An orphan's fund for children who lost their parents in the Great East Japan Earthquake, established by eight heavyweights such as architect Tadao Ando and conductor Seiji Ozawa, is gathering increasing public support.
An orphan's fund for children who lost their parents in the Great East Japan Earthquake, established by eight heavyweights such as architect Tadao Ando and conductor Seiji Ozawa, is gathering increasing public support.
Momo-Kaki Orphans Fund has received donations from more than 9,000 people as of the end of July, since the effort was restarted in May.
The fund was originally established in 1995 to support orphans following the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which killed more than 6,000 people. The 10-year project collected about 500 million yen ($6.52 million) and provided financial aid to 418 children.
Under the current fund's programs, children whose parents were killed or reported missing in the March 11 disaster will receive a fixed amount of money each month through municipal governments until they finish high school.
Donations received by the fund are expected to total about 1 billion yen in 10 years. The number of youths aged below 18 who had both parents killed or still missing in the hardest-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima is at least 229, according to the health ministry. The number of those who had either of their parents killed or reported missing totals 1,295 and is expected to continue to rise.
Momo-Kaki Orphans Fund is seeking donors who will enroll in the fund's membership that requires members to contribute 10,000 yen annually for 10 years.
The fund has received large donations from Suntory and other companies, including Daiwa House Industry Co., which contributes 1,000 yen per sale of its houses for five years.
Other founders include Tadashi Yanai, president of the fast retailing chain Uniqlo, Nobutada Saji, president of Suntory Holdings Ltd., and Masatoshi Koshiba, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist.
To make donations to the fund, please send your name, age, address and phone number to the fund at the fax number: 06-6374-6260. To make an inquiry, please contact the fund's office at 06-6371-2227.