Dear Friends of All Nations,
At 2:46pm on Friday, March 11, in small villages of the Tohoku region in Japan, many children were at school and excited about the upcoming weekend and time with their friends. Their parents and other family members were at work nearby, for these are fishing villages along the ocean. It seemed to be just another Friday afternoon until the earth shook with vigor and longer than they had ever felt before. As the ground below them trembled, the warning sirens echoed around the villages and people ran and screamed that the tsunami waves were coming, Many of the villagers had grown up in these villages along the Pacific coast and knew what they had to—run to higher ground. Children ran to the rooftops of their schools for safety and witnessed the giant waves attacking their villages. The waves came one after another, and gulped up everything that was familiar to them: people, cars, boats, trees and buildings. No one could do anything to stop the forces of nature and their villages disappeared before their eyes. As of March 29, combined figures of reported dead or missing people stands at 28,000 and this figure is rising. Many of the surviving victims have lost everything: their homes, jobs and families. Materially, very little is left. Emotionally and physically, they are scared, tired and possibly injured. BBC reported, “The worst earthquake in modern-history hit the best prepared country in the world, testing their capability and government. While there were many victims of the disaster, the people of Japan face the situation calmly and with concern for each other. This is a fundamental aspect of Japanese culture”. What the earthquake and tsunami could not take from these people is their hope, determination and will to restore their villages. While Japanese Government, municipals and big name corporations are doing best to establish the lifeline & to deliver water, food, medicines, fuel and other necessities, we’re trying to deliver hope, prayers, thoughts, and love to the victims of Tohoku Tsunami disaster. Even though their very basic needs may be filled by materials and temporary housing, they need more. They need to know that people all over the world care & pray for them. Your messages will carry your hearts , and your messages will fill the hearts of the survivors. Please help us bring more smile & hope to the most patient, caring and wonderful people in Japan. We’d like to invite you to join our project. Your quilts will be delivered to the shelters for display , and to schools, hospital, nursing homes and municipal offices after shelters are closed. Your generous donation will be used to buy school supplies which will be delivered with your quilts. Your heart filled messages will bring back smiles to the people in Tohoku, and to give hope to live & restore their lives. With much love and respect,
Sachi Dunphy
Efrat Machikawa
Quilts for Hope
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How did Quilts for Hope project start? It started after March 11 earthquake occurred. The project was inspired by a TV news clip when several HS students posted a message poster “Be thankful for being alive” at one of the shelters. When interviewed, people at the shelter commented they felt encouraged & inspired. We felt words have power that touch people’s hearts, and thought a message quilt will be a good way of showing how much we care for the people in Tohoku who were so devastatedly affected by the earthquake and tsunami disaster. What is your goal? Our goal is to provide at least one quilt to each shelter located in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. There are more than 180,000 people living in 2,000 temporary shelters as of March 30th. Once the temporary shelters are closed, the quilts will be donated to schools, hospitals, nursing homes and some municipal offices. Also we realize there are severe needs for school supplies at each shelter. We’ll use any fund generated from the project to buy school supplies (stationaries, books, etc.) and donate them with our quilts. Who can participate? Anyone who wish to send their message to Japan can participate. No special skills required! Q4. What do I need to participate? We ask you donate quilt materials, i.e. plain cotton (or cotton/polyester) fabric for patches. If you’re doing the project at school or work, you’ll need to designate someone in charge of distributing & collecting patches. More detailed instructions will appear later in this presentation. Q5. I’m craft-deficient and none of my friends has a sewing machine – what do I do? A5. We encourage that you’ll find someone in your community who could help. Usually elderly ladies are keen on sewing and many love to work on a project like this. If you’re working at school then perhaps there’s a teacher who’s teaching sewing skills after school? If your intensive search still resulted nobody to help sew, then you can send us the message patches so we can find a volunteer to help. We’ll send you a photo of the finished product. Please contact us for more details. Q6. Do I need to fundraise, or can I just collect the messages & make a quilt? A6. This is entirely up to you, and to where you’ll be doing the project. Our suggestion is to ask for $5 for each quilt patch so that the fund can be applied for your cost for fabric and other materials. Although this is a volunteer project, we will need to pay for delivery, materials and school supplies we’d like to donate for children. Every bit helps. Q7. Is my donation tax-deductible? A7. Unfortunately no. Q8. How can I make a check to and where should I send? A8. You can make a check out to
Q9. Where should I send the finished quilt to? A9. You can send to the following addresses;
Please contact us for details (see Q9 below)
Q10. I still have more questions – whom should I ask? A10. Please contact us below:
Sachi Dunphy
Email : skyjp127@gmail.com
Efrat Machikawa
Email : efrat@machikawa.com
