Thanks to her friends in Japan, Marie Louise and her family were able to move back to Fukushima in 1994. She raised her children there and came to realize that education is the key to ending the terror of war.

Marie: In 2000, I set up a nonprofit organization called Think About Education in Rwanda. Through this NPO, I was able to establish the Umuco Mwiza School in 2001 in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Since then, the NPO has been supporting the school and its students.
Shun: That’s wonderful. Tell us more about the school.
Marie: We’re trying to offer more children an opportunity to learn. At present, about 270 kindergarten and elementary school students attend the school. Like schools in Japan, we have a sports day, we have a good library, and we have art and music classes. We also give students regular medical checkups.
Maki: What do you think is the most important thing in school life?
Marie: For us, it is the lunches served at school. This makes students healthier, and they can concentrate and learn better. The school-lunch program brings more children to the school and means that they stay in school longer.