Interview with Satomi Makihara, Representative of Kawabe Recovery Project Aruku
We interviewed Satomi Makihara, who began serving meals soon after the July 2018 torrential rains and has continued to create places for local residents to gather.
The journey of Kawabe Recovery Project Aruku
Could you tell us how Kawabe Recovery Project Aruku came about?
Makihara (honorifics omitted)
The July 2018 torrential rains flooded almost every home in the Kawabe district of Mabi, where I live, and also damaged the elementary school and the community center annex.
With public support difficult to access, many residents thought, “We can’t live anywhere else” and “We have no choice but to return,” while also worrying, “What if no one comes back?”
Hearing these concerns, I felt that “we needed a place where people could gather,” and with help from volunteers, began serving meals at Kawabe Elementary School at the end of August.
Many people had moved into temporary housing, and there were hardly any people left in Kawabe. But on the third day of meal service, about 300 people gathered. Seeing them enjoy food and conversation made me realize, “We really do need places like this.”
However, it was difficult to continue serving meals for long, and I felt the need for a self-sustaining gathering place, so I launched Kawabe Recovery Project Aruku. The original members were people who had asked, “Can I help?” when I was coordinating the meal service on my own.
What did you work on first?
Makihara
In 2018, I had been living in Mabi for 10 years.
The first thing I did was set up a LINE group called “Everyone’s Kawabe District.” A friend contacted me saying they wanted to send supplies. Since I was living comfortably at my evacuation location, I felt that “we needed a system to get supplies to the people who truly needed them.”
Drawing on my experience as a former PTA president, I invited parents to the LINE group and began sharing “what is needed right now.” A hundred people joined that very day, and the group eventually grew to 600.
I had already been involved with the Kawabe District Community Development Promotion Council, so I felt comfortable with community activities.
Being known by face and name also supported our work, and I feel it gave us the strength to take steps toward rebuilding the community.
Using social media was also effective. Being able to share information, including calls for help and responding to the media, was a great source of satisfaction for me.
I was also grateful that local residents understood and supported the volunteer principle: “Do what you can, as much as you can.”
How do you organize your activities?
Makihara
We hold a two- to three-hour meeting once a month. Although “recovery” is in our group’s name, we are constantly discussing questions such as “When does recovery end?” and “Are we really needed?” as we carry out our activities.
Members encouraged me to move forward with projects I came up with, such as a disaster-preparedness handbook for parents and children and a junior disaster-prevention leader training course.
A junior high school teacher once told me, “We live in an age when children only receive information about things they’re interested in.”
The influence of social media and other factors has created a situation where people can “avoid learning about things they don’t want to know.” That’s why I feel it’s increasingly important to share information about disaster preparedness and planning.
The reassurance of having a place to gather
I understand that creating places where people can gather is important to you.
Makihara
One gathering place that stands out to me is the “Handicrafts Group.” Members who are skilled at sewing prepare seasonal kits, and participants enjoy making things and chatting.
In fact, no one attended this group during its first two years.
Even so, we kept preparing, and gradually more people began to join. Now we hold a year-end party where everyone shares a boxed lunch, or spend a relaxed day together under the theme “Today, we’re eating instead of making things.” It has become a welcoming, informal place.
An older woman who attended the Handicrafts Group for the first time told us through tears, “I’m so glad this place is here.” It made me realize once again that our activities give participants a sense of purpose.
Some people have also gradually begun talking about their experiences during the disaster. I feel that emotional support came naturally because we had built relationships of trust.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a local resident once told us, “It feels lonely when the office lights are off.” In response, members took turns switching on the office lights and saying, “Please come by if you’d like.” Sometimes we would have tea outside the office.
The fact that the lights are on and someone is there—that alone creates a sense of reassurance surprised and delighted me, too.
What has brought you joy in your work?
Makihara
What made me happiest was when someone who came to the salon told me, “I’m glad I’m a resident of Kawabe.” From immediately after the disaster, my goal was to make Kawabe a place where people felt glad to have returned, and that feeling has not changed.
