A new video

This isn’t easy to watch, but it gives a better sense of the speed and destructive power of the tsunami that followed the mega-quake in Japan last month.

For one thing, you can hear the sounds of the event. You can hear the panic, anguish and grief in the cries of the people who made it to higher ground.

And, you see someone sacrifice his life to save another.

Japan still needs all the help we can give. It will for a long time.

As of yesterday, April 21, over 130,000 displaced people are still living in evacuation centers. Most have no homes to go home to. Many will never be able to live where they did before, because of radiation. These people have lost everything, and many are older than our parents.

We can help.

There’s Global Giving, Give2Asia, or the Japanese Center For International Exchange.

Or, if you would like to make your gift a more personal one, I have another idea for you.

I called my oldest friend, Hiro MATSUMURA, whom I have known since I was 10, and together, we decided to find a local group, in one of the most devastated coastal villages, and use our annual tithe to support as they try to rebuild and reclaim life.

After his careful research, here is the note he send me yesterday:

“Since our last conversation, I’ve been looking for a good organization for us to support for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.

This is the church in Ishinomaki City, where over 5,000 people were killed or are still missing.

Ishinominato Church is a small church in the area hardest hit, and the pastor is Masao KANAYA, who — ironically — moved to this area from Kobe some years after he experienced the earthquake of 1995.

Many of the church members have lost their houses by the tsunami and are living in the shelter.

Could you consider supporting Reverend KANAYA and his church in their efforts to help the victims of the tsunami?

Reverend KANAYA’s contact information is as follows:
C.B.A. Ishinominato Church
2-9-3 Akebono
Ishinomaki-Shi
Miyagi-Pref., Japan 986-0862

Tel/Fax: 81-225-94-2021
Email: Ishinominato@iris.ocn.ne.jp

I realize some will be suspicious about making a personal donation like this, and some will not make any donation which is not tax-deductible, which this one isn’t — but IF you’re one of those who want to know that your gift is going to real people who really need it, this is an option.

Established aid organization, or village church, please know the Japanese people need our help, and they do appreciate it, so please share this with your circle of friends too.

Thank you!