Watch TV, read the Internet or a newspaper and the images of the devastation in Japan are overwhelming. Almost everyone knows someone that has been affected by the terrible earthquake from only a few weeks ago.
It feels even closer to home when we hear how it affected two TDA families from our San Ramon studio.
Motoko Welsh’s daughter, Sophia, has been dancing with TDA for many years, and it pained us to hear about her family. Motoko’s family home in Sendai was significantly damaged, thankfully after a few days her mother was safely evacuated and reunited with her sister. There is no timeline of when her home will be fixed. Motoko’s mother is hoping soon, she misses her home and friends and would like to return home. Sadly this loss has been coupled with the recent loss of Motoko’s father only months earlier from Pancreatic Cancer. Being thousands of miles away from her mother has taken a toll on Motoko and her family in the states. Thankfully her mother is safe, however, the rebuild will be a slow process.
In addition to Motoko, one of our adult dancers, Yuri Beagles, was also affected. Earlier this year Yuri returned to Sendai for her father’s surgery. After the surgery everything was moving positively forward however her father was still in the hospital when the earthquake hit. The earthquake cased a power outage that affected the hospital her father was in and sadly her father died. Yuri, her mother and sister spent time in a camp and several days with little food or water. Yuri has since returned to the US, but her family is still in Sendai. Her mother’s home is still standing, however the entire family is devastated with the unexpected loss of Yuri’s father.
We at TDA want to reach out to our families to provide information on how to help families like Motoko’s and Yuri’s. Here is the link to the Consulate of Japan in San Francisco, it provides information regarding organizations for the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake Relief.
Our hearts go out to the Welsh family, Yuri and all those affected by this disaster.
