henji means reply!
been getting too many emails to keep up with. so i’m going to try to
reply to your questions and comments now.
1. about thanking the WE ARE ONE team. your very welcome. it’s your
support that’s gotten us through this. each one of us volunteered for
the same reason, which is to support japan. want to say thank you
again for your donations and support.
2. about donating supplies or money. as of now, the emergency
shelters in tohoku are well supplied. some even have too much and
will turn you away. so donating supplies isn’t as important as it was
a week ago. as for donating money, like i said before, be very
careful on what organization you send money too. that $100 you send
today might end up as $20 once it’s handed out a year later. research
and make your decision wisely.
3 about wanting to go but couldn’t. there were so many emails about
japanese wanting to go to help, but can’t because of work or family
related issues. hey, please don’t feel bad. if you couldn’t go now,
you can always go later. i will tell you straight that it’s not the
end. it’s very dangerous to go up there now because of the unstable
nuclear plant in fukushima. the clean up and everything else will
take years and years so you can volunteer on your next vacation.
don’t stress about it. i was feeling down in hawaii when i couldn’t
come to japan sooner, instead, i raised money and did what i could
do. that made me feel better because i felt like i was doing
something. if you can’t go now, i’m sure there are many things you
can do to support the victims.
4. about how to help. if you can’t go and want to help? here’s my
advice. spend money. go out and spend money on products made in
tohoku. support businesses up there because right now, things are
looking bad. the economy is pretty much shut down because of
everything. saving money at a time like this is the worst thing you
can do. money has to circulate in the economy to keep it going
forward and if you don’t spend now, the whole japan will suffer. so
buy products and services from tohoku.
5 about our next mission. i know many of you want to go but we only
have a few seats. before volunteering, make sure your ready for
anything. to tell you the truth, i’m not scared of radiation anymore,
i’m not scared of earthquakes anymore, and i’m not scared of tsunami’s
anymore. of course, i’ll try my best to keep everybody safe, but if
it’s time to risk my life, i’m risking my life and if your with me,
you better too. this trip isn’t for anybody. if you want to play it
safe, sign up at a volunteer center up there as many are looking for
people. for our WE ARE ONE mission, it’s different. anything can
happen and if there is need to go into danger zones, we are going into
danger zones. so if your a young person that wants a long healthy
life, this is not for you.
last, want to thank you all for the emails. sorry i won’t be able to
reply to all of them, but each and every one is in my heart. i
appreciate your concern, and i appreciate your support. how i’m
feeling right now? i miss the ocean, i miss the clean air, and i miss
seeing happy japanese people. i’m in this for the long run and when
everything comes back to normal, i’m going up to tohoku to surf, to
meet new friends, and to support the people we met along the way.
JAPAN WILL RECOVER!
WE ARE ONE!
