Disaster Relief For Travel Photo Thursday, Getterdun !

Here's a scene from a Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of a DIY Store up in Nago City Okinawa, Japan.

The Eisa Dancers were raising funds to donate to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

What really impresses me is the fact that Okinawa is the poorest Prefecture in all of Japan yet, these folks see someone needs a hand and do whatever it takes to lend their support.

There is even a word in the Okinawan dialect, which describes the spirit they are demonstrating in this photo,  Yuimaru.  The best way to describe Yuimaru would be everyone, in the community, joins hands and pitches-in to get the job done.  It's a spirit of cooperation that is just unbeatable.

This morning a friend contacted me concerning the relief effort for the people in Joplin, Missouri

When I saw the destruction in the photo it was like seeing the results of Japan's tsunami, all over again.

So, I went and clicked on the link SABINA LOHR  sent and showed those folks in Joplin a little YUIMARU.  


If you get a chance and would take the time to throw some change in the bucket, do like I did, click on the SABINA LOHR BUTTON above and getterdun.  It feels good !

Flower Lovers and Fans An Iris Field For You ! (Photo)

Here it is April 1st, 2011.  It's April Fool's Day but,  I don't have anything to fool you with so, I'm just going to do a quick post, grab my cameras and get out in the sun to do some more shooting.

This photo was taken on April 5th of 2009 at the Iris Festival in Ogimi Okinawa, Japan using my trusted old friend the Panasonic DMC-FZ50, a Manfrotto 725B Tripod, and a few other tricks I'll share at a later date.

This morning I received an email I'd like to share with everyone.  It came from someone thanking me, and those of you who helped me, through various channels, get relief to the people suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in mainland Japan.  This is real, feel-good news.

FROM:

MASAYA UCHINO,

Dear Michael,


Almost all of my family lives in Japan. So when the earthquake hit, I tried to help in every way I could, including by donating via text message to relief efforts.

But then I learned that text donations like mine could take up to 90 days to get there. I waited for days to learn that my family was safe, now others were waiting months for my donation!

So I launched a petition on Change.org calling on the phone companies to immediately deliver donations to Japan, the same way they did after the earthquake in Haiti.

It worked! Hundreds, then thousands added their voices. My senator, Barbara Boxer, took up the cause. I was interviewed by the major news programs in San Francisco, where I go to law school.

More than 66,000 of us (including you!) spoke out and now AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon have finally agreed to expedite text-message donations to Japan.

Northern Japan has an incredibly difficult path to recovery -- the earthquake and tsunami both physically and financially devastated the affected areas -- and there’s a lot more that each of us can do. But the immediate transfer of donations is going to be of enormous assistance, and my hope is that this victory sets a pattern for how cell phone companies act during future disasters.

This all happened because, at the encouragement of a few friends, I started a petition. If there’s something you want to change, click here to start your own, and I’ll do my best to stand with you the way that you stood with me:

http://www.change.org/petition

Thank you again. And please continue to keep the people of Japan in your thoughts and prayers.

Masaya Uchino, fellow Change.org member


 
Now, I don't know about you but, to me, that feels good, even great!  A reader of this blog got me involved in that petition and a bunch more of you participated, I know.  It made a big difference and it is getting more help, through to the people who desperately need it, quicker.  That's good!

Personally, I don't use a telephone for making donations.  But, for those who do, it is nice to know that your contributions are getting there without any delay, now that this stumbling block has been removed.

To everyone who supported this effort and the BLOG FOR JAPAN relief campaign,  I am grateful. 

This Iris Field is for you!

How To Make A Direct Contribution To Japan's Earthquake/Tsunami Victims Blog4Japan

                                            Map Courtesy of WORLD ATLAS.Com

Today I'm borrowing some words from Todd Wassel. He is a blogger living in Japan, way to the north of where I am in Okinawa and much closer to the disasters. Both Todd and his wife have some experience in these matters and have gone to the trouble of putting together a list of legitimate sites (English language) that you could make contributions to in order to speed-up the recovery efforts for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

In Todd's own words:

"A few weeks ago I posted about my Experience During the Japan Earthquake and made a plea to my readers to spread the word about helping Japan recover. My wife is from Tokyo and we are both professional aid and recovery workers with the United Nations. We have seen the recovery phase of the 2004 Tsunami up close and we know there is a tremendous need to not only raise donations but to make sure those funds are used responsibly and are in the hands of organizations with not only technical expertise but also local knowledge." - End of quote...


This is me, now:

As I suspected, there have been hundreds of scammers taking advantage of the situation in Japan and I've heard complaints from folks making donations to well-established charities who can't seem to get funds to those in need in a timely manner.

I'm no expert on the regulations for the international transfer of charitable donations. There must be some reason why a Red Cross Donation, from a country anywhere in the world gets hung-up and can't be released immediately. Guaranteed, no politician or banker would let their family go without water, a slice of bread, a roof over their head or electricity, not even for one day.

So, here's the deal.  If you'd like to contribute something, directly, to the people on the ground, in Japan visit: TODD'S WANDERINGS and he has all the trusted sites lined up waiting for you.

Please help me spread the word.  I'm heading over to Todd's, right now, to kick in my share.

This post is my contribution to Blog For Japan.  If you are a Tweeterer #Blog4Japan is the way to help spread the word most efficiently.  If you are a blogger, get with Todd and Blog4Japan, too !

UPDATE:

Here's where I went ADRA JAPAN and read their blog, looked at the photos and was sure my hard earned cash would be put to good use, immediately.  If you choose to go to their site where you can make a DONATION using your Visa or Mastercard that gets a little tricky, unless you're smarter than me.

There is a PDF you download and it gives you the translation telling you what goes in which box. Keep it handy and if you have a Google Translation bar, keep that handy, too. There are probably easier sites to donate to but, I liked what I saw these people doing so, I kept plugging away until I was sure they got my money.  I screwed up the forms a few dozen times.  I even have a Japanese wife who could probably have done in ten minutes what took me over an hour.  

Ya see, I'm stubborn as a mule.  I told the wife I'm doing something important; giving the people up in mainland Japan $20 to help them out. Then, I told her get outta here because I can't type on the computer with her and her dog yappin' in the background.  So, she left.

Truth be known, she really doesn't need to know, I have this plastic thing in my wallet that gives you money or she'll want one, too.  And, another thing. Twenty US Dollars is almost nothing in Japan nowadays so, I hit the plastic money thing for enough to make a difference to someone. Hah !