Governor's Message

On the fateful day of March 11, 2011, when the earthquake hit Japan, fifty five delegates from the Japan District were at Equatorial Hotel, the venue of the ASPAC Convention in Melaka, Malaysia, waiting for its Opening Ceremony. Our eyes were glued to the unbelievable scenes broadcast on the television there. International calls could not be connected at all that day, and we went to the welcome party absent-minded, without knowing what was awaiting us.
Soon after the party began, representatives from hosting country Malaysia, Taiwan and New Zealand went upstage one by one, and began appealing for disaster relief for Japan. A carton box was circulated, and heartfelt donations including foreign currencies accumulated there were donated to Governor Kawasaki right on the spot.
This was the very first disaster relief Japan has received from overseas without doubt. I felt a strong bond among Kiwanians, and an encouragement to Japan.
Since then, we keep receiving donations from Kiwanians and clubs both inside and outside of Japan.
We have been discussing how we can make the most effective use of this donation, to recompense the people who donated them. It is my pleasure to report that we recently came to the agreement to establish the Kiwanis Clubs Joint Fund, with the Steering Committee composed of the members from the four clubs in the afflicted areas: Sendai, Fukushima, Sapporo, and Chiba. The fund is going to keep and make effective use of the precious donations for children in the spirit of YCPO. We also set up a Web site, where you can see its activities.