News & Announcement

Relief Campaigns for Great Earthquake Sufferers in NZ & Japan

In the wake of the Christchurch Earthquake which occurred in the South Island of New Zealand on 22nd February as well as the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake by a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and giant tsunami waves which hit off the coast of the Tohoku area and brought an unprecedented catastrophe to Japan, the Oceania Centre started to raise relief funds in order to support sufferers from the disasters on 1st March, asking Tenrikyo church, fellowships, Yoboku and followers living in our region for their support and cooperation. At the Centre, we have set up collection boxes. The relief campaign period for the Christchurch Earthquake lasted until 31st of the month. On the other hand, the fund-raising for the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake started on 12th March by appealing on various occasions including the “Joyous Life Lecture” which was held in six venues in the diocese starting from 9th March.

Regarding the relief activities for the Christchurch Earthquake, Tenrikyo Overseas Department’s International Network for Mutual Help decided emergency aid and sent a staff member from late February through early March. Mr. Yoshiharu Adachi, son of Rev. Adachi, who works for the Department, was dispatched on a mission to Christchurch and entrusted the city with a monetary donation and conducted relief work such as providing sufferers from the disaster with supplies that served their needs. (For details, please refer to TENRIKYO dated on 26th March, 2011.)

Concerning the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, we performed a prayer service at the Centre everyday from 12th to 14th March in accordance with the one performed at Church Headquarters in hopes of sufferers’ salvation and reconstruction of the affected areas. Moreover, we also conducted a prayer service by dancing the Twelve Chapters everyday from 21st to 31st March. In responding to the call from the Centre, there were some church, fellowships or Yoboku who performed the prayer service of the Twelve Chapters in unity of mind during the same period. On top of that, Tenrikyo Tono Sydney Fellowship held a charity bazaar for the suffers from the disaster twice on 16th and 24th April, and sent all the proceeds to the affected areas through its upper church, Tenrikyo Tono Grand Church.

At the end of the drive, the fund collected for the Christchurch Earthquake (total amount of $1,026.15) was donated to the affected areas through the Australian Red Cross on 3rd May. We would like to express our gratitude to those who donated funds using the space of this newsletter. The fund-raising campaign will be continuing in anticipation of our “long-term support”. We do hope that as many of you as possible will continue to provide the sufferers with your warm support and a sincere prayer for them.