3.11

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan, triggering a tsunami with record-breaking, 133-foot high waves. The tsunami led to a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor and the risk of exposure to radiation contamination. Tens of thousands of people died, and hundreds of thousands were displaced. Reconstruction of the 500-kilometers of affected coastline and clean-up of the nuclear site would run into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

In the aftermath of the so-called triple disaster, Ramona Handel-Bajema joined a humanitarian aid organization called Americares to oversee their disaster relief efforts in Japan. She moved to Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in June 2011 to set up a base of operations for herself and two other team members. Over four years, the team distributed nearly $9 million dollars in funding to over 100 Japanese organizations including local grassroots groups and international NGOs. In addition to direct funding, the work supported the capacity building of newly emerged groups, enabling them to develop into nationally awarded non-profits. The team focused on supporting emergency relief in the immediate wake of the tsunami as well as rebuilding workshops and homes for people with disabilities, community-directed initiatives, and psychosocial programs such as garden therapy.