The Japanese government has the capacity to mount a huge and effective aid effort to assist those affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Oxfam is working to complement the government's efforts by funding Japanese organizations that are helping people whose particular vulnerabilities make accessing aid a struggle.
The work of Oxfam’s partners in Japan now includes:
- helping ensure that members of the immigrant community have access to relief supplies;
- disseminating information about the government relief effort in multiple languages;
- providing information and airing radio broadcasts to people affected by the disaster who don’t speak Japanese;
- providing portable radios (solar- and wind-powered) to help people gain access to broadcasts about the relief effort;
- setting up a hotline for single parents to assist with housing, employment, medical and child care, and access to social services;
- providing peer counseling for single-parent households;
- supporting single parents and their children with both services and advocacy;
- establishing a 24-hour hotline to link disaster-affected women who have experienced domestic or sexual abuse to support systems;
- providing care and counseling to women—especially expectant mothers—and distributing goods like diapers and infant clothing;
- arranging for births and providing facilities for recuperation after delivery; and
- securing private space within evacuation centers for safe and comfortable breastfeeding.
Oxfam America is accepting funds to support these and other efforts.
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