Kyoto University has made extensive efforts to raise donations from within and outside the University to provide relief and recovery assistance to those affected by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake. It has raised 2,873,291 yen thanks to the warm response from its faculty and staff, students, their parents and guardians, alumni, former faculty and staff, and members of the general public.
The University decided to give these funds, which represent the goodwill of the donors, to a local government in the affected area that it has relationships with through educational and research activities. As a result, the entire amount was given to Minamiaso Village, which hosts the Graduate School of Science's Institute for Geothermal Sciences, and with which the University developed close ties over the past 90 years as a site for education and research.
On 20 October, Professor Naoki Sato, executive vice-president for finance, facilities, and environmental health and safety, visited the Kugino Office of the Minamiaso Village Municipal Government, where he spoke with Mayor Toshiya Nagano and presented him with the list of donations.
During their discussion, they shared information not only on the living conditions of residents as well as the status of efforts to restore roads, tunnels, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure in the vicinity of the village, but also on the outlook for the recovery of the Institute for Geothermal Sciences, which was damaged in the quake.
Kyoto University would like to offer its sincere gratitude to everyone who cooperated in contributing to the donations, and its best wishes for the earliest possible recovery and reconstruction of the areas affected by the Kumamoto disaster.
Presentation of a list of donations to Mayor Nagano
Related link
- Response to the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake
http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/about/kumamoto_earthquake
