Even after two months have passed from the Noto Peninsula earthquake, more than 10,000 people are still forced to live in evacuation centers, and also more than 4,500 people are being evacuated from their home. When delivering supplies, we often face so-called the “Last Mile” problem, which means that delivery is not completed at the last distance from the collection point to the people affected by the disaster. AAR Japan (Association for Aid and Relief Japan), which supports welfare facilities for people with disabilities in Ishikawa Prefecture, is cooperating with local NPOs and companies to overcome this problem.

The devastated transportation infrastructure is being restored rapidly on major arterial roads, while supplies are difficult to reach final destinations at areas with small populations. The Ishikawa Barrier-Free Tour Center (Kanazawa City), a non-profit organization which provides barrier-free information on sightseeing in Ishikawa to people with disabilities and the elderly in and outside Ishikawa, continues to provide support such as delivering supplies utilizing its network. However, they were facing the “Last Mile” problem due to a lack of delivery manpower.

Being asked to help delivery, AAR are cooperating with the center by efficiently delivering their supplies together with AAR, while making up for the foodstuffs that the center was unable to obtain.

AAR’s support activities are in cooperation with many companies. Employees of Mitsubishi Shokuhin Co.,Ltd. (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) transport the pre-packaged foods to the AAR’s collection point in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and AAR, which understands the needs of each facility and evacuation center, receives and delivers them to the “Last Mile” destination.

The recipients of the rare pre-packaged foods such as sam-gyetang (Korean chicken soup) and green curry said, “It’s nice to have a meal like this not only because it’s delicious but also it’s a nice change of taste, as the menu tends to be same every day”.

Local governments in the affected areas have partially ended distribution of supplies, so the situation continues to be difficult for people in voluntary evacuation centers and those evacuating at home. AAR is currently focusing on providing support for them. We ask for your continued cooperation in AAR’s emergency support for the Noto Peninsula earthquake.