One Year Report

UNICEF Children’s Mini Library Project
This project started two weeks after the earthquake, on
March 25, with the cooperation of the Japanese Board on
Books for Young People (JBBY). Collected from donors across
the nation, the books were delivered to evacuation shelters,
kindergartens, nursery schools, primary schools, and other
community bodies in the disaster areas. At its conclusion in
December 2011, the UNICEF Children’s Mini Library Project
had delivered approximately 330,000 books (more than 6,500
sets) to such facilities.
At Shiogama No. 2 Primary School in Miyagi, there are 48
children from grades one to two who cannot go home after
school because their parents are working. The children wait
for them at the “Children’s Club” up to 6 p.m. Club instructor
says, “The children are happy enough at school, but when
they go home to a temporary shelter or an unrepaired home,
they each have to deal with the reality of the lingering scars
from the disaster. Every day I watch them happily open and
read one of the illustrated books sent to us. It seems that
this is a peaceful, relaxing time for them as they wait for their
parents.”
A mountain of books collected from around
the nation in the parking lot at the UNICEF
House in Tokyo.
Onagawa Little Picture Book Center
The town of Onagawa in Oshika, Miyagi, was making preparations
to open a picture book library in June 2011 when the
tsunami hit, sweeping away their nearly 40,000 picture
books. However, the lost books were replaced with about
5,000 picture books donated by the UNICEF Children’s Mini
Library Project, private organizations, and companies. With
the help of designers, JCU planned the layout, book displays,
and other elements. On May 10, the Onagawa Little Picture
Book Center opened on the third floor of Onagawa No. 2
Primary School.
“Libraries are built mainly to be used for studying, but the
Onagawa Little Picture Book Center is colorful and bright. It is
designed as a space for nursery school and primary school
children to look at picture books and play,” says Ayumi Kakei,
a member of the Continued Learning Department, Board of
Education of Onagawa, responsible for the facility. Since July
25, the Onagawa Little Picture Book Center has been moved
next to the entrance to the building on the first floor of the
school so that it can become familiar to and widely used by
Onagawa Little Picture Book Center
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everyone, not just the children of
Onagawa No. 2 Primary School.
UNICEF Children’s Mini
Library Project sets were put to
use in many situations. A book
corner was set up in the gymnasium
of the former Kisai Nishi
High School in Kazo, Saitama,
which was serving as a shelter
for evacuees from Futaba in
Fukushima. Toshikatsu Nakazato
Toshikazu Nakazato
from the Futaba Health and
Welfare Department said, “There are evacuees from towns
other than Futaba in Kazo. We hope they will feel free to bring
their children here to play so that the book corner can serve
as a place for socializing among evacuees.”
Finding Safe Places to Play Outside School in Miyagi
After the disaster, it was important to find a place where children
could spend time enjoyably and safely. Particularly for
the children living in evacuation shelters, where there was a
concern that spending most of their time outside school at
the evacuation shelters could lead to psychological instability.
For that reason, JCU supported the construction or reconstruction
of indoor facilities in Miyagi where children could
play safely.
Because of the disaster, Onagawa No. 1 and No. 4
primary schools had moved their classes to Onagawa No. 2
Primary School. After school, there was no space for the children
to spend time before going home. On October 31, 2011,
at the request of the Board of Education and Principals’ Committee
of Onagawa, JCU decided to build the Onagawa
Orange House on the grounds of the No. 2 Primary School.
Construction was completed on December 22. Plans call for
the Onagawa Orange House to be used not only by children
when they are going to school, but also as a meeting place
for children and their mothers on holidays.
Scene of the Completion Ceremony for the Onagawa Orange House.
JCU also decided, at the request of the town, to rebuild
the after-school care center of the disaster-stricken Minami-
Kesennuma Primary School. Construction is moving forward
with a scheduled completion date of April 30, 2012 (expected
date). Minami-Kesennuma Primary School restarted its
classes at Kesennuma Primary School. The after-school care
center next door to Minami-Kesennuma Primary School that
was destroyed by the tsunami also moved to Kesennuma
Primary School and set up temporary operations in a classroom.
As continuing to use the classroom would be difficult,
it was decided to build a facility on the grounds of Kesennuma
Primary School. The after-school care facility will be used
not only by children from both primary schools. After completion,
40 children are expected to start using the facility.