Think the Earth

A well-used football came rolling towards my feet. When I pass it back to the children they yelled, "Thank you very much!" enthusiastically and went back to kicking the ball around in the schoolyard. A little girl was blowing bubbles nearby. You could see the bubbles floating away, shimmering in the sunlight.

This is the Watanoha Elementary School, which has become a shelter for the town of Ishinomaki. When I went there in June, people there were still being harassed by swarms of flies, an outbreak caused by rotting marine produce, and a fine dust of dry, accumulated sludge lingered in the air. But when I got to the elementary school, I soon forgot about the bad; I received so much positive energy from the people there.

"Watanoha Smiles" is an exhibition filled with the smiles of children in Watanoha. At the gallery in Nishiazabu, Tokyo, many very lovable characters were on display, such as metal buckets wearing a colorful traffic cone as hats and fan covers with eyes and nose made of caps. All of these masterpieces were created using debris deposited in the schoolyard. Oh, excuse me. They are not debris, rather, they are them "fragments of the town." "Fragments of the town," usually treated as trash, have been transformed into symbols of restoration by the children.

Watanoha Elementary School had functioned as a shelter for people afflicted by the natural disaster for 214 days, until October 11. It offered asylum to 1,600 people at its busiest time. On the day of the earthquake, the school was struck by a one-meter tsunami, and homes and cars were carried over and stacked up in the schoolyard by the wave. The materials used in the artwork created by children were all picked out from the schoolyard.

It was at the end of March that the staff from the NPO Smile Hope, represented by an artist living in Yamagata, Tomo Inukai, began their volunteer activities while staying at the school. Back then, survival was the number one concern, so there wasn't any space for children to play, and there weren't any toys or illustrated books. So while asking people across Japan for assistance, they borrowed one classroom and created a playroom for children. It was in the beginning of April that workshops creating artwork using fragments of the town began. Having watched other kids take part, more and more children joined. Thirty children became so engrossed they created 100 pieces in just 2 days.

The "artwork" created by these children are being exhibited in 10 locations nationwide, including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Volunteer staff, who came to Watanoha Elementary School, were touched by the warmth and when they got home, they made arrangements to hold the exhibition in their home cities.

"The children are very happy. It's not only because their artwork can be seen by many people around the country. Until then they had received various aid without a way of giving back, but now they are happy that they , too, can give something back" said Mr. Inukai.

At the end of August, classes started back up again at the temporary structure serving as a school , and life is slowly returning to "normal." They hope that life at their school will return to normal as soon as possible. They had sporting festivals and field trips, but there is still a shortage of tools such as wind instruments and percussions .

The "Watanoha Smile" exhibits is taking place over the following dates. You can also make donations at the gallery. Please make your way to the galleries and take a look.

[ Exhibition schedule in Tokyo ]
Ikebukuro Tobu Department Store from November 10th to 30th.