I have received this from the Japanese Association of Friends of the Way of St. James. I think their cause, sending students affected by the earthquake and tsunami disaster of last year, to walk the Camino de Santiago, a worthy one. Please take the time to read this and if you would like to donate, the details are below. This is not a scam, but a worthy project.
Project The First Step
We, Association of Friends of the Way of St. James in Japan, would like to introduce ourselves as an NPO dedicated to the publicity and promotional activities in Japan related to the said pilgrimage route in Northern Spain, and to the international exchange activities with the fellow associations in Spain and other countries. And this is to ask your cooperation with respect to our planned project intended to offer assistance to the students afflicted by the great earthquake disaster of 3.11. last year.
For your quick understanding, we would like to summarize the basic concept of the project as follows:
1) In view of the fact that the long reconstruction effort of the disaster-stricken area will be put on the shoulder of the next generation, we planned a project which might encourage the young people in Tohoku area to take their first step ahead toward reconstruction of their native place. More specifically, we will invite a group of the high-school students in Tohoku, committed to the said effort, to walk along the Way of St. James.
2) We named this project as 「○○の一歩」（maru-maru no ippo）, which means “The First Step of ( )”. Each student who applies for participation in this project should fill the blank with his/her own words which reflect his/her wish and commitment. We hope this statement would motivate him/her to make the first step toward his/her own objective.
3) The Way of St. James is a pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain), which is one of the three Holy Lands in the Christian World along with Jerusalem and Rome. Since old times this road has been widely known as “the road of rebirth and reconstruction”, and many people, not withstanding their religion or race, have walked this road as a means of taking the first step of their new lives. The pilgrims on this road, sharing among them a common and simple purpose to get to the Holy Land, help and cheer on each other in order to overcome any hardship.
4) We believe that the young people who walk this road, through encounter and mutual cooperation with these fellow pilgrims, they will realize that they are not alone, and will be able to observe objectively their homeland by seeing it from outside. We also believe that, from this hardship of walking, they will realize that accumulation of small but sure steps would finally lead to their destination, and that they will find out their own incentive to make a new step toward their objective.
5) It is our strong wish to realize this project not only this year but also to continue at least for ten years.
If you wish to send your donation, please send to the following bank account.
Beneficiary Bank : Japan Post Bank
Branch : 018
Beneficiary Bank Address: 3-2, Kasumigaseki 1-chome, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 100-8798, Japan
Beneficiary Bank BIC (SWIFT Code): JPPSJPJ1
Beneficiary Bank CHIPS UID （*3）: 427593
Payee Account Number （*4）: To integrated account
Code number and account number : 10160-82914181
Payee Name: Nihon Camino de Santiago Tomonokai
Payee Address : 2-55-22 Sangenjaya, Setagaya, Tokyo、Japan
Payee Telephone Number：090-9823-3050
We will be very grateful if you would kindly make a contribution for us to carry out this project. Your consideration will be highly appreciated.
Tomoko Morioka
President
Association of Friends of the Way of St. James in Japan.
Tokyo, Japan.
