NEW YORK — A civic project by New York-based residents has since 2008 been giving local high school students a chance to hear the experiences of those who survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Hibakusha Stories project has organized special classes at more than 40 high schools that allow students to listen to atomic-bomb survivors and ask them questions, such as why they think the United States decided to use the weapons.

The project's enthusiastic staff members say they want to help the younger generation build a nuclear-free world.