“The Oleander Initiative has educated me on not only the facts of Hiroshima, but the importance of loving and caring for each other, despite initial conflicts. I feel ready to now share my story of Hiroshima with communities across the world, advocating for greater peace, happiness and love towards our world and everything in it.”

I feel that it is vitally important, to the very future of this world, that Oleander continue to grow and thrive; to tell, and re-tell, the stories of Hiroshima, and grow stories of its own, of the remarkable interactions between members of civil society from around the world and the peace-minded people of Japan.

The need for educational programs such as the Oleander Initiative is as urgent today as never before. Peace education is, to my mind, the only means to counter the discourse of hate, demonization, exclusion, racism and violence.