1,000 cranes of luck

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Eric Summers
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  Throughout the months of November and December youth from the Teen Center and School Age Services programs here have been working to make 1,000 paper origami cranes. 

"The goal of the project is for us to send 1,000 paper cranes to Hiroshima to be placed on a monument there," said Shawna Vitarbo, Yokota youth program counselor. "Placing the cranes on the monument is supposed to bring good luck to someone who has passed away." 

"The crane is a sacred bird in Japan," said Arisiody Selover, Teen center student. The folding of the 1,000 paper cranes comes from the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who contracted Leukemia as a result of radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. 

While in the hospital Sadako's best friend came to visit her and cut a golden piece of paper into a square and folded it into a paper crane. 

Inspired by the crane, Sadako started folding them herself, thinking of the Japanese saying that the one who folds a 1,000 cranes will be granted a wish.
 
The center usually has five or six children working on the project at a time. 

"A couple of weeks ago Ms. Shawna asked me to make some cranes and I pretty much have been making them ever since," Airsiody said. 

Once the group finishes the 1,000 cranes they will string them together and place them on a shrine in Hiroshima. 

"We would like to take the cranes to the monument because it brings good luck when someone passes away," said Arisiody. 

"One of our ideal goals is to have one or two of the children and a counselor go and deliver them to Hiroshima and place them on the monument," said Ms. Vitarbo. 

"It's really fun to do and I get to hang out with friends and can do something good for somebody else," said Airsiody.