Kosei Murata, the wife of the Belgian ambassador to China, was a junior journalist based in Japan when the Great Hanshin Earthquake slammed the Kobe area in January 1995.
With that memory in mind, she immediately felt compelled to help victims of the March 11 devastation in northeastern Japan.
"As soon as I heard of the tragedy, I asked myself what I can do to help people in affected areas," Murata said during a recent interview in Beijing.