KCGI and KCG carried the children's wishes for reconstruction to Kyoto and called for continued support - and the children's wishes for reconstruction to continue.@KYOTOElementary and junior high school students from Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, who were affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, created objets d'art with debris washed ashore by the tsunami at Watanoha Elementary School, an evacuation center.
Seventy-seven objects made by about 30 students who evacuated to the school in April and May are on display, along with 25 panels showing scenes from the evacuation center.The objects are made by laminating or combining kettles, pans, brushes, and plates.KCGI and KCG cooperated fully by providing computers for the venue and having students take turns manning the reception desk.
Kyoto is the sixth location for the exhibition, following Yamagata and Osaka.The Kyoto event was organized by KCG Professor Yujiro Nishimura, who visited the area in May as part of his volunteer activities and met Tomo Inukai (Yamagata City), a three-dimensional sculptor and member of NPO Smile Hope, who proposed and taught children how to make objects using rubble and debris.Concerned that people's interest in the disaster would wane as the days went by, Dr. Nishimura prepared the exhibition with the hope that "introducing children's objects that express their wishes for reconstruction would provide an opportunity to link support for the recovery effort.
Watanoha Elementary School, located about 500 meters north of the coast, was a shelter for more than 1,000 people immediately after the earthquake.We can only hope for the earliest possible recovery of the affected areas.
