Rie....

I knew I shouldn't have read this before going to bed last night but of course I did and it resulted in a very fitful nights sleep. It is the latest drop from the Socks For Japan team, in the report is a story about a little girl called Rie - get the box of tissues at the ready.

Don't put the tissues away, Gaijin Wife wrote about some of the unsung heroes yesterday, well that is how the post started...

photo credit kantokuma

When I lived in Kitakami  in Iwate, I didn't see another foreigner in the town for the first 8 months or so and then by chance I met Dave who was a JET teacher and had two other JET teachers living in nearby towns, this was to become my gaijin (foreigner) posse. Dave doesn't blog but we are FB friends and I have been following his efforts as he has been driving up to the north with supplies. You can follow him on twitter as kantokuma. Through Dave I found the FB Foreign Volunteers Japan group and jylogura has been posting about his experiences. So many people doing great work.

I have been trying to decide what to do next to help, raising money is great but there is only so much that the every day Jo, like me can give. I am leaning towards a Craft Hope type of project and trying to think of something practical too, tote bags with art supplies in the for the kids maybe? Japanese people tend to carry a small towel in their pocket but I'm not sure where to go with that idea. Any ideas anyone?