Some residents did not return by choice, while others still feel anxious whenever it rains heavily. Even so, hearing them say, “I’m glad to be here,” encourages me more than anything.
Continuing to move forward
What challenges do you face as you continue your activities?
Makihara
One challenge going forward is how to build connections with residents who have not experienced a disaster.
The number of households in Kawabe has exceeded pre-disaster levels, but there are still vacant lots and areas covered with weed-control sheets, and not all former residents have returned. At the same time, more people are moving into the area.
It is important to connect with one another with a shared understanding, so that we can live together while seeing the disaster that happened in this community as something that concerns us personally.
I hope Aruku’s activities can help bridge that gap.
Funding remains a challenge as well. Grants require public benefit, and sometimes we are turned down because “the scope is too narrow if it’s limited to the Kawabe district.” We also need to find ways to print more copies of our picture books and materials.
To be honest, maintaining the office also costs money.
We have considered “giving up the building and focusing on our activities,” but after experiencing how much reassurance a well-lit place can provide during the COVID-19 pandemic, I would like to maintain it as much as possible.
You organize various projects every year, and I hear you made a picture book this year.
Makihara
I decided to make a picture book because I realized that “the key to communicating disaster preparedness is how vividly people can imagine it.”
At the nursery school where I worked, I was involved in evacuation drills and told people, “Once you evacuate, you must not go back home.” But in fact, during the disaster, I myself went back home twice.
I had fallen prey to the normalcy bias—the belief that “I’ll be fine.”
I wanted to tell children how they might act during a disaster and why they must not go back, so I created a picture book based on real experiences in Mabi, making it almost entirely nonfiction.
We want as many people as possible to read it, so we are also offering it as a reward through our current crowdfunding campaign.
I hope it will deepen readers’ understanding and touch their hearts.
What are your hopes for the future?
Makihara
It may not be a grand vision, but I hope to continue providing a place where we can give shape, even in a small way, to the hopes of everyone involved in Aruku’s activities.
I believe the things we need to do are already within the people who take part, and my role is to create an environment where they can make them happen.
For Aruku’s members, too, these activities give life purpose. As long as people who come by tell us, “Please keep going,” we want to continue our work.
When I hear people say things like, “It took several years before we could finally talk about what happened back then,” as at the handicrafts group, I’m reminded that having a place to gather is essential.
That’s why we hold small gatherings and study sessions, using topics that naturally come up in everyday conversation—such as evacuation shelters and disaster preparedness—as a starting point. Believing that these efforts will build on one another and lead to new activities, we encourage one another to keep going with a positive outlook, saying, “For now, let’s aim for 10 years.”
Believing that the activities of “Kawabe Recovery Project Aruku” will serve as a model and spread to other communities, we hope to continue, finding new ways to improve as we go.
From the Writer
Kawabe Reconstruction Project Aruku has been creating places for residents to gather since immediately after the torrential rain disaster.
Activities that began with community meals and a LINE group have continued to this day, evolving into salons and disaster-preparedness classes over the seven years since the July 2018 torrential rain disaster.
Makihara says that, having experienced the disaster, it is important to think about what to do from here on.
Through my reporting, I also had the opportunity to reflect anew on how to respond when a disaster strikes and how to build connections with the community, without forgetting what happened in 2018.
Kawabe Reconstruction Project Aruku is running a crowdfunding campaign through July 13, 2025.
We hope that as many people as possible will hear the message: what was learned from the torrential rain disaster should be passed on to future generations.
Kawabe Recovery Project Aruku Information
| Organization Name | Kawabe Recovery Project Aruku |
|---|---|
| Representative | Makihara Satomi |
| Established | October 2018 |
| Address | Room 103, Merveille, 123-1 Kawabe, Mabi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 080-5752-0111 |
| Website | Kawabe Recovery Project Aruku |
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