CSI in the News - CSI Today

For the love of Japan...student raises funds in New York to help rebuildPublished: Tue, 2011‐03‐29 20:38Cherisse MoeManami Shirai, left, and a friend raise funds for Japan at their College of Staten Island,New York, last week.The devastating images left in the wake of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake which struck Japan on March11, will, no doubt, linger in our minds for a very long time. For the Japanese people, however, thoseimages are an everyday reality. Officials say over 10,000 people are confirmed dead, and more than17,000 are missing. They warn that the final toll can reach almost 20,000. But, what continues to standout amidst the growing tragedy is the resilient spirit of the Japanese. While engineers still do not knowthe full extent of damage to the country’s infrastructure— brick by brick, the Japanese have started torebuild their own communities. With helping hands and willing hearts, they stand together, united tothe cause.Japanese Manami Shirai is living proof that the bond they share is indeed unbreakable. Mere days afterthe earthquake, Shirai, who’s currently on a one‐year exchange programme at New York’s College ofStaten Island, began organising fund‐raising ventures on campus to help Japan. So far, she’s been able toraise more than US$800. “Japanese people don’t show their stress in front of everybody. They canendure anything. If there is a store, no one will steal from that store. Teenagers are becomingvolunteers for the elderly and children. Women and wives cook and share with their neighbours,” saidthe Ueda‐Shi, Nagano native. “Even refugees are helping out.” When the T&T Guardian spoke to the 22‐year‐old last week, she was in the process of wrapping up yet another fund‐raiser which she held in theschool’s cafeteria. Officials say it will take up to five years and about 25 trillion yen ($309 billion) torebuild Japan, but Shirai was happy to help, albeit a little. “Every dollar counts,” she told us. “I knowPage 168 of 179