As many of you already know, since the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, 1000 cranes strung together in garlands have become a colorful symbol of health, vigor and world peace. Regardless of their individual political views, millions of people around the world have sent or delivered millions of cranes in the spirit of fostering world peace.

While cranes are Japan's national bird and have long symbolized long life and good health, their symbolic value heightened after the story of a little girl named Sadako was widely written about in the late 1950's. There are many versions of the story of this little girl who survived the bomb but battled the effects of radiation years later. Her friends encouraged her to make cranes - 1000 cranes - because if she succeeded, she would live. Sadako set about reaching this goal, making cranes out of any paper she had available, including tiny medicinal papers. In most versions of the story, Sadako falls short of completing 1000. However, according to the Peace Museum in Hiroshima, Sadako actually exceeded her goal, ultimately reaching 1100. Regardless of the number, Sadako lost the battle with leukemia and her story became known throughout the world.

During our group's visit to Hiroshima, we will visit the Peace Memorial Museum and meet briefly with its director. The group will formally present 1000 cranes, the creation of which will be a collective effort over the next few months. You will each be asked to contribute 80 cranes. You may make these yourself, do it as a class activity, or enlist the help of others in your school, family, church, or community. After we have received them all, an EASC volunteer will string them into 10 strands of 100 each. Each of you will be given a different color of paper, so the completed set should be striking!

To get you started, I've included below a link to a helpful website. It includes information on the story of Sadako and instructions (including good diagrams) on how to fold a crane. I also recommend the video "How to Fold a Paper Crane", which is for sale on the Website. Its target audience is younger children, but the demonstrations are easy to follow. Don't become frustrated if you find the crane difficult to make (and difficult to remember how to make a day later!). It is one of the more challenging pieces to make.

If you don't know how to make a crane and teaching yourself seems daunting, I encourage you to ask one of your school's art teachers. Many art teachers do units on origami and will likely be eager to give you tips. There will also be time at orientation to get some help if you need it. Note: Do NOT pull the cranes' wings out after you've finished folding! They need to be left flat against the crane's body so the cranes can be strung.

http://www.sadako.com/contents.html

When you've finished your cranes, you need to mail them to me here at the Center by May 15. You're welcome to bring completed cranes to orientation if you finish by then. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Good luck!
Mary