After Nuclear Disaster, Website Matches Concerned Japanese with Housing Abroad

In the wake of Japan’s tragic earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster, many people are concerned over how much of a threat radiation levels pose a to human health in Japan. One website called Open Your Heart, Open Your Home is aiming to help many of those individuals and families by matching them up with housing in foreign countries where they can stay.

The initial idea came from Cheryl Martinez, a Japanese-American living in Germany. She explained a little more about it to us by email this evening:

After hearing about the tragedy in Japan I thought it would be good to start a databank where people who had rooms to offer and Japanese who needed it could find each other. So I called a lot of people I know and found several who immediately were willing to help. That included a lawyer, an accountant, a computer programmer and a lot more.

The site allows individuals who can help accommodate someone to sign up and extend an offer, while Japanese people looking for a place to stay can do so and then make contact. The website is clear to point out that it doesn’t vet any of the listings, so there is an element of trust involved.

While Cheryl cannot say exactly how many people have been placed in homes as a result of this service, to be able to provide an alternative for concerned Japanese – especially those with young children more susceptible to radiation – is a big help.

Update: Cheryl has sent us further explanation this evening:

At the beginning we had a lot of activity from sponsors, but little from Japanese. Starting about three weeks ago we began receiving many inquiries from Japanese, and this increases every day. We also have a request from an organization in Japan that wants to send a large group of mothers and children to Germany in the summer. Unfortunately we do not have enough funds to help them.

So really we need donations and we need people who are willing to take in some families from Japan. Unfortunately we are a very small organization and we need help from bilingual or tri-lingual people (English/Japanese/German) who can help with inquiries or can program using Typo 3 (which our data base is based on).

As for me…

Personally, I’m still not too nervous about being in Japan (I live in Tokyo). I think I burned myself out reading too much about radiation in the month after the quake. Those were a tough few weeks. Tokyo is home, and I’m glad I don’t have any solid data telling me to leave just yet. But if I had kids, I’m sure I’d be far more nervous.