THE beneficiaries of one of Thomas Keble School’s annual sponsored walks are the focus of a new book by a woman from Cirencester.

One Month in Tohoku, by Caroline Pover, tells the decade-long story of her efforts to support the people of Oshika-hanto — a remote fishing community in Northeastern Japan — as they recover and rebuild after the tsunami that destroyed them almost ten years ago.

Among many schools around the UK, the author visited Thomas Keble in Eastcombe in 2012, where she gave a talk on the disaster, and about Japan, where she had lived for fifteen years. The students were so inspired that they decided to donate money they had raised through their sponsored walk to the fishing communities of Oshika-hanto. That money paid for a children’s playground, which Caroline built along with some of the local fishermen.

“I remember being so touched by the kindness and enthusiasm of the Thomas Keble students, and how much I enjoyed joining them on their fundraising walk,” she said.

“The people on Oshika were so appreciative of the school’s efforts to support them during their recovery.”

The author grew up in Plymouth, but moved to Tokyo in 1996, and after travelling around the UK giving talks on Japan, settled in Cirencester, where she is known as Auntie Caroline from Auntie Caroline’s Pickled Onions & Chutneys.

“I quite enjoy surprising my fellow traders as well as customers by unexpectedly speaking Japanese at the markets when we have Japanese tourists visit!”

When she’s not pickling, she returns to Oshika every year. To date, she has raised £170,000, which has funded over thirty different projects to help the fishing communities rebuild.

“One Month in Tohoku: An Englishwoman’s memoir on life after the Japanese tsunami” is available on Amazon, and can be ordered from any bookstore, as well as directly from the author by emailing caroline@carolinepover.com.