Your planning must include a recognition of not only vulnerable needs populations but also cultural differences that may impact your response and recovery efforts.
Ritual of a bath denied to Japan survivors
By Huw Griffith
RIKUZENTAKATA, Sunday 20 March 2011 (AFP) -- Of all the day-to-day hardships suffered by survivors of Japan's tsunami, the simple everyday ritual of a bath -- so important in the nation's culture -- is the thing many say they miss the most.
In a country where bathing is an elaborate and highly prized daily pleasure, the people of the washed-away city of Rikuzentakata now can only rinse their faces in cold water.
Life for many is now lived in a school hall, with the only water coming from a small military tanker parked outside the entrance.
"I haven't had a bath in a week," said Honami Suzuki. "That's one of the worst things about living in the shelter."
About 1,000 of the 9,500 people left homeless in Rikuzentakata are holed up in Daiichi middle school, where volunteer Tsutomu Nakai is co-ordinating their care.
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