Once again it is time for March Madness in the USA and once again there is bracket pool for those interesting in helping Japan.  This year, you can also enter by sharing and donating to another cause if you wish.  Don’t care about NCAA basketball or not in a position to donate?  You can still help out by  joining the cause and spreading the word!  Thank you!

Japan Photo Guide has just announced a tour and travel experience for Japan during the 2012 cherry blossom season! The 2012 cherry blossom forecast hasn’t been released yet, but the details of small group tour to Japan are available.  What makes this tour special is the fact you get to travel around Japan with 2 guides, one a professional photographer and the other a Japanese tour guide.  Both of which have extensive travel experience and have lived in Japan.  While the tour is designed for photographers, spouses and friends that aren’t photographers are welcome to join as well.  Especially because there are two guides, this makes the tour more flexible if there is need to spilt up from time to time if the photographers are moving along at a different pace than others… Anyone who has traveled with their photographer spouse or friend knows exactly what I’m talking about!  To keep the tour intimate and special for everyone, there are only a limited number of spaces, only 8, so don’t miss out on this special experience!

Please take 5 minutes to watch this video before reading my post, make sure to watch to they very end:

 

 

It’s been more than a month now since the tsunami destroyed the lives and washed away entire cities in literally a matter of minutes.  As somebody with a personal connection to Japan and directly with Miyagi, Japan, I’m still heartbroken and I am not sure if I will ever really get over this.  What I am feeling is nothing compared to what those still over there are feeling.  We don’t know what is going to happen with the nuclear plant in Fukushima, but I do know that the news is taking a lot of attention away from where it needs to be now: the people of Northern Japan. For probably 99% or more of the public, there is nothing we can do to help the nuclear power plant, but everyone can donate a little to help the victims in Northern Japan. Some numbers to consider:

 

• 13,456/14,851: Confirmed deaths and still missing.
• 100,000: Number of estimated orphans from the tsunami.  They didn’t just lose their parents and families, most lost EVERYTHING (yes I know typing all caps is like yelling and annoying).  All of their possessions.  Some don’t even have anything to remember their families by.  Some don’t even have their own hometown anymore.  Please take a moment to think about that.  Think about literally having everything you own, everything that is important to you, taken from you 7 minutes from now, without warning.
• 4 days:  The donation totals after 4 days, Haiti–150 Million, Katrina–108 million, Japan–23 million. After two weeks, Japan had received an estimated 161 million, 11 weeks after Katrina, 2.7 billion had been privately donated.
• 309 billion:  Estimated damges, Japan 309 billion dollars, about 4 times the estimated damages in Katrina.

 

I mentioned the orphans, but many families, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, are in very similar situations.  Those lucky enough to have escaped with their lives, a lot of them have lost everything else. Again, I ask you to think about losing everything that is important to you and furthermore, if everyone in your town lost everything as well.  Whether you are kid or an adult, how do you cope with that?  You can’t by yourself.  You need others to help.  Time to be honest.  I’m not saying that prayer isn’t helpful nor denying that prayer can be very powerful, but your prayers aren’t enough.  If prayer was all that was needed to get things done, the world would be a lot better off.  Please continue to pray for Japan, but if you haven’t found another way to help besides prayer, I beg you to consider finding a way donate to Japan.  Japan needs our help.   Even if it means you don’t drink your daily coffee for a day or two (or week) or one less drink while going out, maybe share a meal with somebody one day, anything you can afford to send to Japan will be helpful. There are so many easy ways you can save a few dollars to donate.

This is an excerpt taken from my professional photography blog. The full post on why I believe that only your prayers are not enough to help Japan is here.

Our hearts are broken.
100% of the profit from this shirt will go to the japanese red cross.
Please let us know if you have any questions about the final destination of the proceeds.
The text on the shirt says “the sun will rise again”

JapanEmergencyusc@state.gov
12025014444
@travelgov

Other than that, a couple of people have already made some great posts with resources and links. Instead of me copying them, just go check out their sites:

http://gakuranman.com/great-tohoku-earthquake/
http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2011/03/earthquake-in-japan-links-resources.html