災害復興支援日本語学校協議会主催ボランティア
日本語学校協議会主催の災害復興支援ボランティアにVantan Language Schoolも参加させて頂きました。
5月26日の夜、日本語学校16校・総勢200名の留学生が新宿から仙台・石巻市へ出発しました。
27日早朝に到着後、すぐ作業内容の説明を受け、住宅敷地内のガレキ撤去・側溝のヘドロ除去の二手に分かれ作業を開始。
Vantan Language School participated in the volunteering sponsored by Japanese school council for disaster recovery aid.
200 foreign students of 16 Japanese schools left Shinjuku for Ishinomaki of Sendai on the night of May 26.
Arriving early in the morning of 27, they received an explanation of work and were divided into two groups. One group started taking away the debris in the residential areas and the other started removing sludge in the ditches.
Vantan Language School participated in the disaster revival support volunteer held by the Japanese language school conference too
On the night of May 26, 200 foreign students of 16 Japanese schools all left Shinjuku for Ishinomaki of Sendai.
After arrival on the early morning of 27th, they attended the explanation of work content, then divided into two groups, started removing debris and sludge to the gutter in the house site
作業場所へと移動途中、津波被害にあった多くの住宅や公園、車を目にして学生はもちろん日本人の私も言葉がありませんでした。
Vantan Language Schoolは、津波によって海底から上がってきて、側溝に固まってしまったヘドロの除去作業を行いました。
各学校、色々な国籍の学生が、この時だけは学校も国籍も関係なく全員が日本語で風と日差しが強い中、力を合わせて黙々と作業をしていました。
Students of Vantan Language School removed sludge which had come from the deep seabed by tsunami and stuck in the ditch.
Students of different schools and nations worked together in silence in the strong wind and sun, all of whom using Japanese, regardless of schools and nationalities at that time.
The students of Vantan Language School helped to remove the sludge that came from the bottom of the sea and became solid.
All students with diverse school and nationality all together kept working on it under a severe sunshine and windy condition.
作業をしている途中、住民の方々が笑顔で「お疲れ様」「こんなにたくさんの人が来てくれて本当に感謝してるよ」と優しく声をかけて下さり、少しの時間ではありましたが、地震直後の貴重なお話を聞けたり、今の現状を説明してくださったりと、地域の方々と交流がすることが出来ました。
印象に残っているのが、「ずっと悲しんでいられないからね、元気に頑張らなきゃ」と笑顔でおっしゃった一言です。
復興にはまだまだ時間がかかるのが現状です。
ですが、少しづつ元気を取り戻してきています。
What strikes me is that they said with smile, "We have to be strong, since we can't be in grief all the time."
The reality is that it will take such a long time to reconstruct.
However, we will get our strength back little by little.
One of the most impressive things is that one person told me "We should not be sad anymore. We need to cheer ourselves up now."
The fact is that it takes long time for the affected region to recover.
However they are recovering little by little.