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Japan’s Sudden Disaster—How People CopedAwake!—1995 | August 22
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Witnesses Immediately Respond
When Keiji Koshiro, a Christian elder, visited downtown Kobe the morning of the quake and saw the terrible devastation, he returned home and organized the local congregation to cook food for fellow Christians who had been more seriously affected. By evening, he was delivering food and drink by car to congregations in the center of Kobe. The following morning, more food and water was provided. Because traffic jams were encountered, the Witnesses organized a convoy of 16 motorcycles to deliver the relief supplies.
Many others also immediately took the initiative to search out and help their Christian brothers. Tomoyuki Tsuboi and another elder set out on motorcycles for Ashiya, a city next to Kobe that was also severely damaged. At the Kingdom Hall in downtown Ashiya, they found that the traveling overseer, Yoshinobu Kumada, had already set up a relief center there.
A telephone contact was made to alert brothers of the need, and soon supplies were being gathered. Nine cars carrying blankets, food, and water were soon heading toward Ashiya. These supplies were delivered to two Kingdom Halls in the city, where between 40 and 50 persons had taken refuge. Others found shelter in homes of fellow believers. The following day Witnesses in a nearby area prepared meals for 800. The food provided for those in need was abundant, so the Witnesses shared it with neighbors who were in need.
Throughout the area affected by the quake, Jehovah’s Witnesses immediately came to the aid of their fellow believers. This impressed many observers. A week after the quake, a helicopter pilot approached a Witness in Yokohama and said: “I went to the disaster area on the day of the quake and spent a week there. Jehovah’s Witnesses were the only ones that rushed to the site. I was deeply impressed.”
Relief Program Established
The branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses, located in Ebina, Japan, soon sent four representatives to the Kobe area to organize the relief work. “We immediately agreed to find Kingdom Halls that were not destroyed and to send relief supplies to them,” one representative reported. “Six halls were located, and within five hours these were filled to capacity. Other supplies were sent to two large Assembly Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses nearby.”
A bank account for the relief fund was opened, and congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout Japan were informed. Within the first three business days, a million dollars was donated. The money was quickly distributed for the use of those in need.
Congregations were told they could pick up needed supplies at the designated relief centers. The elders in each congregation arranged for the distribution of supplies to the needy members of their respective congregations. Unbelieving family members of the Witnesses were not ignored. The father of a Christian elder in the affected area—who previously had been unfavorable to Jehovah’s Witnesses—was heard bragging over the phone to a relative: “People from my son’s religion come and help us!”
More Than Material Assistance
Immediately, Christian meetings were organized. One congregation gathered at a park for their meeting on Tuesday, the day of the quake. By Sunday most congregations in the affected area held their regular Watchtower Study, either in small groups or in Kingdom Halls that had been spared severe damage. Appropriately, the December 1, 1994, Watchtower, which was studied that week, discussed the privilege of using resources “to help victims of natural disasters.” A woman at the meeting commented: “For the first time, we are at the receiving end of relief work. I am filled with gratitude that I can’t express in words. Once we are back to normal, I will do my part at the giving end.”
Representatives from the branch office used motorcycles to visit the areas hardest hit. “It was touching to see the brothers in tears,” one of them reported. “They would tell us, ‘We are not crying because we have lost everything but because our hearts are touched by you brothers who came to visit us all the way from Ebina.’”
Within 24 hours of the quake, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A., as well as branch offices in other parts of the world, sent messages expressing concern. Many more such messages were received in the days that followed. A fax from the Wŏnju West Congregation, Republic of Korea, which had lost 15 members in a firebombing two years earlier, was especially moving.a It concluded: “The pains of our brothers in Kobe are our pains and sorrows. Please remember, just as we have experienced, you are not alone when you are in distress. Dear brothers, do not give up!”
The branch representatives made arrangements for continued spiritual support. For example, additional traveling overseers were temporarily assigned to the Kobe area to provide encouragement. And Christian elders from other parts of Japan were also invited to visit Kobe for a week or so at a time to provide spiritual and emotional support to those who were suffering.
With such care and encouragement from fellow believers worldwide, the Witnesses in the affected area maintained a positive and appreciative attitude. After attending the first meeting following the quake, one Witness said: “We were a bit anxious until yesterday, since we did not have anywhere to go. But coming here and hearing the kind arrangements that have been made for our benefit, including laundry service, provisions for taking baths, and the use of the Assembly Halls as temporary residences, has really relieved us of our anxieties. This truly is God’s organization!”
Indeed, putting emphasis on spiritual riches has helped the Witnesses to cope. A woman in her early 20’s said: “My mother taught me from the time I was three to put my trust in Jehovah. Her training and that received through the Christian congregation has helped me to bear this distressing experience.”
Organized to Rebuild
About 350 houses of the Witnesses were severely damaged or destroyed; a hundred of these were privately owned. More than 630 additional houses of the Witnesses required minor repairs. Also, ten Kingdom Halls were so badly damaged that they were unusable.
Quickly, arrangements were made to reconstruct Kingdom Halls for the congregations that had lost theirs. And the 11 Regional Building Committees in Japan each organized a team of 21 persons to repair the damaged houses of Witnesses.
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Japan’s Sudden Disaster—How People CopedAwake!—1995 | August 22
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[Pictures on page 26]
Witnesses quickly set up a relief program for victims
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