Disaster Mom

For years my wife Rie, (born and raised in Japan) would 'hold down the fort' in Tokyo with our two children as I went off to respond to the latest disaster in the world. She would make sure that I had packed my sunscreen, mosquito repellent, and malaria pills, get me to my plane on time and pray for my safe return. My role was to work with local organizations training them in psycho-social care for children after major disasters and her role was to keep the home fires burning. But in March 2011, all of that changed. Japan was faced with the most severe crisis since the aftermath of WWII with a complex disaster that threatened the evacuation of the largest metropolitan area in the world. Suddenly our small organization was at the center of the worldwide response of the Christian church to bring relief to Japan. But this article is not about THAT story. It is about my wife, whose life was about to change.

Shortly after I assumed my new role directing tsunami relief, I asked my wife if she would take the responsibility of adapting our child trauma program, OperationSAFE for Japan. I was too busy with all of the other aspects of the work and no one else knew the program as well as she did. She had great reservations, but realizing the magnitude of the crisis that Japan was facing, she agreed.

Speaking to audiences later she describes this as her own "tsunami". Between fear of immanent evacuation orders, rolling brown-outs, gasoline shortages, needing to bring fresh clothes for her husband at the command center and taking care of her own children, how could she prepare a program for children that had never been done in Japanese? This was her answer.

I am a mom.

She explains, "I don't have special disaster training, and I have a bad back, so I can't do anything too physical - but I know how to take care of children. I am a mom. I can hold children and change diapers and wipe runny noses."

Rie gathered the other moms at our church and volunteers, women with years of parenting and Sunday school teaching experience, and they started to translate and adapt materials that were developed for China and Haiti to be used with children in Japan. They took the fundamental principles and psychology that is woven into the program and made it accessible and fun for Japanese children.

Then they loaded all the materials into a van and drove up into the disaster zone to start holding camps. One camp was held at an elementary school in Onagawa, where the tsunami water had risen up to the upper floors and the children had survived by huddling together on the roof. The team worried if the children would be too scared to return to the building, but by the third day of the camp they could see little kids running down the street in their eagerness to participate in the day's activities.

Since the tsunami, now my wife joins me when I go to train others in child trauma care. Wherever we go, be it in Manila or Ulaan Baatar, she is able to connect with those who spend the most time caring for children, the moms.

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Jonathan Wilson leads CRASH Japan, a Tokyo-based non-profit devoted to mobilizing Christian volunteers to make a difference. He is the author of How Christian Volunteers Can Respond to Disasters: Lessons from the 2011 Japan Tsunami and the OperationSAFE Child Trauma Field Manual as well as 震災ボランティアは何ができるのか, くまのリッキーとにじいろのたまご, and しあわせな結婚レッスン12

Twitter: @operationsafe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathanedwardwilson

Sussie Soenanta

Dedicated, experienced in project management of New building, Fitout & Data Center

9y

Very wonderful araticle, God bless you both and so to Nidya

Nitya Laksmiwati

Founder and CEO at Optimum Indonesia

9y

Fantastic, for both of you! It is moms biggest roles in helping/empowering not only for themselves but also their children whenever any natural disaster occur in prone areas. How they deal with health issues and relate it to WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), relieve the children' traumatic experience and encourage them to go back to school also train them to stay alert in disaster preparedness. I once led the integrated reconstruction (physical & non-physical) program post earthquake in West Sumatera, Indonesia in 2008-2010 and it was an unforgettable invaluable experience.

Michael Q Todd

Social Media Influencer & Internet Teacher since 2007. I have a 1000 day online program. I live in Brisbane & Tokyo. Author of The Power Of Connectedness & Skill Up 2024. Also a VC and a journalist

9y

Wonderful Jonathan you and Rie are true inspirations to me I hope that we will meet one day

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