Support the NOLA Japan Quake Fund

It could be said that if it weren’t for Koizumi Yakumo, Japan and New Orleans would have no relationship at all. If you are even passing familiar with the modern cultural history of Japan or New Orleans, you know Yakumo-san better by his given name, Patrick Lafcadio Hearn. Through his evocative writings, Hearn presented the world with rich, colorful, and lasting images of both New Orleans, where he lived for ten years, and Japan, which became his adopted country after he took up residence in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.

New Orleans and Matsue are now sister cities, a relationship forged out of Hearn’s history in both places, and cemented when charities in Japan donated roughly $44 million to New Orleans disaster relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In order to give back what was so richly given, a coalition of Japan-related organizations in New Orleans has established the NOLA Japan Quake Fund to raise money for relief following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The Quakebook Team urges you to support the excellent work the NOLA Japan Quake Fund is doing to bring aid and comfort to survivors of the Japan disaster. And because part of the disaster in Japan is due to the meltdown of the nuclear reactors in Fukushima and the resulting radiation leaks, the need for relief funding to rebuild and relocate survivors is more urgent and is likely to be rather prolonged. Reestablishing normal life in the Fukushima area after the quake and tsunami may have been possible after months or a couple of short years. But the nuclear disaster is going to stretch that timeline past what most experts can currently predict.

So, please, join the creators and supporters of Quakebook and do what you can to aid the NOLA Japan Quake Fund. So far, the fund has raised over $183 thousand for the cause, but could really use so much more.

To donate directly, you can go to The NOLA Japan Quake Fund. In addition, you can contribute by buying marvelous art posters from Tsunami of Support. The purchase of these posters supports the Quake Fund. Tsunami of Support is a project of Unfold Media, a New Orleans-based art gallery committed to promoting design and art for positive social change.