The Japanese proverb — “He that folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted a wish” — is well known.
So is the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. It’s the story of a young girl in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb hits. Later, she begins folding cranes.
She makes 644, before dying of leukemia. Her classmates fold the rest — and they are buried with her.
Six decades later, Japan once again fights the scourge of radiation. This time, 4 Staples sophomores are helping.
And they’re doing it by reenacting that crane story, right here in Westport.
Anya Kostenko, Jenna Ellis, Amanda Giannitti and Francesca Lam have already created 1,000 cranes. This Saturday (April 16, 7-10 p.m.) they’ll be on display at Toquet Hall.
Some of the cranes you'll see at Toquet Hall... (Photo/Jenna Ellis)
There will be musical performances by Staples students Rachel Samuels, Meaghan Elliot and Jacqueline Devine, plus Richard Granger and Ayrton Ellis.
Refreshments are available, too.
For a donation of $5 ($3 for senior citizens and children under 10), you can take a crane home. The money goes to Westport-based Save the Children’s Japan fund.
Plenty of Westporters have rushed to help victims of Japan’s triple tragedy. It’s hard to imagine, though, that anyone — anywhere — has been as creative as these 4 Staples sophomores.
(For more information, contact japancranes1000@hotmail.com)
...and all the cranes.
On its website, Save the Children said it is “mobilizing its global resources to respond to the needs of children and families affected by the earthquake and its aftermath, and an international emergency team has been dispatched to assist staff in Japan.” 