Friendship Card Exchange and English illustrated books

After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami hit Tohoku area in 2011, people around the world felt that they wanted to do something to help people who were suffering from the incident. We, at ICBA shared the same thought; what could we do to help them stand on their feet? What would be the things they wanted to receive? How could we send them in person? We were lucky to have got to know a priest at Rhyushoji Temple, Yamadacho in Iwate Prefecture. There were three nursery classes at Rhyoshoji Temple, where children were taught conversational English. The priest asked us if we could send them some English illustrated books for the children. We were happy to receive his request. All the IC Bunko in the UK came together and we sent books together with the cards that were created by all the children from each Bunko. We received a lot of thank-you cards in return from the children in Yamadacho. We, at ICBA sent them Christmas cards. We then received news such as New Year and graduation ceremonies. This is how our Friendship Card Exchange began. In 2016, on the 5th anniversary of the incident, we once again sent some illustrated books together with Friendship cards. It will be a long and difficult process until the areas will be the same as before the incident, but it was great to hear that people’s lives in Yamadacho are slowly returning back to normal. We had a pleasant surprise one day receiving lots of Kamishibai (paper theatre) from the priest. These were presents from Rhyoshoji Temple as the priest found that ICBA were getting short of Kamishibai. Kamishibai can be purchased in Japan but for children outside of Japan they are treasures. We would like to express our thanks to the priest and people at the nurseries for their kind thoughts and we wish that they continue to recover. We also wish for this friendship to flourish and continue in the future.