Mr. Takeda who took good care of my business card March 11th, 15:56
I am a reporter in my first year at the station.
At the house I visited for the first time in three months, I found my business card on the counter with a telephone.
"Mr. Takeda, have you kept this here all the time?"
"Yes. If I really can't help, I'll call." Is it
so lonely that I have to rely on a reporter I happened to meet during the interview?
I was worried about that, and the interview started.
(Sendai Broadcasting Station reporter Nozomi Kurioka)
"I'm alone. No one has a partner."
Masao Takeda (86) lives in a disaster public housing in Higashimatsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture.
He lost his wife, Chiyoko, who had been with him for 51 years in the tsunami 11 years ago.
After losing my home and evacuating to a temporary housing, I moved into a disaster public housing eight years ago.
It is a house built for people who lost their homes due to the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Living alone in the 2LDK floor plan.
He says that he is separated from the people in the area before the earthquake and rarely meets his close friends.
When shopping at a supermarket, which goes once every four days, I drive a second-hand mini car.
And I continue to live by making meals by myself, eating by myself, and going to bed at 7:00 pm.
Masao Takeda
"In 51 years, my wife who lived with me suddenly disappeared. People are being supported and supported, but because I am alone, I fall down, because there is no one to support me."
The only fun deprived of the new Corona
The only monthly tea party held by the neighborhood association that Mr. Takeda was looking forward to.
It was also a place where you could show off the poetry that Mr. Takeda is proud of.
However, due to the influence of the new coronavirus, it has not been held for the past two years, and the fun moments when people gather have been taken away.
Masao Takeda
"I don't have any at all right now. I'm alone. Nobody has a partner. Everyone is alone. I have no fun."
On the support side, financial resources and personnel are reduced ...
At the Council of Social Welfare in Higashimatsushima City, where Mr. Takeda lives, we have been involved in activities to watch over the victims and to create a place for interaction.
However, this year, 10 years after the earthquake, the financial resources and personnel are halved compared to last year.
Watching over the disaster public housing where Mr. Takeda lives ended in March last year.
In some districts, including Mr. Takeda, we switched to monthly visits by local welfare officers, but the number of local welfare officers is also limited.
In addition, while exchange events and gymnastics classes were forced to refrain from being affected by the new corona, we sought online support activities, but it was difficult for many elderly people to live there.
Takahiro Chiba, Deputy Secretary General, Higashi Matsushima City Council of Social Welfare
"I tried to make a phone call to confirm the safety of the new corona for a while, but there was a voice saying that if I couldn't see my face, I wouldn't need a phone. I felt that online activities also require terminal operations, which is a high hurdle for older people. "
Anguish support site
It has been 11 years since the earthquake.
The NHK questionnaire also highlighted the fact that preventing the isolation of residents is an issue.
From January to February, NHK conducted a questionnaire to the social welfare councils and local governments of Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima regarding support activities for residents living in disaster public housing, and 29 municipalities responded. I got it.
According to this, compared to last year, when the financial resources for activities were 10 years after the earthquake, 19 municipalities answered that they had "decreased" this year, 66% of the total, and the number of people who are active has decreased. It was 62% in 18 cities, towns and villages.
Furthermore, when asked about the impact of the new Corona, they answered that they "reduced the frequency of face-to-face watching and visiting activities" and "reduced the number of places for interaction such as salons and reduced the scale". Also rose to 79% in 23 municipalities.
What stood out among these was the opinion that "the shift from a supporter-centered approach to mutual support between residents" was conspicuous.
To support each other among residents
Creating a system to support each other on the initiative of residents.
The Council of Social Welfare in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture has been working on this.
Assuming that there will be no support from the outside, the affected residents are registered as volunteers.
Approximately 200 people are engaged in various activities such as watching over disaster public housing and resolving problems such as replacing shoji screens.
Minamisanriku Town Council of Social Welfare Takahashi Takahashi, Chief of Community Welfare
"There is no hard rule, and the concept of volunteering by residents is" Let's continue what we want to do when we want to do it for a long time. " It will lead to sustainable town development, and I think we can work even under the influence of the new Corona. "
Mitsuko Watanabe (80), one of the volunteers.
I lost my home due to the tsunami and live in a disaster public housing in the town.
I have invited local cleanup activities and held social gatherings to support the inhabitants who tend to be isolated.
Mitsuko Watanabe
"There is always a desire for all the residents to go out and get together to do something. Especially for those who live alone, I invite them to come out."
In late February, Mr. Watanabe participated as a volunteer in the distribution of bento boxes.
Before the spread of the new corona, volunteers and people living in disaster public housing all gathered at the meeting place to cook and eat rice.
Even if we can't get together, we don't want to lose the opportunity to interact with each other.
On this day, I visited an elderly household in a disaster public housing while taking measures against infection, and handed over a Chinese bowl and dessert milk agar.
Mr. Watanabe values direct voice.
Mitsuko Watanabe
"How are you feeling?"
Talk gently to women in their 90s, taking care of their health.
A woman in her 90s
"Thank you very much for your continued support. I am in good physical condition."
Mr. Watanabe says that by volunteering, he became acquainted with people he had never talked to before.
When we meet face to face, the words "Oh, how are you?" Are exchanged, and I feel that the connections between the residents are naturally born.
Mitsuko Watanabe
"I thought that when I moved into a disaster public housing, I could do it with only strangers, but now I can talk to each other and check each other's condition by looking at my face. Especially for those who live alone, "Please call me if anything happens."
By the way
Experts point out that it is important to return from the idea of support to support in peacetime.
Specializing in welfare sociology, presided over by Teruo Homma, Community Welfare Research
Institute By the way, "" is the future keyword, and it is necessary to foster "mutual" among the residents. "
Postscript of the interview
The day I saw my business card at the telephone counter, I left Mr. Takeda's room saying, "Please call me anytime."
The thoughts I had during the exchanges at that time led to this interview.
I wanted to be able to snuggle up to the faint voice I heard from the closed place of the disaster public housing.
Sendai Broadcasting Station Reporter
Nozomi Kurioka After being in charge of Miyagi Prefectural Government and Sendai Municipal Government for half a year in
2021, he
is now in charge of the Prefectural Police
.