Paper Cranes for Japan

We have all been horrified by the tragedy that has struck Japan with the Tsunami. We felt that a calamity of this proportion should find some response among our students, if only to raise their awareness of such natural disasters and the havoc they cause.
In keeping with a dignified Japanese abhorrence of asking for money (and also, because we don't want to tax parents' wallets any further), we thought that our response should be symbolic rather than monetary. We did a short workshop with the children of Years 5 and 6 making origami cranes. Why cranes? Cranes are sacred creatures in Japanese culture. According to ancient legend, anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish, like long life or recovery from illness, by a crane. The workshop, conducted by 9 mothers (who spent arduous hours before mastering the art of making paper cranes using YouTube tutorial videos!), was instructive, didactic and entertaining for the children and helped create a strong sense of solidarity for the suffering of the stoic Japanese people. A total of 261 paper cranes were made by the students, which were then mailed to Students Rebuild, where they would generate funds to rebuild Japan ($2 per crane, details at http://studentsrebuild.org/japan/).

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