WS Item 3Work Session Item 4
Report on Southlake Sister Cities 2011 Youth Ambassadors Trip to Tome, Japan
Travel dates: July 22 — 29, 2011
Trip report by Kiko Ekstrom, 2011 Chaperon
Southlake has sent students to Tome, Japan every year since 1992. Miss Paulette
Cunningham, a Carroll High School student, was the only 2011 youth ambassador to accompany
me on our annual youth trip this year.
When we arrived in Tome, the people, as always, were there to welcome us. They
always make us feel very special and this year was no exception. While we were in Tome, we
learned to write kanji with a Japanese writing brush. We toured many historical sites and
buildings and visited Matsushima, one of the three most beautiful sites in Japan. Miss Paulette
learned Japanese culture first hand by staying with her host family and made many new Japanese
friends. To celebrate our visit, we were invited to a potluck dinner parry sponsored by the City of
Tome. We enjoyed the performance of Taiko Drummers, and it was a great way to meet the
people of Tome and the city officials.
This year's trip was a little different due to Tome receiving serious damage from the 9.0
magnitude earthquake that hit the Tohoku region on March 11, 2011. The devastating tsunami
that followed engulfed neighboring towns and cities, leaving people homeless and creating chaos
over most of the Tohoku region. Fortunately, Tome was not affected by the tsunami because of
its distance and high elevation from the ocean. There were no deaths reported in Tome, but 4,365
houses were totally destroyed or damaged by the earthquake. It was not until we visited Sanriku-
cho and saw all the devastation there that I realized how very important our visit was to us and
our friends. About 1,000 people from Sanriku -cho, a town adjacent to Tome, came to stay in
Tome after they lost everything. Tome opened their arms and invited them to stay at community
and school buildings. About 300 people are still at the refugee shelters and some refugees have
moved to temporary houses in Tome, furnished by the Japanese government.
Thanks to the generosity of many Southlake citizens, businesses, local non profits, local
ministers, and friends from all over the United States funds were raised for our Sister City. We
sent $15,000 to Tome on May 31, 2011. Since then we have received additional donations which
will be sent to Tome by the end of September 2011. One hundred percent of the donations will
be put into Tome's relief fund.
In addition to the donations, we sent a banner signed by Johnson and Carroll Elementary
School students. We also presented a scrapbook with signatures and letters of encouragement
from the citizens and businesses in Southlake to Mayor Fuse. Tome city officials and council
members were very grateful for our contributions.
I would like to thank Mayor John Terrell, council members, and city staff for making this
year's exchange trip possible. It was a great trip and we hope to continue this event for many
years to come. Next year, the 2012 youth ambassador trip to Tome will be in early June instead
of July.
Thank you for letting us represent Southlake in Tome, especially in their time of need.