March 12th, 2011

Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Relief

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Donate & I pledge to give £1 for every time there is a donation!

(up to the total of £150)

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I’m sure you are all aware of the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that occurred in Japan yesterday. It’s heartbreaking to see the extensive devastation it has caused  – & I feel very tearful to think of all the people there. The people that died, the injured, the missing & the sorrow of the families & friends of those people. There are plenty who have lost their houses too. It’s going to be a long, trying process to heal, & it truly is a horrific time for everyone in Japan.

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I feel strongly that it’s not enough to JUST feel sorry for Japan. Even if we live so far away in a different country, there must be something we can do to help… But what? I wish I was there to help with the relief, rescue as many people with my own hands, dig out the injured underneath the rubble. But turning up on the doorstep is not a good idea – When I thought of what I could do, yes, I can donate, but what else? And then I had an idea. I can use my web-presence, however small it is, to persuade you to donate too, & generate as much buzz as I can to get people to be generous in Japan’s time of need.

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So I have decided to set up a personal appeal. Here’s what I ask of you. Please follow this link to FIRST GIVING website. I have created a special donation page to help the Save The Children charity. The money we generate will fund them help Japan specifically.

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“Save the Children is mobilizing its global resources to respond to the needs of children and families affected by the earthquake and its aftermath, and an international emergency team has been dispatched to assist staff in Japan.  The humanitarian agency has been in Japan for 25 years, is in many of the other Pacific nations that could soon be hit by tsunamis, and was a major responder to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 225,000 people.”

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Please donate generously.

Please help me generate as much funds as possible.

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To start it off, I have already put funds in to the account. And as an incentive for you to donate, I pledge to give £1 for every donation you give, up to the total figure of £150.

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So go on, I’ll dare you. You donate & I’ll pay!

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Please tell all your friends about this pledge so that I’ll cough up more! Also, if you have a blog, please blog about it. If you twitter, please twitter. I want you to reach to as many people as possible to donate. Help me do this.

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Please remember, Japan has an excellent track record for been superbly charitable in other’s time of need. Now it is your turn to return the favor. I know we’re in recession and all, but look at it this way, ~ if this mega scale of a disaster struck where you live, wouldn’t you love it if everyone dipped in to their purse to donate for you?

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So please give generously in this time of great need. Please. It’ll mean a lot to me to see you do it. Let’s you & me make a difference.

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Thank you in advance,

Tamami Haga

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17 Comments »

  1. […] Red Cross are accepting donations. If you are in the UK and would like to help, please visit Coco&Me’s post. It seems trivial to talk about other things during this difficult time, but this is one small […]

    Pingback by Hello Japan: Manga! « chasing bawa - March 12, 2011 11:18 am

  2. You can publish this link or not as you wish, but I wanted you to know I have announced your offer on my Montana blog. Looks like donations have already exceeded your matching gift! Hurrah!

    http://yummymontana.blogspot.com/2011/03/donations-for-japan.html

    Comment by Montana Mary - March 13, 2011 2:13 am

  3. I split my donation between your site and Chika (of shewhoeats)’s site. I’ve tweeted about your site and it’s been retweeted already once at least. Thanks for doing this. God bless you ox

    Comment by cocopuff1212 - March 13, 2011 8:01 am

  4. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE DONATION SO FAR.
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    Currently, as at 10am on 13th March, we have raised $1282. Truly truly amazing.
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    But I hope you all agree that it’s not enough though, so please please donate if you haven’t done so already.
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    I’m watching the news & the devastation is far greater than what we understood when I first set up the page a day ago. I can almost hear the cries of the people there & I cry too.
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    Please donate.

    Comment by tamami - March 13, 2011 10:02 am

  5. Thank you for putting up the donation link.
    I’m happy to give something towards helping with this shocking disaster.

    Comment by Barny - March 14, 2011 1:41 pm

  6. Thank you Barny!!!!!!!! you are amazing!!!! Really, thank you… All the best, t xx

    Comment by tamami - March 14, 2011 1:48 pm

  7. Update:
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    The number of donations has now reached 40!!!!
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    Just to let you know that I have payed in £40 in to the funds, as part of my pledge.
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    That means there’s another £110 up for stakes!
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    So please keep the donations coming in so that I donate more!!
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    Ta!!
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    Tamami xxx

    Comment by tamami - March 14, 2011 9:12 pm

  8. […] Coco&Me she who eats British Red Cross American Red Cross Australian Red Cross Doctors Without Borders […]

    Pingback by Japan: some more ways you can help « chasing bawa - March 17, 2011 2:17 pm

  9. Chasing Bawa,
    THANK YOU for writing about the fundraising. You’re truly amazing, thank you ^^

    Comment by tamami - March 18, 2011 12:30 am

  10. Hi Tamami,

    I donated and linked to your page on my Facebook. Sorry I couldn’t give more but I don’t have a job right now ^^;
    Hope you raise lots of money to help the people affected by this disaster! What a generous thing you are doing to help the victims in Japan, it’s really fantastic.

