Home Rehabilitation Program
All Hands Volunteers is pleased to announce the maiden voyage of its Home Rehabilitation Program in Ofunato, Japan. A small coastal city within Iwate Prefecture, Ofunato suffered the devastation of 3,629 homes, leaving 10,000 people living in or dependent on evacuation shelters for key support services. With early assessments indicating a need for rebuilding aid, the inception of this program marks both a wonderful step toward helping people return to their homes, and a symbiotic partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
Over the course of this two-month program we aim to repair 30 households in need of rehabilitation. Working closely with the local district council and community members, All Hands has identified beneficiaries in need of assistance—specifically elderly and single-headed households—willing to immediately reoccupy their homes upon completion. Aided by international, national, and local volunteers—guided by experienced Japanese carpenters—rehabilitation efforts are sympathetic to financial need, all the while upholding local building practices.
With 5 homes completed and more in progress, we proudly present a successful beginning to the rehabilitation program and hope to see our efforts add buoyancy and ballast to the community’s overall recovery.
Chugun-san and Takahashi-san work on replacing lost floorboards in Mizuno-san’s home, located in the heart of Ofunato.
Takahashi-san measures floorboard cuts to prepare the room for the finished flooring.
The team cuts floor joists as Yukiko-san (middle) jumps in on the work.
Brendan Gordon is the Home Rehabilitation Coordinator for Project Tohoku. To learn more about Project Tohoku, All Hands’ tsunami response project, please click here.
lilia ables says:
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 9:14am
Good work
Tiree Mason says:
Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 7:15am
I’m really happy to see that relief is moving along so well in Tohoku. I wish I was able to stay and help longer. Keep up the great work!
Wesley Makse says:
Friday, May 4, 2012 at 8:34am
I am very happy to see that people can actually care enough to go out of there way and rebuild homes for hundreds and thousands of people.