March 2011

Rissho Kosei-kai Donate-a-Meal Fund for Peace Allocates Emergency Aid for Disaster Victims

The executive committee of Rissho Kosei-kai's Donate-a-Meal Fund for Peace, chaired by Rev. Yuji Numata, director of the Dharma Missions Bureau, announced on March 18 that it had decided to donate 500 million Japanese yen in emergency aid for rehabilitating areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11. After careful consideration of the devastated areas, the committee decided which organizations would receive funds, and the schedule of disbursement. The funds would be used to help the disaster victims rebuild their lives and communities.

Immediately after the earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan's main island of Honshu, at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, the Rissho Kosei-kai Task Force for the Eastern Japan Earthquake was set up at Rissho Kosei-kai headquarters in Tokyo, and headed by Rev. Yasutaka Watanabe, chair of the board of trustees. On March 12 Rissho Kosei-kai dispatched its first relief team, headed by Rev. Masahiro Nemoto, director of the External Affairs Department, to gather information about the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami.

The Rissho Kosei-kai Dharma Centers of Ishinomaki in Miyagai Prefecture and Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture were designated as local evacuation centers and received disaster victims.

The Rissho Kosei-kai Fund for Peace raises funds through members' participation in the Donate-a-Meal Movement. They forgo several meals a month and donate the money saved, in a Buddhist spirit of compassion, for the victims of poverty, regional conflict, natural disaster, and other calamities. Members' contributions are also used to support peace efforts around the world.

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