Cross-cultural communication （41）　

41）Canadian Academy, Continued
The Canadian Academy (CA) is a place that is also full of memories for the Kido family, who have lived on Rokko Island (Rokuai in Japanese abreviation) for over 30 years.

First of all, there was the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995. Rokuai was right in the epicenter, and the shaking was terrible. Fortunately, there was no major damage to the buildings on Rokuai. On the day of the earthquake, there was information that toxic gas was coming from a factory in Uozaki on the opposite shore, and an evacuation order was issued for all islanders. The place that was made available for evacuation was the CA, which is located at the southern end of the island, farthest from the opposite shore. All the classrooms were opened to the islanders. On January 17th, in the midst of the cold winter, there was a cold epidemic. The person in charge of the CA suggested to open a temporary clinic, and that we could also use the school's infirmary. I volunteered to take charge of this, but I knew I couldn't do anything on my own, so I put out a call for doctors, and within no time at all, I had five offers. There are a lot of doctors living in Rokuai. The next problem was medicine. This was a school infirmary, so there were only a few types of first aid medicine. An American staff member of the CA contacted the Iwakuni U.S. military base, which has a lot of mobility, and suddenly connected us to them on the phone. I was asked to explain the situation, so I was handed the phone and explained the situation, but I was politely refused, with the words “I'm very sorry, but we can't send a helicopter from the base for that purpose. Even so, they also suggested that I contact the Osaka Red Cross Hospital, which had a good track record in emergency care. When I contacted the Osaka Red Cross Hospital as suggested, they agreed at once, and in the chaos of the earthquake that day, they sent an ambulance to deliver the medicine. When the ambulance arrived an hour after we contacted them, the islanders gave them a big round of applause in gratitude.

Once the medicine had arrived and we had started treating patients, we were able to treat around 50 patients. By nightfall, the toxic gas had stopped being produced, and the evacuation advisory was eventually lifted, allowing everyone to return home.

In the space of a dozen hours, we experienced a major earthquake in the early morning, an evacuation due to poisonous gas in the afternoon, and the opening of a temporary clinic - things that we would never normally experience. However, during this time we also experienced neighborly love (even on an international level), and we were able to achieve results, so in the end it was a day that ended safely, and despite the tragedy, it was a day that left us feeling satisfied.

At the time of the earthquake, my two younger sons were kindergarteners, but when they started elementary school, my third son was the first to start kendo, followed by second son. The dojo was in the gymnasium of the CA. Of course, the CA was not involved in the kendo training, but they just lent us the gymnasium at night, but it was very helpful to be able to practice in the spacious gymnasium. On the few days a week two sons practiced, I sometimes went to pick up them.
So, the CA is an international school that contributes to the local community and is well integrated into the community.

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