Last Friday (26th March 2011) The Crane Campaign took flight – school children raised £980 for the Japan tsunami relief effort.
The Crane Campaign was set up by Kate Truscott (nee Russell) and Sarah Hill, two ex-ALTs from Shizuoka-ken (1993-1995). Deeply moved by the plight of their former home after the earthquake , they wanted to help –and when Kate’s six year old daughter asked “Mummy, what can I do?” the idea of a schools action plan was born.
The idea is simple. For a small donation, the children make an origami crane – which has their message to Japanese children inside. The school then donates the money to the charities working in Japan - at present the Crane Campaign is supporting the Save the Children, The British Red Cross and, hopefully very soon, The Japan Society.
It is based on the Japanese legend that if you make 1000 origami cranes – or senbazuru - then your wish will come true. Our wish is that Japan would recover fully from this tragedy – and the children are LOVING being able to help.
All you need to get started in your school today is at www.thecranecampaign.com – just download the schools pack. Print the template onto coloured or origami paper & follow the simple instructions. In no time at all you’ll have hundreds of brightly coloured cranes – and will have raised money for a desperately worthy cause. Older children love making displays with them to decorate the school.
So far, 10 schools in the UK have joined The Crane Campaign. The feedback has been really positive and the children are so happy to help. Kate says “At my daughter’s school, the children became quite addicted to making as many cranes as possible. Once they mastered how to make the first one, they wanted to make more and more! During the lunch hour, there were groups of kids all sitting in the playground making cranes and chatting. It was beautiful to watch.”
Sarah works at ITN and her colleagues at London Tonight were so taken by the idea they did a news story on it on Friday –even calling it their story of the day. “We were all devastated by the reports we were seeing from Japan” remembers Sarah. “It was so amazing to see these tiny children making cranes, knowing they were making a difference. Best of all were the messages the children were writing on their cranes. One simply said ‘Dear Japan, I hope you get better soon, Love Luke”.
Kate was overwhelmed by the positive reception and support from the Japanese parents at her own daughter’s school involved in the campaign. “We have two Japanese mums and one Japanese grandparent in the PTA, all of whom were very supportive and active during this campaign. They came to the origami-making workshops during the week to help. The most poignant image I have of the week was seeing a four-year old Japanese girl helping her mum to string the senbazuru together after school. Mother and daughter were totally absorbed, no doubt thinking of loved ones back home in Japan. It was nice to have that connection again with Japan after such a long time. I felt blessed to be a JET, albeit an old one!”
Kate and Sarah state that “The next stage in this campaign is for us to talk to the Japan Society Earthquake Relief Fund to add them to our list of beneficiaries as many people have told us they would like to give directly to a Japanese Fund”.
Their vision for is the campaign to eventually forge links between schools in the UK and Japan. Sarah says “Several schools have asked if they can send the cranes to schools in the earthquake zone, once they are coping again. The children now feel a very real, very strong connection to children in Japan. Naturally they want to see how the money they raise is being used – but most of all they want to reach out to the children there and see how they are getting on. It’s exciting to think that lifelong school ties or friendships could evolve from this. After all, that’s what the JET programme is all about!”
The Crane Campaign is simple and effective – all it needs is you. Now!
Please get your local school involved.
You don’t need to make 1000 cranes or raise £1000 to make a difference. As Sarah says “every donation to the emergency appeals is more than they had before.”
If you want to join TheCraneCampaign visit our website at www.thecranecampaign.com or follow us on Twitter (@cranecampaign) or on Facebook.
