a special column within the school's homepage to introduce children's photos, which shows their daily lives. “I want to show the Ayukawa moving towards the reconstruction”. Children's project is still going on.
(Implementation of the workshop : 2011)
All images ©UNICEF/G.Pirozzi
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