Teens 4 Disarmament would like to share one of the biggest steps we have made towards educating students in our community about nuclear weapons and their consequences. On September 25th, Teens 4 Disarmament invited guest speaker Ms. Kumi Ishida, a second generation Hibakusha with long-term health issues, to Westridge School to share about her and her parents’ atomic bomb experience in Nagasaki, Japan. With the help of our history teacher, we hosted an event where high school students can learn about the history and true effects of the atomic bomb both physically and emotionally. Taking a huge step in our goals, Teens4Disarmament has finally incorporated nuclear weapon education in our school’s curriculum, further ensuring our generation is well-educated and informed about this topic. In addition, Teens4Disarmament was able to be featured in a well-established newspaper company in Japan! Almost all the history students attended the event to hear Ms. Kumi Ishida’s speech; we are genuinely so grateful for their engagement and support. During Ms. Kumi’s presentation, she exposed realistic photos, shocking data, and a heart-wrenching video recorded of her parents—who spoke of their first-hand experience of the bombing in 1945 when they were merely teenagers. Students, unaware of the cruelty of nuclear weapons, began to cry due to the pain they felt when they heard Ms. Kumi and her parents’ story. Acknowledging the inhumane effects of nuclear weapons, many students strived to create a world free of nuclear weapons, some even had the opportunity to sign notes of encouragement and support to Hibakusha. Currently, the average age of Hibakusha is 85 years old, therefore we will be the last generation to directly hear about the horrifying experiences mass destructive weapons bring. We hope the testimonies from Ms. Kumi and her parents inspire our peers to advocate for peace and make informed decisions as the upcoming generation. By seeing our classmates and their empathetic and strong minds, we know that our generation has the ability to make great changes in our world. Let’s promote compassion, foster connection, and eliminate nuclear weapons together.