SSA initiated a fund-raising campaign for the victims of the massively destructive earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern Japan on 11 March 2011. The fund-raising drive that lasted till the end of March raised a total of $710,948, of which $510,948 were channelled to humanitarian organisation Mercy Relief (MR) in support of their relief efforts in Japan. Additionally, the Soka Kindergarten students helped raised $1,535.85. This amount was also channelled to Mercy Relief.
These donations helped MR embark on relief efforts by dispatching relief teams to the two most devastated Tohoku prefectures of Miyagi and Iwate. The following is a recent update from MR to SSA:
“Having personally procured and distributed basic survival necessities for the first three weeks of the disaster, MR subsequently shifted its relief focus to addressing the wellness of the affected communities. With conditions at the evacuation centres more stabilised, MR’s team on the ground has been distributing fresh food supplies such as vegetable and fruits, cooking utensils and nutritional supplements to help inject nutrition and normalcy into the diets and lives of more than 13,000 survivals it is serving. The total amount of relief supplies committed and distributed by MR during the emergency phase is SGD2.2 million.
MR has also launched the Kids’ Nutrition Programme in Otsuchi district of Iwate Prefecture and provided 500 sets of radiation suits to help with the cleaning works in Fukushima.
