Real Medicine's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan and all those affected by the magnitude 8.9 earthquake that struck off its northeastern coast and the devastating tsunami that followed on Friday, March 11, 2011.

Dozens of cities and villages along a 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) stretch of coastline were affected by violent tremors that reached as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the epicenter.

As Real Medicine was founded in May 2005 in response to the Asian Tsunami relief efforts, we have direct experience in this specific type of disaster relief and understand both the short and long term needs of the people most affected.

Update as of 3/23/2011:
First round of funding is on it's way to our Japanese partner, JEN, in Tokyo. Keeping an eye on situation on the ground, scary if this water situation worsens:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/us-tokyo-radiation-water-idUSTRE72N5GH20110324

Update as of 3/17/2011:
RMF Japan Relief news flash: We have found a great Japanese NGO to work with, and will be sending all recent donations directly to them in Tokyo immediately..stay tuned for an official announcement!

Update as of 3/16/2011:
The humanitarian crisis is growing as the nuclear drama overshadows disaster relief.

We are busy organizing a shipment of supplies to Japan...still very chaotic over there, but we're getting closer to the right contacts in Tokyo and making sure that the logistics are possible.

Update as of 3/14/2011:
Over the weekend we have communicated with our partners at the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), regarding the relief efforts in Japan and where our help might be needed most. JICA is Japan’s international aid and development arm (similar to USAID); we have been working with them for the past two years as project partners in our South Sudan initiative.

According to our contact at JICA, the relief activities are in full swing but still not perfectly coordinated, Japanese Self-Defense Forces are in the Miyagi Prefecture, and the Japanese government is getting ready to accept larger relief offers from different countries.

Our contact reported that everything including shelters, clothing, blankets, foods, water, medicine is in short supply and will be needed over the next few weeks in the impacted areas in the Miyagi Prefecture.
JICA has opened its training facility with accommodations to the public in the Fukushima Prefecture and we are waiting to find out if we can deliver supplies to this location. We are waiting for further coordination from our partners before we send any money or supply containers to ensure that anything sent is received and distributed where needed most.

As is expected in the first few days following a disaster of this magnitude, relief efforts are chaotic and most of the focus is on the rescue, evacuation and immediate shelter and food for anyone affected.
We will continue to gather our resources, your kind donations, and supplies until we are sure they will be distributed effectively.