Change by Doing Explore the world of volunteering and service

The time and opportunity has come to volunteer in Northeastern Japan. In addition to spending your tourist dollars with merchants in such a hard-hit area, these three tour companies, in cooperation with Japan’s National Tourism Organization, have been providing volunteer vacation opportunities to visit the devastated regions of the country and lend a helping hand. These are Japanese tour companies specifically serving American travelers (some of the most ardent and committed volunteers). Each of the companies, H.I.S. International Tours, JTB USA Tours, and KIE Kinetsu International have done a few of these voluntours, and are in the planning stage for future trips through the end of the year and into 2012. Relief activities include visits to local orphanages, wreckage cleanup and new construction projects, assembling and delivering donated food and care packages, and opportunities to work elbow-to-elbow with survivors and hear their stories. Translators are provided on every trip, and there is a unique opportunity to connect and learn with time on the job as well as casual free time for making new friends. I can promise you, after doing similar work in Haiti post-earthquake, this is the kind of work that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Some volunteering is done on faith, and you have to trust that you really have an effect on the situation or problem you mean to address…with disaster response work, it is crystal clear at every moment, and will catch you off guard when you least expect. Plan on taking lots of Kleenex.