Japanese group donates $17k for Chch

RACHEL YOUNG

A Japanese volunteer network is donating $17,000 to help with Christchurch's earthquake recovery.

The Nippon Volunteer Network Active in Disaster (NVNAD) is donating the money to the Rebuild Christchurch Foundation to help with their efforts in the city.

NVNAD director Hironobu Teramoto said Rebuild Christchurch was selected because they believed it was working the most effectively for the people of the quake-hit city.

"There was a great deal of information on the Rebuild Christchurch website, involving a lot of people and organisations. The information was always being updated and stayed very relevant which is an important part of moving forward after a disaster."

Teramoto said they would like the money to be used to make "suffering people happier".

Rebuild Christchurch Foundation founder Deon Swiggs said the majority of the money would be used for Project Pack, which assisted people who needed to move, either out of the red zone or to a temporary location while rebuilding was completed.

Any remaining funds would be given to local community groups who were helping with the rebuild and repair of resident's homes, he said.

 "Rebuild Christchurch is totally focused on long-term support, and donations like this will help us to help others on this long and difficult road back to normality."

The foundation also has funding from State Insurance to hold six ''Let's Get It Done'' weekends, where volunteers help people in need with manual labour at their homes.

Last year, two of these events were held where they helped the elderly and people living on their own with jobs, such as removing debris and silt. 

NVNAD is a non-profit organisation located in Nishinomiya, Japan. It aims to support survivors and contribute to rebuilding a society after a disaster by collecting donations from all around Japan.

The money will be presented to the foundation by a Japanese delegation in Christchurch this weekend.

- © Fairfax NZ News