Japan – One year on: Save the Children’s response and recovery program

When the earthquake and tsunami hit the north eastern coast of Japan on March 11 , 2011, children were among the most vulnerable. Thousands had their homes devastated, countless lost family members and friends, and children of all ages saw their schools damaged or destroyed. It’s been one year since disaster struck Japan. Today, children are back in school, living with their families and making new friends. They are trying to move on, and are looking to the future – but they cannot do it alone. Over the past year, Save the Children has mounted a large-scale emergency response, and set up a long-term recovery program spanning over five years. Through its education, child protection and child participation programs, Save the Children has reached more than 65,000 people in the past year. The projects address the needs identified together with children, families and local authorities working in partnership with these groups to help them improve the situation for children in their communities. This report shows the progress made in the past year, and presents the next steps in the recovery program.