COVID-19 didn't deter support from Melbourne, charity calendars have sold out quickly

"I'd like people who purchased the calendar to remember what happened in 2011."

Melbourne-based Kana Atkinson has been producing charity calendars for 10 years to support the disaster-affected Tohoku area in Japan Source: Kana Atkinson

Charity Calendar for 2021. The calendar project in Melbourne started 10 years ago to support the areas affected by 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Source: Kana Atkinson

Ms Kana Atkinson, a Melbourne-based Japanese working mother of four, has been organizing a charity calendar project for 10 years to support the rebuilding efforts by people in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

As Melbourne was hit hard by the pandemic, Ms Atkinson got worried that the calendars could be left unsold and she couldn't deliver the calendar to people who actually purchase it due to the prolonged lockdown.

However, the support from people in Melbourne and other places in Australia wasn't deterred by the pandemic.  All 300 copies of 2021 calendars are now sold out.

This year's proceeds from the sale of the calendars will be donated to Japanese NPO organization Katariba's Onagawa Kogakukan, which offers learning supports to children in Onagawa city which was affected heavily by the disaster.

In the audio, Ms Atkionson shares her motivation towards the project and how this year has been to the project.

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