Since the devastating events in Japan I have been thinking about where to donate and how to donate.  Through Facebook and bloggers I heard about this site that lets us collectively donate to nonprofits.  The images that struck me the most were the washed away homes.  Thinking of all the Japanese people who must need shelter, and all the good that Shelter Box was already doing,  I decided that this would be a good way to start helping.

I met Hitomi in Japan when I was teaching English in 1998 with JET, like so many other ESL teachers, she has become a friend for life.  She took me under her wing and I fell in love with her, Japan and the Japanese people.  She has helped countless foreigners in Japan in good times and bad times.  This is why I decided to start this fundraising page.  It is a way to make a small difference and honour Hitomi collectively.  Hitomi is fine because she lives in Toyokawa, and I am so happy, but like all of us she is worried for the people from Sendai.

Hitomi has travelled the world visiting her friends and their families.  She is a tsunami of love and energy and if she has crossed your path, you will remember!   I hope that you will donate to this cause and honour Hitomi and her Japanese family.

ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters at the time when they need it the most. Each large green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.  I hope that together, we can raise enough for one box $1000(US).

Anything you can contribute is appreciated.  Please pass this on to any ESL teachers or people that you knew in Japan who might like to honour their "Hitomi".  I hope we will be able to help one Japanese family the way she continues to help foreigners living in Japan.