Creating a Place of Joy for Noto’s Children that No Disaster can Take
Ever since the 2024 New Year’s Day earthquake devastated Japan’s Noto Peninsula, a Peace Winds team has been stationed on the eastern half of the peninsula to support relief and recovery. Now, staff are shifting their focus toward rebuilding the community. This includes looking toward the future of Noto by running programs for children, who have faced particular difficulties due to limited child-focused activities in the area and many of their friends moving out of the disaster zone.
Over the summer, Peace Winds converted its former office in Suzu into a Children’s Plaza. The team hosted a small pre-opening event in August, and since then, children have been able to use the space for activities ranging from music programs to gardening to just playing and getting the chance to be a kid.
We spoke to two staff members from the Peace Winds office in Suzu, Shoko Hashimoto and Shinobu Segawa. They kindly shared about their experience supporting children and families in Noto who are struggling with the difficulties of life in prolonged evacuation.
–
Shoko Hashimoto: Suzu has consisted of an aging population since before the disaster, and as of October 1, 2024, 54% of the population was 65 years or older. At first, our focus was on supporting the elderly, but the children who live here have left a strong impression on us. We feel it is our responsibility as adults to create a hopeful environment where the children who represent the future of Suzu can grow up. With that in mind, we’ve begun to focus on children’s programs.
The core idea that we’re keeping in mind is that “protecting children from getting hurt” and “protecting children’s growth” are not the same thing. We live in an age where children are often overprotected, but there’s a sense that this can hinder their ability to assess danger or think for themselves. Instead, we want to create an environment that encourages children to challenge themselves while also caring for their physical and mental wellbeing.
This idea is actually deeply connected to caring for their parents’ mental wellbeing as well. On the first day, many of the mothers looked nervous, but as they watched their children playing to their hearts’ content, their expressions gradually became calmer.
Shinobu Segawa: Parents are handling daily burdens related to childcare, post-disaster life, and anxiety about their children’s education. When we opened the Children’s Plaza, more mothers with infants and young children visited than the staff expected. After the earthquake, school grounds were turned into temporary housing, greatly reducing the number of places where children, from infants to elementary school students, could play freely.
That’s exactly why there was a need to increase the number of spaces for children of all ages and abilities. Although it’s a small thing, I would be glad if the Children’s Plaza can be a place of relief, even just for a little while.
We’re noticing that more and more children are returning to the Children’s Plaza. At first, many of them are timid, but once they start to feel confident that this is a place where they belong, they start coming back again and again. It’s amazing to see the change in their expressions from fear to belonging.
The true aim of the Children’s Plaza is to create an environment where both parents and children have options for where to spend their time. There are no other indoor playgrounds in Suzu, so it’s really important for children to have this space.
Hashimoto: Disasters themselves are a negative experience in life. Our goal is not to let the negative experience go unresolved but to explore how we can turn it into something positive.
We see the activities that achieve this goal as part of a gateway to children’s growth. So we ask companies and volunteers who partner with us to provide experiences for the children rather than simply providing material support. So far, 200 partners have been involved in providing a variety of programs. We hope to continue to collaborate with a diverse range of people to expand our programs.
Segawa: The Noto Peninsula’s Satoyama and Satoumi are beautiful areas designated as UNESCO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. [These are mountainous and coastal areas where residents practice traditional, nature-based agricultural customs.] But we also hear from parents that they don’t know how to let their children experience nature. So we want to use the Children’s Plaza as a starting point for Satoyama and Satoumi, and further enhance our experience programs in collaboration with local groups.
The goal is to dispel the negative feelings left by the earthquake and convey to the children the unique charm of Noto. We will continue to provide special experiences in the sea and mountains for children who leave their hometown to go to school so that they can remember Noto as a place of spiritual refuge. We’re working to prepare for a grand opening this December.
Hashimoto: I feel that the recovery process from the Noto earthquake has been incredibly slow compared to past disasters.
Three consecutive earthquakes combined with the torrential rains and flooding of September 2024 have left people with the feeling that they get up each time only to get knocked down again. The people who are working hard are feeling the most discouraged, and many don’t know how to persevere anymore. Even as public support is dwindling, it is essential to keep working alongside the local people in the long term rather than assuming that everything is okay because enough time has passed.
–
In addition to managing the Children’s Plaza, the Peace Winds team in Suzu continues to host community events for seniors as well as physical and mental wellness activities for residents of all ages. Your donations will help Noto’s earthquake survivors continue to rebuild and recover.
