Inside the camp

This camp is a community centre. It`s quite a small building, about 100m by 100m, is ground floor level only, and consists of a kitchen, and food storage area, a room that will be used for various types of treatment, or for the very sick to stay in. A makeshift doctors surgery, toilet facilities

and a gymnasium

The survivors are staying in the gym. Polystyrene mats about 5cm thick, have been laid down throughout the hall, and then covered with blankets to provide insulation and  softer surface to rest on. 

After arriving at the camp most people seemed to want to just rest. We and the medical team tried to see and talk to as many people as we could in the time we had (around 6 hours).

This family`s house was destroyed, but everyone survived and seemed in good spirits.

While many put on a brave face, it was not difficult to see that beneath the surface there was a lot of heartache

One man catches up one some much needed sleep

Hiroshi walking around, asking if anyone needs any help. Its seemed that many people were unaware of why acupuncture might be beneficial for them, and most people had never tried it, and seemed unaware of what benefits it might provide for them. 

It also seemed that many of them were reluctant to ask for help, as perhaps their small injuries or worries seemed quite insignificant compared to the scale of what had happened. Everyone we spoke to in the camp had lost their house and most of their possessions, many others also close relatives and friends, so we actually spent more time talking to people and listening to their stories. 

Though we both think that in the coming weeks and months, acupuncture, massage, and couselling will be a big help to these people, as on this particular day, many people were receiving much needed medical attention, which is the first and most important step in such a situation, and as we were restricted timewise, we had limited opportuntiy to offer any treatment that might be of long term help - that will require repeated visits and a more long term approch to offering treatment. 

Complementary therapies offer a slightly less clinical and more personal treatment, which we believe could be highly beneficial in the recovery of the survivors