On the morning of August 6, 1945......
 | My mother, my father, and my sister were in Hiroshima when the bomb hit. I was at work in Mihara 70 kilometers away.... Our house was destroyed, so I walked to the nearby university campus, where people were sleeping in tents. I found my parents there. My mother was bleeding from her head, but able to talk and otherwise OK. My father had been at his office, which was a very sturdy concrete building, so he didn’t have many injuries. I stayed in a tent with them that night. The next day, I went to claim my sister’s body.... |
I’m 90 now, but what I experienced that day is still very clear in my mind. I believe there should not be a bomb like this. Human beings should not have nuclear weapons. That’s why I have dedicated the rest of my life to peace... I recently moved from Hiroshima to Tokyo to have a new start and dedicate my last years to Rotary and peacebuilding. I have worked on a global grant to help fund the planting of saplings from trees that survived the atomic bomb. My goal is to plant these “peace trees ” around the world.... I know nuclear weapons are not going away. But maybe I can help spread a message of peace so that others never suffer as we did. - PDG Jiro Kawatsuma, excerpt from Jan 2018 Rotarian. Read story...
Building Peace is one of Rotary's 6 causes. PDG Jiro Kawatsuma will be in Vancouver at the Feb 10 Rotary Presidential Peacebuilding Conference. Check out the impressive lineup of speakers, schedule and WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? Hurry and register... |
