ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Shiny, new diplomas were handed out to the 24 students at Ogatsu Elementary School on July 3, almost four months later than originally scheduled, but there were lessons to be learned in the soiled diplomas that were intended for them.
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Shiny, new diplomas were handed out to the 24 students at Ogatsu Elementary School on July 3, almost four months later than originally scheduled, but there were lessons to be learned in the soiled diplomas that were intended for them.
The tsunami from the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake reached the roof of the two-story school. Because of the damage, Ogatsu Elementary School has been using Kahoku Junior High School as a temporary home since the disaster.
At the graduation ceremony, Principal Masahiro Doi showed students some of the diplomas soiled by the tsunami that were to have been handed out.
"These are the diplomas that we had planned to give to you," Doi said. "We will preserve the diplomas as a memory of the disasters and use them to learn about disaster management."
The 24 graduating students were given new diplomas instead.
Speaking on behalf of the graduates, 12-year-old Rina Takahashi said, "Using the fact that we survived the disaster to give us strength, we will do our best while believing in ourselves and our friends."