In March the Fukushima power plant saw one of the largest nuclear disasters of the past few decades. Ever since the meltdown teams have been working to clean up the mess and reduce the radiation and today a group project centered around sunflowers is brining hope to an area that is desperately in need of some.

In the aftermath of the disaster a local monk planted thousands of sunflowers in the fields and open areas surrounding the power plant and the affected town; now those sunflowers are beginning to sprout and blossom all across the city. Amazingly sunflowers are not only beautiful and able to lift the spirit of the local residents but they are also capable of actually removing much of the radiation from the ground.

Sunflowers apparently use cesium as a food source and after a major radioactive event much of the left over radiation is excess cesium. The sunflowers in Fukushima are in fact reducing the radioactivity levels in the city all while brining some joy to the town. Of course Fukushima is not the first place this trick has been used; the city of Chernobyl also had thousands of sunflowers planted immediately after the disaster in order to accomplish the same thing. Currently there are an estimated 200,000 sunflowers in Fukushima and more are expected to be sprouting throughout the year so residents are surely going to start feeling better about their situation soon.

Over three weeks ago the horrible and tragic tsunami hit Japan, damaging homes and businesses all across the area. Search and rescue missions have been ongoing ever since that day and today a very unique rescue was completed.

A rescue team reportedly saw a large group of debris drifting along in the ocean and when they approached it found that there was a dog onboard the floating debris. As the boat got close enough the rescue workers quickly pulled the dog on board in order to bring it to the safety of mainland Japan.

Not long after arriving back on land the dog was reunited with its owner. The dog, named Ban, was reportedly very happy to be back on land and with his owner. The miraculous rescue was made even more amazing by the fact that the dog’s owner saw the rescue on TV. Had it not been for the television coverage the rescue got it would have been nearly impossible but everything seemed to work out great for the dog and his owner.

Shortly after seeing the news report the dog’s owner apparently went to a nearby shelter where she was immediately greeted by Ban. The owner reportedly said that after this miraculous rescue she would never let go of the dog again. Basically everyone involved has commented that it truly was a miraculous story and nearly no one can believe that despite everything going on the dog managed to survive for over 3 weeks before being rescued.

Stacey Jacobs is a mother in California and immediately after the horrible earthquake and tsunami hit Japan she decided she was going to take action to help out. Jacobs was apparently tired of seeing so many horrible disasters around the world and decided to step in and do what she could to help.

Jacobs also says that her idea came immediately so she just stepped into action. Jacobs and a few of her friends began working immediately on the project and soon there were hundreds of schools on board as well. The actual fundraising is based entirely on children folding origami cranes which are a symbol of how much they care.

Japanese tradition dictates that anyone who folds 1000 cranes will have a wish come true; while this may not be true it is true that these will be making a difference. Children and families are encouraged to fold as many cranes as they can and along with each crane they will donate $1 to the cause.

The overall hope is that 1 million cranes will be folded and along with that $1 million dollars will be donated. Jacobs and her friends believe the program should raise quite a bit of money to send to Japan through the American Red Cross; as expected the Red Cross is happy to receive such a generous donation.

Very few people know the terrible experience of a massive earthquake so it only makes sense that survivors do their part to help after a major disaster. That is exactly what a group of people from Haiti are doing; following last year’s earthquake they were among the survivors and now they are helping in Japan as well.

The two boys from Haiti were moved to action after seeing what had happened. Despite still living in tents because much of Haiti still is not rebuilt the boys have decided to do what they can to help those affected in Japan.

The two boys are now officially working to collect anything and everything they can to send to Japan to help with the recovery effort. In order to help the boys are selling bracelets to raise funds and right now they have reportedly earned thousands of dollars to send.

No word on what else the boys are hoping to do but they have said repeatedly that they are hoping to expand their plans to raise even more money to send to Japan. The boys are also hoping to find a way to go to Japan and literally lend a helping hand, assuming they can manage to raise enough funds and donations.

In the wake of the horrible disaster in Japan many people who have left the country recently are realizing that they need to do whatever they can fortunately. Many large telecom companies have decided to step in and do the right thing by offering free calls to Japan during this difficult time.

The companies involved in the special deal originally started with Sprint and T-Mobile though this week Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner, and basically every other large telephone company has joined in with the effort. Each company has reportedly seen a substantial increase in phone calls to the area recently and as a result they felt it was only right to offer free calling.

Beyond simply allowing phone contact many cable companies and TV providers have also begun allowing access to Japanese TV news networks so that people can stay informed on what is going on where their families might live. The idea that these large companies are helping really is astonishing because it is incredibly uncommon to see such a response from large companies such as these.

Analysts say it is great to see such an overwhelmingly positive response from these companies. Obviously the special calling packages will only be available for sometime but those with family and friends in Japan are surely grateful for the special deal.

Amid all of the disaster that has Japan struggling back to its feet an elderly woman was found alive in her home 4 days after the tsunami struck.

The 70-year old woman was found still in her house, which had been washed away in the aftermath of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan 4 days ago. The house was swept away when the tsunami crashed into her home in Iwate Prefecture in Northeastern Japan knocking it off its foundation.

She is suffering from hypothermia but rescue workers report she is stable and hopes to make a full recovery. Rescue workers declined to reveal the woman’s name only saying she was conscious when they found her. Later it was determined that the woman who was rescued is Sai Abe. Her son shared his relief that she was found alive but was still disheartened because his father has still not been located.

With the death toll still unknown in Japan, this was a much needed and welcome bit of news to the devastated citizens and rescue workers working to find other survivors. Japan still struggles to find survivors in the aftermath of this heart-breaking disaster. While 100’s of thousands live without electricity, food or water rescue workers are doing all they can to help locate more survivors like Sai Abe.

Now citizens are dealing with the nuclear threat that the earthquake has caused. Stories like this about a 70-year-old woman who made it against all odds have heartened the people of this destroyed country.

Obviously the events in the past week in Japan have taken a major toll on the country. Governments and aid groups from all around the world are doing their part to help as much as they can in Japan. This week a group of MLB baseball players even decided to step in and start doing everything they can to help out.

Many of the Japanese players in the MLB have not only been helping out with monetary donations, they have also been returning home. Numerous big name players have returned to Japan to be with their family at this time or to physically help with the cleanup. The assistance given by many of the players is simply astonishing.

Besides just players helping with aid for Japan there have been numerous teams and clubs that have also decided to do their part. The Boston Red Sox and numerous other teams have already donated hundreds of thousands of dollars while also setting up donation funds which they are hoping will bring substantial donations from fans.

The support and aid offered by these MLB groups as well as the general public has simply been incredible since the recent earthquake and tsunami. Analysts say the response of the world’s population has been quick and precise in order to help the Japanese people begin to rebuild everything that has been destroyed.

Amongst all of the horrible things that have been happening in Japan recently there have been a few heartwarming stories as well. Just today a Japanese search and rescue team miraculously rescued a young baby who had been trapped for 3 days. The child was reportedly found underneath rubble and debris but shows no signs of injury.

According to many the child was found by a soldier while he searched through a destroyed building. The child’s father was nearby as he had been searching for his baby since the building collapsed. According to the child’s family they lost her when the massive storm of water took her out of their hands.

Shortly after finding her soldiers turned the child over to her parents. Of course they were very grateful that the child was in fact found unharmed. Many believe this is exactly the type of news the people of Japan need to hear; with so many dead and such tragedy spreading all across the country many are happy to hear even the slightest sign of positive news.

Many in the area said it truly was a miracle that the baby had survived, especially given the horrible state of the building she was in. Despite massive odds against her survival the 4 month old somehow survived the horrible tragedy.