    Japan is very close to my heart, I have good friends there and travel there often as I love the culture, food & country. The current tragedy is quite heartbreaking. The strength and courage of the Japanese people in this crisis has been very impressive and touching. I hope that at least in some small way we can all help and show some solidarity. ^^

    Comment by Maria - March 19, 2011 4:25 am

  11. Maria,
    THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your donation! I’m humbled that you & the others have donated on a page I set up. Your contribution & your thoughts for Japan means a lot. What with the unstable nuclear power station, it’s very scary there still, & God knows how Japan must feel right now… – I was watching the news of a young family in the shelter there – they were rationed ONE rice ball each. The parents were worried that there may be none the next day, so they kept theirs for the children to eat the following day. It was so heartbreaking. I cried for a while later.
    – It’ll take a long time to heal, but the Japanese are strong, & there is massive support from others. I’m going to keep campaigning for as long as I could.
    – Thank you Maria for your kind message!

    Comment by tamami - March 20, 2011 7:26 pm

  12. Tamami,

    I know, the Fukushima crisis is quite scary! Here in Hong Kong, everyone has been running around like “headless chickens” due to panic about the possible radiation – even though we’re thousands of miles away! Oh, if only they were as calm as people in Japan. There’s been panic buying of salt, soy sauce etc here as there are rumours going around that salt helps prevent radiation! Also panic buying of Japanese milk powder as people think future supplies will be contaminated. Crazy!

    My university room-mate is Japanese, and we went through 9/11 together while at uni in New York, and she’s now in Tokyo so when March 11 happened it felt like a little bit of terrible deja vu. I sent her some food via EMS as I heard the shelves are empty even in Tokyo, but I hope everyone else can get food & necessities too… not everyone has friends/family overseas..

    Anyway, enough from me! Hope to see more of your regular posts soon. :)

    Comment by Maria - March 21, 2011 1:49 pm

  13. Hi Tamami – thanks for this post. I actually just returned from a trip to Asia, which included a stop in Tokyo (we missed the earthquake by just a day). My thoughts are with all our friends and everyone impacted in the country.

    I’ve made a small donation via your link as well as one to the Red Cross the other week. I hope you raise lots. Thanks again for your efforts! xo, Hana

    Comment by style fare - March 21, 2011 2:32 pm

  14. Maria,
    I heard about the panic buying of salt in HK & China on the news too! If UK was in a similar situation, I’m sure we’d be doing the same…!? You must be so worried about your friend… it’s so good of you to send her food!! Wow. – It’s uncertain times in Japan – & now it is Day 10, I’m sure moral must be low. The food to some of the strickened areas are still not getting there for example, & the nuclear power station still not fully resolved… What trying time they are in right now… I feel for them so much…
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    Style fare,
    O.m.g, that was so lucky that you got out of Japan only a day previous…! You must’ve been scared out of your socks when you learnt the news…! Thank you very much for the donation Hana, the response from you & the others have been so amazing…, so touching… Let’s hope & pray for Japan…

    Comment by Tamami - March 21, 2011 3:13 pm

  15. I have just been and given a small donation via your page….wish it could be more.
    The devastation of Japan is just mind boggling and so very sad.
    I had hoped to go back this year first time in nearly 30yrs; catch up with family & take my mothers ashes home.

    I hope people dont forget about Japans crisis now the media has shifted focus.
    Great idea to set up your donation page hope you raise lots!

    Comment by Michiko - March 22, 2011 1:37 pm

  16. Michiko san, thank you very much for the donation!!!!!!!!! I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had to delay your trip to Japan with your mother’s ashes… Wow, so you haven’t been back for 30 years?!
    I was speaking to a friend of mine about how we don’t hear about Japan in the UK news so much anymore too. The devastation the earthquake & the tsunami had caused is still very much there, as well as the uncertainty surrounding the nuclear reactor… You’re right, we mustn’t forget – & we must keep on campaigning & creating a buzz for further donation. Many people are donating to the red cross it seems, which is fantastic, but once the rescue part is done, Japan still needs to rebuild, or there needs to be funding to help the people who are grieving to come to terms, … for example. There are so many ways to help Japan in a long-term basis. Kobe took 3 years to recover I read, but I presume it’ll take a lot longer this time…
    – Michiko san, once again thank you for your kind donation & I sincerely hope that you’d get to go back to Japan soon!

    Comment by tamami - March 22, 2011 6:22 pm

  17. […] busy dealing with the situation on hand, I thought. So I set up a donation page myself & put up a post on this blog. It raised $3699 (around £2400). Donations up to $100 from people I did not know were coming in. I […]

    Pingback by 10 years at Broadway Market | Coco&Me :: Market Stall Holder's Blog - June 4, 2015 1:08 pm

 

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