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Japan Solidarity Project An Ongoing Inter-University Initiative Led by Margaret Huber (HBS, 1991) Starting May 2011 Public service is a core value for the Harvard community everywhere. In Canada’s Capital Region, Harvard and HBS clubs have worked together with the Children Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Harvard Medical School, Canada Without Poverty, in addition to providing assistance to Harvard students through Harvard University Scholarship Fund. In the aftermath of January 2010’s earthquake, our Club led the initiative to incorporate Partners in Health in Canada, collected funds and sent a fuel truck, built by our fellow alum Neil Greene of Eatsway Tank, at no cost to PIH of Haiti (see "Solidarity with Haiti"). Although we are proud of our track record in serving the common good, we cannot rest on our laurels. We must continue our journey, wherever we can make a positive difference to the present and future of those in greatest need, at home and around the world. We must lend a hand to the victims of Japan Tsunami who are facing extreme devastation, traumas and hardships. We will work with our sister Harvard and HBS clubs in Japan, with whom we have community bonds, focusing on projects where we can make the greatest difference within our modest means. We are grateful and proud of the ongoing cooperation with our peers in alum societies, in Canada’s Capital Region, including Carleton, Concordia, Cambridge, Laval, LSE, MIT, Oxford, Queen’s and a host of Canadian universities. We also team up with dedicated volunteers and global citizens, ranging from young high-school and college students to senior citizens. After informal consultations with the faculty of Tokyo Keizai University and our Harvard and HBS clubs counterparts in Japan and Chile, Japan Solidarity Project was incubated by a group of volunteers on March 23rd in Ottawa, with representatives from the Embassy of Japan and several alums who lived and worked in that country. It was approved at April 15th HUCO Board meeting. I am delighted that Margaret Huber (HBS, 1991) has accepted to lead our Club’s Japan Solidarity Team under Harvard Serves public-service initiative. A former Canadian Ambassador, Margaret Huber has an extensive experience in several Canadian diplomatic missions in Europe and Asia, notably, eleven years in Japan, as Consul General of Canada in Osaka, during the Kobe's earthquake. She is currently the Chief of Protocol of Canada at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The people of Japan need help desperately. Their selflessness, courage and resilience have profoundly touched us. Our thoughts are with our Japanese friends and everyone affected by the tragedies. In these difficult days, we cannot remain on the sidelines. Please contact Margaret, prior to June 1, at SolidarityJapan@gmail.com to volunteer time, suggest ideas, contribute financially or provide accommodation in Ottawa to one or two Japanese students who lost their family, home and educational institution. We need your help to determine prompt ways our community can address some of the hardship and suffering, in partnership with Harvard and HBS clubs of Japan. We welcome volunteers from local sister organizations. As we have done for Haiti, in collaboartion with Partners In Health, together we can make a lasting difference in the lives of Japanese students and youth in serious need. Alain Paul Martin President Harvard University Club of Ottawa PS: References from Harvard University and other sources to help increase awareness and educate our community about the devastation and hardships resulting from March tsunami and earthquakes, as well as a couple of links about mitigating risks of such disasters. Harvard Gazette At Ground Zero in Coastal Japan Harvard Doctors Raced to Stricken Region to Help Harvard Rushes to Aid Japan Web Portals, Discussions, Benefits are Being Held in Response to Quake-Created Tragedy Crisis in Japan: The Way Forward’ Panel Outlines Necessary Steps after Conditions Are Stabilized Three Crises for Japan: Forum Examines Problems Rescuers Face Now, and in Days Ahead A Quake Data Clearinghouse Harvard Center Launches Web Portal to Aid Response Efforts Planning for Disasters Top Officials Gauge Nation’s Readiness for the Unknown The Impact of Plate Tectonics Harvard Geophysicists Show that Concept Applies on a Continental Scale Harvard University What Was Known (by Me) Before and Comments after the Fukushima Reactor Problems Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation William Overholt: Japan - Don’t Waste the Crisis The Power & Policy Fellows’ Forum Ben Heineman Can Women Be a Catalyst for Japanese Renewal? The New York Times Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami Disasters Whyfiles.org The Science Behind the News Tsunami Causes and Risk-Mitigation Options Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota Current Research and Pedagogy Japan's Nuclear Emergency Media on Japan's Earthquake CNN Video of the March 2011 Tsunami BBC Video Clip - Moment Tsunami Hit Miyako City Missouri University of Science and Technology Department of Geological Sciences & Engineering J. David Rogers Tsunamis: What Are They? Why Do They Kill So Many People? Areva Corporation, Germany Dr. Matthias Braun The Fukushima Daiichi Incident University of Pittsburg Disasters  Supercourse  (Natural and Man Made)

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