Tourists come, not for pleasure but to help and volunteer

Many tourists opted to cancel their trips to Saipan in the aftermath of Typhoon Soudelor, yet there are also a handful that have chosen to come precisely because they want to help in the recovery efforts.

One of them is Harry Kawanobe, a frequent visitor to the island. This time, for his 15th visit, he is not a tourist but a volunteer.

“Four and a half years ago, we had the earthquake [in Japan]. Many volunteers also came to our place, so this is our time,” Kawanobe said. “I decided that I have to come here to become a volunteer.”

For several days, Kawanobe volunteered with the Community Outreach Recovery Effort or CORE, doing house-to-house visits to hand out relief goods and participating in medical outreach.

Another tourist, Mami Tachikawa, traveled for the first time to Saipan with her daughter. Even after seeing news reports about what had happened to the island, she still pressed ahead with her decision to come here.

“My trip to Saipan was for a summer vacation at first,” Tachikawa said. “I thought that I wanted to help them, even just a little. I’m sure that it is very important to help each other.”

Tachikawa said she was shocked to witness the devastation on the island.

“I was greatly shocked. Typhoon Soudelor’s damage was far beyond my imagination. I felt that they need support for a long time,” Tachikawa said.

Her help for Saipan didn’t end with her visit. Tachikawa asked her friends to make donations of mosquito coils and will soon send them here.

For Kazuo Miyakoshi, who is currently on island for his second visit as a volunteer, Saipan is his second home, hence his decision to help.

“My son worked on Saipan as a tour guide for three years. My wife and I first visited Saipan to see the place where my son was working. That was eight years ago. I have visited Saipan more than 40 times since then,” Miyakoshi said.

“I visited Saipan to offer help and let the islanders know that many people in Japan are genuinely concerned about Saipan,” he added.

Aside from volunteer work, Miyakoshi raised $7,600 with the help of other people in Japan, a donation that he personally handed over to Gov. Eloy S. Inos in August.

For his second visit, Miyakoshi helped with CORE’s mobile medical outreach in Dandan last Saturday. He also donated goods such as allergen-protection masks, mosquito bite ointment, baby foods, and snacks. He will also hand over other cash donations.

“It really hurts me to think of the people who have suffered for two months. I feel terrible that I can’t do more for them. My heart aches when I think about babies, children, and elderly people who have to face this tragedy every minute of their lives over the past two months.”

Miyakoshi said he intended to let people in Japan know how things are on Saipan.

“Those people have worked, lived in and visited Saipan, and they too really want to do whatever they can to help their friends in Saipan. They include people from Saipan currently living in Japan, and they are so anxious about the state of their home country,” Miyakoshi said.

Miyakoshi believes it won’t take long for Saipan to normalize as everyone is helping each other.

“I believe that the strength of the Saipan people lie in togetherness. Families and friends are always there for one another. That’s probably the biggest reason why I had fallen in love with Saipan. It reminds me of how my country was when I grew up,” Miyakoshi said.