Japanese Teens Who Survived Earthquake Visit San Francisco School

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – A group of teen survivors from last year's Japanese earthquake and tsunami paid a visit on Wednesday to a San Francisco school, which helped raise money for relief efforts.

Five teens enrolled in a hospitality program at the Sendai YMCA paid a visit to a 5th grade Japanese class at Rosa Parks Elementary School in San Francisco to tell them about their experiences.

KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports:

Rosa Parks staff member Taeko Morioka said that the class had a lesson about the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Northern Japan last March.

"Some of the students donated money and also many parents and grandparents," Morioka said.

The Japanese teens came to San Francisco with help from the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California.

"(They want to say) thank you to some of the schools and organizations that helped raise funds," said Jennifer Hamamoto, with the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. "They're also learning about the hospitality in the United States."

Hamamoto said that some of the proceeds went to the Sendai YMCA as scholarships for students, many of whom were no longer able to continue schooling due to the devastation from the earthquake and tsunami.

All told, Rosa Parks Elementary School raised $7,000 for relief efforts. The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California raised more than $4 million.

The one year anniversary of the Japan earthquake and tsunami is March 11.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)