For two weeks we are sharing a series of inspiring stories and videos as part of our annual partnership drive. As you reflect on these stories, consider joining our efforts and renewing your support as an Operation Blessing Monthly Partner.

CAMBODIA – Like all expecting parents, Chan and her husband looked forward to the day their baby would be born with excitement and anticipation.

But when their son was born with a cleft lip, their excitement turned to worry about their little boy’s future. (more…)

Operation Blessing’s Japan Disaster Relief Manager, Don Thomson, shares his firsthand account of the relief efforts in Japan.

JAPAN – Media is a big part of modern Japanese culture, with just about every home subscribed to one of the national daily papers, owning a TV set, and having Internet access through fiber optic cable or by mobile phone.

NHK, the national public broadcasting corporation, is the largest media enterprise in Asia. Along with four other commercial media conglomerates, it dominates the flow of information to the nation. So, what have the Japanese media been saying about Operation Blessing’s relief activities? (more…)

Operation Blessing’s Japan Disaster Relief Manager, Don Thomson, shares his firsthand account of the relief efforts in Japan.

MINAMI SANRIKU, Japan – Even though seven months have passed since the tsunami along the Tohoku Coast, Operation Blessing teams are still finding opportunities to help survivors in need of eye glasses. A recent request for eye exams came from the parents and coaches of the Utatsu Middle School Kendo Team. (more…)

Operation Blessing’s Japan Disaster Relief Manager, Don Thomson, shares his firsthand account of the relief efforts in Japan.

SABUSAWA ISLAND, Japan – The fishermen on Sabusawa Island who lost their nets to the March tsunami are doing well with the gill nets provided by Operation Blessing. Recently, they got together and sent our local OBI office in Japan a special surprise delivery.

Despite losing most of their nets to the tsunami, and having very little hope reviving their industry for some time, the Sabusawa gill net fishermen are doing a roaring business—catching lots of fish and selling them at the reopened Shiogama Fish Market. (more…)

JAPAN – The severed bow of a fiberglass fishing boat jutted out from under a huge pile of mangled ropes and rotting fishing nets. Under mounds of smashed plastic crates and pieces of foam were fragments of countless other boats. These vessels, once afloat and filled with fishermen’s catch, were now in a boat graveyard filled with the wreckage of the local fishing industry. In a separate pile, mangled metal had been separated for recycling. (more…)

OGATSU Town, Mayiga Prefecture, Japan–We felt the fringe effects of Typhoon Talis which crossed the island last night. It was windy all day, raining, and with my raincoat on…hot. (more…)

Operation Blessing’s Japan Disaster Relief Manager, Don Thomson, shares his firsthand account of the relief efforts in Japan.

RIKUZENTAKADA, Japan – Though over four months have passed since the tsunami here, we found that there were still survivors who were in need of glasses. Otsuchi and Rikuzentakada, two completely devastated fishing towns on the rugged coast of Iwate Prefecture, were the sites for our most recent OBI eye clinics. (more…)

YUNNAN, China – Operation Blessing teams travel into rural and impoverished areas of China’s Yunnan Province to distribute brand new TOMS Shoes to students, bringing smiles all around. (more…)

Operation Blessing’s Japan Disaster Relief Manager, Don Thomson, shares his firsthand account of the relief efforts in Japan.

SABUSAWA ISLAND, Japan – Fumio Doi, a gillnet fisherman from Sabusawa Island, lost his home and most of his fishing nets to the tsunami earlier this year. His fishing boat, the Sabusawa Maru, survived, as it was moored on the opposite side of the island. However, Doi and his family ended up living in the small hilltop evacuation center set up in a local school, with no means of income. (more…)

MOTOYOSHI, Japan – For coastal fishing communities in Japan devastated by the tsunami, replacing their boats is a crucial step toward getting back to work—and eventually rebuilding their lives.

Because of the long waiting list for purchasing new boats in Japan, it can take months to get a fishing vessel. (more…)

Operation Blessing’s Japan Disaster Relief Manager, Don Thomson, shares his firsthand account of the relief efforts in Japan.

KESENNUMA, Japan – Our recent eye clinics have been in the city of Kesennuma, a decimated major fishing port in the northern eastern corner of Miyagi Prefecture. At our first clinic here we met the former mayor of Motoyoshi Town, which had merged with the city two years ago. (more…)

Operation Blessing’s Japan Disaster Relief Manager, Don Thomson, shares his firsthand account of the relief efforts in Japan.

URATO ISLANDS, Japan – Fishermen always suffer in the aftermath of a tsunami. The historically unprecedented tsunami that struck along 300 miles of the east coast of northern Japan and reached heights of 90 feet and traveled up to 5 miles inland was no exception. (more…)