2011年11月アーカイブ

It was chilly this morning. We organized exercise programs in another area of temporary housings in Minami-soma city. Regardless of the coldness, many people came to the gym energetically.
First class in the morning was beginners' program.

Each person's posture and the sense of balance are being improved steadily with radio gymnastics. During muscle training exercises, they seem to have become conscious of which muscle to train. With exercises with Swiss Ball, their muscles in abdomen and back have been trained reasonably, so we are increasing its intensity. After 30 minutes of fullbody exercise, we all sweated.
They went back homes with their bodies dressed warmly so as not to catch a cold.

Next program was for people in intermediate level.

Practice of squat motion in the left picture and training of balance on one foot in the right.

People in this class used to wobble in squat when they first started this program, but now they can crouch deeper than before. Also they can balance on one foot for longer time. We are increasing the intensity of exercises with Swiss Ball as beginner's exercises.

After we finished all the exercises, one elderly woman who attended our program came and showed us beautiful roses she had planted in a pot.
"We made a flower garden in here ( the area where temporary housing stand).
They are beautiful, aren't they ? ", she said.
There were many other potted flowers besides rose in the garden.

We hope our exercise programs be fun and enjoyable at the same time we introduce training we think they need for their health.

We will appreciate your support.

radio gymnastic exercises , stretching and squat training

training with Swiss ball to improve the sense of balance

We have started another exercise program at different gymnastic hall in Minamisoma, city in Fukushima. The number have been increasing steadily. It seems that those who attend this program have been becoming more conscious about their health. Some people have become conscious about their high blood pressure and their weight and are trying not to eat too much. Also after one month of this exercise program, their muscles are getting trained, their physical strength and the sense of balance have been improved. They are enthusiastic about exercises.
This shows that these people are trying to take care of their own health again as they are trying to get their lives back again.
We are going to go on our volunteer activities and we sincerely appreciate your support .

Today, Children at Soma Kindergarten and we went for a field trip. Our destination was "iiyu", a recreational park in the neighboring prefecture, Miyagi,county. This park offers a petting zoo, restaurants , hot spring spa and so on. People who visit this place can have great fun all day with various activities.
The reason why we chose this place is that children can play outside without worrying too much about the radioactivity. Soma Kindergarten is in the east part of Fukushima. So naturally any activitiy which involves playing outside has been restricted for children since the nuclear power plant accident.
And also train sections have been damaged due to the earth quake on March 11th, so the kindergarten has put off some field trips. When we heard about this, we decided to help the kindergarten and offer to bus them.

Today was sunny and mild, a perfect day for the field trip.

Children got on our bus with very good manner.

We stopped once for bathroom break on our way.

We got to "Iiyu",our destination. The first picture for souvenirs.

They are giving carrots to ponies.

They also gave carrots to goats. There were many other animals such as ducks, deer, pigs rabbits,cows and that. Children were fascinated by animals and playing outside.

After that, children sat on tatami mat and had lunch. They behaved so well.

Time passed in the blink of an eye and we headed for home safe and sound.

Their smiles were dazzling when they were playing outside without any worry all the more because they are not allowed to do so in their hometown in Fukushima.
On our way back they were all drowsy on the bus.
We really hope that the day will come when all the kindergartens can plan outdoor activities for children again as they used do before the disaster and children in the east area of Fukushima can play outside without any worry.
We will support them until the day comes.