IsraAID Healing Hearts Japan Project Sums Up One Year of Work in Tohoku,
Japan

For Immediate Release by IsraAID, March 2012

(Sendai, Japan) As Japan prepares to commemorate 1 year since the
devastating March 11th, 2011 earthquake and Tsunami,
IsraAID continues to support and rehabilitate the
population of Northern Japan's Tohoku region. Over the past year, its
professional post-trauma training courses, and its community development
programs have greatly expanded.

Initially focused around the teachers of a single school, the organization
today reaches hundreds of professionals and through them, thousands of
people from 30 different groups across 8 communities of the Miyagi and
Fukushima Prefectures.

IsraAID arrived in Japan less than four days after the earthquake and
tsunami, and since then, the organization and its projects have grown and
matured to reflect the changes on the ground.

In the first stages, when Tohoku was a ravaged ruin, IsraAID helped clean-up
destroyed houses, rebuilt damaged buildings, open child safety centers, and
distributed emergency aid to the tens of thousands of survivors and
displaced people living in shelters.

As time progressed, and rebuilding efforts began, IsraAID shifted to focus
on the loss and trauma suffered by millions.

From a simple art activity in a shelter, it became evident that the children
and teachers taking part were experiencing stress after going through the
trauma of the disaster and that they needed tools to help them cope. The
government and organizations were cleaning and rebuilding their homes,
others were donating supplies, but very few were helping them through the
shock of having the sea rise up and swallow your entire lives.

In Israel, post-trauma is unfortunately a well known phenomena. Decades of
regional conflict have exposed a significant portion of the population to
frequent traumatic events. As a result, the development of home-grown coping
techniques has made Israel a world leader in Post Trauma treatment.

IsraAID began bringing experienced practitioners from Israel with expertise
in different types of therapy (verbal and non-verbal methods) to work with
the people of Watari and help them cope and heal. Word quickly spread, and
teachers and city officials introduced the organization to other
communities, endorsing the project as "groundbreaking", one that "everyone
should take part in" and that can benefit "anyone affected by the disaster
of March 11th".

Today, IsraAID works with many different groups including children, mothers,
and Japanese professionals (counselors, nurses, social workers and
teachers). IsraAID's therapists are training the Japanese professionals, and
local community support groups in therapeutic techniques and exercises that
can be replicated in different contexts.

In recent months, IsraAID's work has expanded to include residents of the
Temporary Housing Areas in Watari, Ishinomaki and Iwanuma.

These at-risk communities are composed of fragile and displaced families
from all over the affected area.

IsraAID teams are training local leaders, organizations, and city officials
to alleviate stress and help the residents cope with their difficult
situation.

In 2012, IsraAID will expand its activities to include a growing number of
communities, a new youth leadership training program, as well as many other
planned activities in Tohoku.

IsraAID works in close partnership on all its programs with local Japanese
government and municipalities and with Japanese partner organizations and is
committed to the people of Japan, and will continue to support their efforts
rehabilitate and rebuild for a healthy and prosperous future.

IsraAID would like to thank the following for their consistent and continued
support of our activities in Japan: The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto,
The Jewish Federation of the Metropolitan of Chicago, The Jewish Federations
of North America (JFNA), AJC, The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
New York, The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, B'nai B'rith
International, The Jewish Federation of Greater Miami, The Jewish Federation
of Greater Washington, and many global American and Japanese corporations
located in Japan and the US.

For more information please contact Shachar Zahavi at
szahavi@hotmail.com