THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY
HPM’S 94TH ANNIVERSARY SALE
WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. LIMIT 2 BUCKETS PER PERSON. SEE STORES FOR DETAILS.
Concerts to benefit
Fukushima Kids Hawaii
Earthquakes are a
frequent occurrence
for Japan, but the
magnitude-9.5 temblor
and the resulting
tsunami on March 11,
2011, killed thousands
of people and destroyed
a thriving island city.
However, the real
disaster reared its head
when the natural forces
proved too much for
the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant
prompting meltdowns
that contaminated
surrounding areas.
Nearly five years
and 80,000 evacuees
later, the capital city of
Honshu remains part of
a 12-mile exclusion zone
where former residents
are restricted access
to their homes. The
radiation exposure is
still a threat. Forty-four
percent of the 300,000
children living in
Fukushima at the time of
the nuclear disaster have
developed thyroid cysts
and 120 children have
been diagnosed with
thyroid cancer, according
to Yumi Morita,
c0-founder of Fukushima
Kids Hawaii, which
brings affected children
to Hawaii for respite.
Akemi Rogers,
president of nonprofit
Aloha-Keiki, is on
a mission to help
the children heal.
“After the disaster in
Fukushima, our family
felt we needed to help
the families in Japan.
We all know the special
and healthy lifestyle
we have in Hawaii and
our friends and family
felt the mothers and
children of Fukushima
could truly benefit from
being here with us,” said
Rogers. “Fukushima
Kids was charitable
mission started in Japan,
but seemed limited to
Japan. We felt that by
bringing Fukushima
Kids to Hawaii this
would truly give the
mothers and children
the relief they needed.”
Morita, herself a
survivor of the 2011
disaster, said that the
continued exposure
BY LOTTIE TAGUPA
SPECIAL TOWEST HAWAII TODAY
Children from Fukushima Japan join others in some exercise at Hualalai
Academy’s Bridge House in December 2013.
LAURA SHIMABUKU/
WEST HAWAII TODAY
Continued on page 8
➠
of radiation is not
fair to the children.
“They have no
choice,” she said.
Her heartfelt
dedication has
blossomed into hosting
on the Big Island more
than 70 people from
Fukushima with more
expected each summer.
Fukushima Kids
Hawaii is a project of
Aloha-Keiki that hosts
children from the island
of Honshu in the Kona
area. Children range in
ages from 10 to 17 years
of age are hosted during
winter and summer
vacations. In addition
to being a reprieve
from the tumultuous
