How to make a kiwotsukete kit (also known as the UMCOR health kit)

"Kiwotsukete" means "take care!" in Japanese. 

My niece Erika has a lot of friends in Japan, and many of them want to help their fellow citizens in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake and tsunami.  She suggested that they put together a clothing and food drive, which is a great idea.  You go, Erika!  :-)

What I'd also like to suggest is putting together what I call a "kiwotsukete kit"--or, as the United Methodist Committee on Relief call it, a "health kit."

It doesn't take much--even people who don't have much themselves can make up a kit. You can get these things at a dollar store.  But they are essential items that people need to keep up their health and help keep sanitary in disaster areas.  Even in a clean-conscious society as Japan, in a disaster of this kind, the badly affected areas are going to be highly susceptible to diseases because people's basic washing supplies have been destroyed.  Food and clothes are great, but what donors often don't realize is that keeping clean means prevention of disease that is rife after such disasters.  So, if anyone is interested, here is how to make a "kiwotsukete kit":

You need to get one gallon zip-lock bags.  In each one, put the following items:

1 hand towel 15" x 25" (38 cm x 63 cm) up to 17" x 27" (43 cm x 68 cm)
1 wash cloth
1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-sized bar of soap (3 oz and up, still in original wrapper or box)
1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper or box)
1 large tube of toothpaste (expiration date must be longer than 6 months)
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages

Lay out the hand towel flat on a table. Lay the washcloth flat in the center of the hand towel. Place all remaining items on top of the wash cloth. Fold over the sides of the hand towel to cover all of the items. Fold over one end of the hand towel so that it covers all of the items. Grasp the bundle of items tightly and roll over the remainder of the hand towel tightly. Place the tightly rolled bundle in the plastic bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal the bag.

For those who are living in Japan and want to make these kits, it probably wouldn't hurt to include one or two small bottles of hand-sanitizer, too (the kind you can take on airplanes).

If you're in the U.S. and want to send these kits to Japan, you can send them with $1 tucked in an envelope for processing.  The instructions for putting together the health kit above is not complete for those sending from the U.S., so please go to this web site for more complete instructions:

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/getconnected/supplies/health-kit/

Send them to one of the following address of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (do NOT put any messages in these packages, because they'll have to be removed to comply with--I think--federal regulations):


UMCOR Sager Brown Depot
P.O Box 850 131 Sager Brown Road
Baldwin, LA 70514-0850
Contact For Help: 1-800-814-8765

UMCOR West Office and Depot
1479 South 700 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84104-1605
 Contact for Help: 1-801-973-7250

Use whichever address is closest to you.

Church folk send these kits to UMCOR all the time so that they have them ready when disaster strikes.  But they always get dangerously low when there's a disaster, so they can always use more.  These kits really help keep people healthy and alive in the aftermath of a disaster.

If you want to donate money instead, 100% of any funds given to UMCOR go to relief aid (the administrative costs are paid for by church members).  You can do so directly at this web site:

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/