It’s mid Golden Week here in Japan and a lot have people have used their time off to do volunteer work in Tohoku. For many Japanese, Golden Week is among a few times in the year where they take vacations. Therefore the entire country shuts down together. Unlike other places where people schedule their time off according to their own requirements. Japanese take time off in mass at times such as Golden Week, Summer Obon (Ancestral Holiday), and New Years. Therefore everyone travels during these days and peer pressure usually prevents many to not take time off at other times. This year a lot are joining volunteer teams in order to contribute. It’s good and I hope that the flow of philanthropy continues after the holidays. I hope that the influx of volunteers are used efficiently. It’s very common here to see an inefficient use of man power. On tasks that require only 3 or 4 people, you may see that 12 are assigned. On a whole a lot of redundant tasks here are not as effectively administered as they should be. My point is that because there will be a lot of available human resources this week; I hope the orchestration and organization of the clean up/assistance will be efficiently and effectively rendered.
My other wish is that those who see for themselves what’s happened to this beautiful country come back on their own when there are no scheduled holidays. At times like these, employers and co-workers should be more understanding in allowing their colleagues to take time off during non holiday weeks. This will be helpful as there will be a steady flow of contribution and it’s not a one week trend. For those who are going this week, be moved. Be moved to come back on your own and do as much as you can. As for me, I’ll be back in a few weeks. I was slated to go tomorrow, however I see that the group that I would be going up with already has too many people. I’ll go when I know I’ll be better needed and make a difference.
Linh Vien Thai is Amerasian, born in Dalat, South Vietnam, where he continued to lived during the war. He left for the U.S. and is now an American living in Tokyo. He enjoys adventure traveling and doing what’s right to make the world a better place.
