Paul Yoo, hailing from Colorado, is now in Akita-ken as a JET. Paul established volunteerAKITA which serves as the hub for many JETs to improve the quality of life of those in need through volunteer, service, and lots of LOVE. They do this through developing relationships, providing strength and encouragement for communities that need it most.
Paul Yoo recently made national news in the USA on NBC’s Nightly News around July 4th and in Japan with the below article, printed in the Asahi Shinbun on June 7th, 2011:
Akita ALT Delivers Fruit to the Affected Area
An assistant language teacher (ALT) who teaches English in Akita prefecture delivers fruit such as bananas and oranges to victims of the earthquake. He started this delivery after he visited the affected area for volunteer work and discovered that the diet people had wasn’t nutritious. He has delivered more than 15,000 pieces of fruit to Kesennuma-shi in Miyagi and Rikuzentakata-shi in Iwate.
The name of the organization is the “Fruit Tree Project”. Paul Yoo, a 26 year-old from the USA who teaches English in junior high and elementary schools in Yurihonjo-shi started doing this in early April. He heard many victims complain at the Kesennuma shelter that they “have enough food but miss having fresh fruit”. Rice and miso soup are provided, however, vegetables and fruits are in short supply and rarely handed out. Yoo says “Your stomach may get filled but the good isn’t nutritious, it’s no good.”
He started promoting the project on the Volunteer Akita website which was established after the earthquake. He asked for donations to purchase fruit. Paul Yoo talked to manufactures in Miyagi and Yurihonjo, establishing connections and finding ways to purchase fruit at discounted prices. Yoo along with over 10 ALTs visited shelters with a car full of fruit on April 29th. When they handed out the fruit to victims, they got huge smiles in response. He recalls that everyone liked bananas because you just peel and they are ready to eat since it’s almost impossible to cook at shelter.
Now over 100 people have donated money to this project and the Fruit Tree Project has raised about 800,000 yen within 2 months. According to Margaret Cocker who also helps out with the Fruit Tree Project, “Fruit is a symbol of connection between victims and ALTs”.
In affected areas, the members of the Fruit Tree Project help clean up residential areas. It’s been nearly 3 months since the earthquake, however, things are far from recovered. Yoo plans to continue volunteering on weekends saying, “We need to continue delivering fruit until the victims have reached the light at the end of the tunnel.”
