UNMC leads community effort for Japan disaster relief

It was a simple request from a young man at Monday’s evening’s Japanese relief effort planning meeting at UNMC.

Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Ph.D., center, with Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle, left, and George Behringer, Honorary Consul General of Japan, at Monday’s planning meeting for earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan.

Anna Hulbert — a second-year medical student at UNMC — helps 8-year-old Isabella work on origami art at Monday night’s meeting.

“Help my family in Japan,” he said, and then he opened a Japanese flag and asked if community members would sign it with messages of hope to send to his grandparents’ village, which was devastated by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan last month.

That flag will travel to UNMC, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Kearney and throughout the community.

It is just one way to show support for the displaced Japanese families.

Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Ph.D., a native of Japan and professor of epidemiology in UNMC’s College of Public Health, Japanese students and a team of public health workers organized Monday’s event to mobilize community support.

How you can help The University of Nebraska Foundation has set up the UNMC Japanese Disaster Relief Fund. You can donate online at nufoundation.org or send a donation to: Omaha Office of the University of Nebraska Foundation 2285 S. 67th St. Suite 200 Omaha, NE 68106

“It was amazing to see so many members from the Omaha and Japanese communities as well as members of the medical center campus show their support for the relief efforts,” Dr. Watanabe-Galloway said. “We are grateful for the grassroots energy that will make a difference to local families and people in Japan.”

About 140 people met to learn about Japan’s history, radiation concerns and to discuss several community initiatives including:

• Possible partnerships with universities in Japan;
  
• Building infrastructure needed to respond to relief efforts; and
  
• Providing mental health assistance to local Japanese families suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome.

The event was just the start of what will be a sustained rebuilding effort, said Dr. Watanabe-Galloway, who noted that more information about relief efforts and initiatives will be announced soon.

Visit the UNMC Standing for Japan website for the latest on community events and efforts.