Hope Letters Press Release
1,000 hope letters from around the world made available to classrooms and evacuation centres across Japan
Ottawa, Canada — April 11, 2011 — Hope Letters announces the online publication of 1,000 letters in both English and Japanese submitted by schools and people from around the world to convey hope and support to students across Japan. The letters are published today to mark one month since the tragic events of March 11, 2011 and the start of a new school term across Japan. Notice of publication have been sent to 4,000 English teachers in Japan, Japanese teacher networks, cultural centres, Japanese media, international media and Japanese volunteer centres coordinating relief distribution to evacuation centres.
The letters published today are part of a larger collection of more than 3,000 letters received by Hope Letters since March 11, 2011. The letters were written in English by people from 38 countries. Over 100 schools, scout troops and community groups across North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific are participating in letter writing with Hope Letters. Hope Letters continues to accept letters and plans to publish more translated letters in the months ahead.
“Children and youth are among the most vulnerable in any disaster. In Japan, many children and youth from the affected regions have been relocated to other towns and cities. As they begin a new school year, students in Japan will be wondering what the future holds with the reality of the devastation in their shadows. Through personal words of encouragement from students around the world to students in Japan, Hope Letters aims to turn the worldwide student community into a source of support for students in Japan,” said David Chan, Founder and Editor of Hope Letters.
Living in Sendai, Jacqui Laing is one of 4,000 English teachers in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) who was invited to share the translated letters with their colleagues and students in schools across Japan. Jacqui said, “Hope Letters is a great way to inspire Japanese students to hold onto hope and stay positive about the future. The opportunity for students to hear the voices of support from people from so many different countries is invaluable. People in Sendai are very touched that so many people have made the effort to send and translate such heartfelt messages.”
In the past three weeks, Hope Letters were distributed to community and evacuation centres in Miyagi, Iwate and Yamagata Prefectures.
The letters published today are available for online access and download at www.hopeletters.org.
About Hope Letters
Hope Letters was established in Ottawa, Canada on March 11, 2011 as an initiative to collect online letters of hope directed at community segments affected by the devastation in Japan, such as children, students and relief workers, translate the letters into a language that makes sense to those in need and deliver them in a manner that limits burden on resources and infrastructures devoted to disaster relief. Through technology, Hope Letters aims for each letter to be read by multiple readers and to be preserved for future generations. Hope Letters is wholly operated by a group of more than 50 volunteers in North America, Europe and Japan.
For additional information, please contact:
Scott Poole
Media Liaison (North America)
Tel.: (+1) 647-350-0414, (+1) 416-559-6636
Email: media@hopeletters.org
Noriko Momo Urashima
Media Liaison (Japan)
Email (preferred): japan@hopeletters.org
Tel.: (+81) 50 5809 5939