The World Friendship Center: “Peace missions” help build friendship in the world
Aug. 8, 2012
The World Friendship Center, a nonprofit organization located in Nishi Ward, Hiroshima, was founded in 1965. Ever since, the organization has been involved in an exchange of “peace missions” almost every year with such countries as the United States and South Korea. The organization’s aim is to build friendships with the people of other nations through interaction at a grassroots level.
The World Friendship Center invites the public to apply to become members of their peace missions. For each mission, about four people, including A-bomb survivors, are selected and the group then travels overseas and shares A-bomb experiences and A-bomb poetry at churches and schools. The peace missions that visit Japan from abroad listen to accounts of the atomic bombing from survivors and attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6, the anniversary of the attack.
Larry Sims and his wife JoAnn are the current volunteer-directors of the World Friendship Center. “I would like to expand our circle of friendship and help make a world without war,” JoAnn, 70, said. Larry, also 70, mentioned that he feels their efforts are producing results. “The people who hear the accounts of the A-bomb survivors then convey the horror of nuclear weapons to others,” he explained.
Each month members of the World Friendship Center also pay a visit to a nursing home for A-bomb survivors located in Naka Ward. There, they celebrate the birthdays of those residing in the home. They also serve as guides for visitors from overseas, taking them on tours of Peace Memorial Park and offering them the opportunity to hear A-bomb accounts from survivors. (Reiko Takaya, 14)
(Originally published on April 23, 2012)
The World Friendship Center invites the public to apply to become members of their peace missions. For each mission, about four people, including A-bomb survivors, are selected and the group then travels overseas and shares A-bomb experiences and A-bomb poetry at churches and schools. The peace missions that visit Japan from abroad listen to accounts of the atomic bombing from survivors and attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6, the anniversary of the attack.
Larry Sims and his wife JoAnn are the current volunteer-directors of the World Friendship Center. “I would like to expand our circle of friendship and help make a world without war,” JoAnn, 70, said. Larry, also 70, mentioned that he feels their efforts are producing results. “The people who hear the accounts of the A-bomb survivors then convey the horror of nuclear weapons to others,” he explained.
Each month members of the World Friendship Center also pay a visit to a nursing home for A-bomb survivors located in Naka Ward. There, they celebrate the birthdays of those residing in the home. They also serve as guides for visitors from overseas, taking them on tours of Peace Memorial Park and offering them the opportunity to hear A-bomb accounts from survivors. (Reiko Takaya, 14)
(Originally published on April 23, 2012)
