Three nursery schools were operating in the city before the New Year’s Day earthquake. The Tsubaki Nursery School, in the center of Suzu, is the only one to have reopened its doors, and only for limited hours.
Staff are looking after more than 100 children, including those who used to attend the other two nursery schools.
April 1 was the start of the new fiscal year. Children began arriving before 8:00 a.m., accompanied by their parents. They included five new intakes, all under the age of 1.
Older children were divided into classes. They introduced themselves and started playing together.
The water outage continues to make life difficult. School lunches have been substituted with retort pouch meals from relief supplies and packed lunches that parents are asked to bring.
Sanitation is also makeshift; Bags and diapers have been placed inside the toilet bowls.
Work to restore the city’s water supply is underway, but services have yet to be reconnected in most areas.