Mercy Relief’s (MR) Team 2 arrived Japan early Saturday morning to combine with Team 1 near Iwate prefecture. The combined team proceeded to dispatch the first batch of relief supplies to the designated supply base for consolidation and sorting by prefectural authorities before being distributed to the evacuees.
Most of the evacuation centres nearer to the cities have been reasonably served, however there remain many places closer to the coast that have yet to be sufficiently addressed, especially those remote areas which have limited access due to broken bridges and damaged roads. With snowfall and sub-zero temperatures, blankets and thermal wear have become top most priority.
The Japanese authorities have started erecting temporary homes for the affectees and these are currently built on open spaces within school compounds. Fresh vegetables have also started to be delivered into the affected areas.
MR continues to procure relief items locally from the supply and logistics chain that it has established to address the changing needs on the ground.
Chief Executive Hassan Ahmad said, “We must all recognised that what we have at hand is a complex humanitarian crisis comprising two natural disasters and a man-made one. The scale of devastation is unimaginably massive, where ideally, the international humanitarian community should come in to support the existing and gallant efforts of the Japanese government. It is as much a test for our Japanese friends as it is for us”.
MR is currently serving the affected areas which are a safe distance outside the radiation-hazard zone (officially 30km radius of the nuclear reactors’ location). In order to facilitate and ensure the team’s safety and quick evacuation, if necessary, a dedicated unit at the MR Headquarters in Singapore is monitoring the radiation alerts and advice from the Japanese Government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
(Mercy Relief personnel offloading relief supplies at one of the designated supply collection centres.)
(MR Director, Dr Kevin Chan, handing over the supplies for consolidation and sorting.)
(Understanding the logistics systems at a larger supply collection centre.
(CE Hassan exchanging operational notes with the military commander on the 2004 and current tsunami reliefs)
Fundraising Efforts in Singapore – Day 7
Donations received : $462,234
Donations from the public will be used to address the most pressing basic needs including food, water and blankets which will be procured on the ground and dispatched from MR’s ready stockpile.
About Mercy Relief
Mercy Relief is a Singaporean humanitarian organisation which engages in both disaster relief and sustainable development programmes. It was established in 2003 as an independent non-governmental humanitarian charity responding to the human tragedies in Asia. Mercy Relief’s aid programme focuses on providing timely and effective assistance to disaster-stricken communities and has maintained the delivery of emergency aid within 72 hours from the point of appeal for assistance.
In the past 12 years, Mercy Relief has disbursed over S$32 million in aid across 40 disaster relief and 53 sustainable development initiatives. Mercy Relief has impacted an aggregate of 2 million lives in 24 countries and areas, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Yemen.
For more information, you may call us at 6514 6322 or email corporateaffairs@mercyrelief.org
