"In tribute to nearly 50 years of Japanese-American friendship, it was a great honor to host His Excellency Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco Consul General Yasushi Noguchi and the Japanese Consulate Of San Francisco at our Kuhn family home on Wednesday."
EDnews reports that this statement was made by Heidi Thomas Kuhn, the founder, and CEO of Roots of Peace NGO:
"Earlier this week, the G7 Summit was hosted in Hiroshima, Japan, where world leaders gathered to discuss challenges to peace and prosperity facing the global order."
"Our gathering focused on extending a genuine ‘olive branch’ of friendship, as I expressed my deepest appreciation to Rotary International for hosting me as a Youth Exchange Student from the Rotary Club of San Rafael to the 宇都宮ロータリークラブ Rotary Club of Utsunomiya, Japan. This was an era when women were not allowed to join Rotary Clubs anywhere in the world", she noted.
Heidi Kuhn added that in 1975, at age 17, she was fortunate to live with Japanese families to witness firsthand the healing and forgiveness among nations:
"My parents' generations’ era of World War II was only 30 years earlier, yet they trusted Rotary to welcome a young American teenager to Japan—to open her eyes to the world and inspire a deep desire to plant the Roots of Peace worldwide. When I returned home, I pursued an education at the University of California, Berkeley earning a degree in Political Economics in 1979."
"As I reflect on the tremendous honor as the 2023 Laureate for the World Food Prize Foundation it is these ‘deep roots’ of friendship woven into the tapestry of my life that has inspired me to step forth on a journey of peace", she stressed in the end.
