Press release: The Göttingen region collects € 74,000 for Japan

Nr. 193/2011 - 19.09.2011

Donations to Japanese students fund bridge scholarships and travel expenses

The earthquake and tsunami on March 11 of this year turned Japanese villages and cities to rubble. Since the disaster, thousands of people have become homeless and are living in emergency shelters. So far, the "Göttingen region's direct aid for Japan" campaign has taken in more than € 74,000 worth of donations. The Georgia Augusta International Association decided how the money is to be allocated, working closely with Tohoku University – Göttingen University's partner school in Japan. A total of € 54, 000 of direct aid is earmarked for the Tohoku University. That means that help will go directly to those students who were especially hard hit by the disaster. Some of the scholarship recipients are students who have lost their parents. Elsewhere, students’ homes that were destroyed are being rebuilt.

Beyond this, four Japanese aerodynamics students at Tohoku University have been given travel allowances amounting to around €2,000 each. With some of their travel expenses covered, they will be able to take part in an academic course held in September at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Göttingen. It is impossible for them to study at home in Japan anymore because the March earthquake partially destroyed their experimental setups. The Göttingen Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization will provide the students with free lodging during their stay. One Japanese student at Göttingen University was additionally awarded a six months’ stipend of € 800 a month. The disaster cost his parents their jobs and he needs the funding to complete his studies in Göttingen. One Göttingen University student received a travel allowance for her emergency return back from Japan in March. To date, a total of € 68,800 has been distributed. Over the coming weeks, the board of the Georgia Augusta International Association will be resolving further aid measures for the region.

The Miyagi province is where the city of Sendai, home to Tohoku University, is located. There, they have still not recovered all of their dead yet. “Currently, several thousand people here are living in emergency shelters. This situation also affects the students of our partner school, Tohoku University,” explained the Chairperson of the Association and Vice President of Göttingen University, Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne. “The apartments and homes of more than 500 students have been destroyed and many young people have also lost their parents. The Tohoku University still is not certain about the catastrophe’s overall impact on the region. We are very happy about the donations that keep pouring in. This shows that the people in Göttingen and the surrounding vicinity have not forgotten their fellows in Japan.“

Along with the City of Göttingen, over 30 partners from Lower Saxony representing business, science, sports and the arts are participating in the charity campaign. In March, the Sparkasse Göttingen was the first to pledge a donation; and, in addition to this, the bank’s employees organised a campaign called “Five Euros for Japan”. A mutual solidarity concert by the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra (GSO) and the Göttingen Lutheran church district took in proceeds of around € 10,000. In the main cafeteria, the Göttingen Student Association served Japanese food for a week and collected donations totalling € 9,600. The Sparkasse Göttingen, the companies KWS, Mahr, THIMM and Novelis Deutschland along with the City of Göttingen altogether donated € 25,000. A charity dinner in the Bullerjahn restaurant brought in close to € 3,000; a jersey auction by the top-league BG Göttingen basketball team nearly € 3,400. Other aid campaign supporters include Göttingen’s Catholic university community, the "For Japan" Student Association, the Voigt Secondary School and the world-famous Japanese butoh dancer, Tadashi Endo. The Association additionally received a total of € 30,000 in donations from local citizens.

Donations can be made directly to the Association's account at the Sparkasse Göttingen – account number 15 1000 19, bank routing code 260 500 01 – please state "Direkthilfe Japan" on the bank transfer. Donations are tax-deductible. For further information, contact Dr. Tanja Falkowsky, Göttingen University's International Department, phone number (0551) 39-12482, or visit the website:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/direkthilfejapan.